Some thoughts on if professional wedding photography is worth the hefty price tag.

When planning a wedding you will get a lot of unsolicited advice. One of the most common pieces of advice you'll get will be to make sure you spend money on a good photographer. People will tell you to cut your wedding budget wherever you can, except photos.

Your wedding photos will be physical memories of a truly magical day. Good wedding pics will grace the walls of your home for many for years to come. And you can guarantee that your parents and parents-in-law will display your wedding photos whether they are beautiful or terrible.

The big day itself will race by in a flash of tears and laughter. But those beautiful photos will be key to remembering all of the magic and special moments.

But They're so expensive ...

Yes, a good professional wedding photographer is expensive to book. Many couples look at the price tag and wonder if one day's work is really worth all that money. But it's really not just one day that you're hiring them for. On your wedding day they will turn up early and work a very, very long day to get all the photos they need and you want. They will have planned all the photos to take (as well as leaving room for artistic flair and inspiration) so that there are no gaps in your photo albums or precious memories. They will also be toting gear that may cost more than the catering bill. The physical day of photo taking is not only a long day needing expensive equipment, but also it's years of experience and honing of artistic talent. Do not under value these two things! 

Let's break it down a bit here:

• Experience - you are paying for a professional artist to not only document your magical day, but to make you look amazing!
• Equipment - Professional grade camera (most photographers have more than one), lenses, flash, memory cards, computer, software (the licenses for these are another ongoing cost)... you get the idea.
• Editing - as perfect as we're sure you'll look on your big day, there will still be up to 20 hours worth of editing to be done for your wedding.
• Extra Staff - a lot of photographers will bring a second shooter with them to make sure that they don't miss a single shot.

Is it worth the cost?

We've discussed why professional wedding photography is so expensive, now we really need to look at if it's worth it. There is no debating that it is often one of the larger vendor costs that couples shell out for. And many couples wonder if that money could be better spent on travel or a house deposit.

But then, what is the cost for precious memories and captured moments?

Like we said before, these photos will be treasured keepsakes and featured wall art for years to come. Do you want to take the chance on saving some money but getting sub-standard photos? After all, you can't fix crappy photos once they're taken and redoing your wedding photos is a tall order.

Our honest opinion? 

When it comes to your precious memories, it really is worth the money. But potentially your budget just won't stretch that far? In the coming weeks we'll be putting together a few more thoughts on wedding photography and some creative ways to work around the cost associated with it. Stay tuned!

Special thanks to EnviraGallery for a inspiring and informing this blog.