Everyone who gets married likes to have some kind of mementos of the day, usually photographs. Many couples, however, have only embarrassingly amateurish or simply bad photos with which to remember their day.
So the question of whether or not to hire a professional photographer for a wedding day depends on a number of personal considerations. Firstly, you must consider how important photographs are to you, and assess your feelings honestly. If you genuinely do not care about the photographs, then use a friend or acquaintance with a camera. The results may well be inconsistent and low quality, though.
So you must be honest with yourself. You will feel terrible as a couple if you secretly did care a great deal about the photos and then they turned out to be terrible. Wedding photography sometimes matters a lot more to people than they think, especially when it comes to looking back on the great day many years later.
While saving money by using a friend to take photos may sound like the cheap option, it can go badly wrong. Amateurs will not know the intricacies of light management, for example, which can result in indistinct and dark images. They may also not possess the professional’s instinct for setting up shots in the best way possible, or to take snapshots of the event at the right time. Some weddings where amateur photographers have taken the pictures have ended up missing the Best Man from the photo, or even the bride’s father.
These kind of omissions can be very embarrassing to all concerned, and in some cases can even lead to family tensions. Any couple needs therefore needs to be very honest with themselves about the kind of regard they are likely to hold photographs in. If there is any feeling at all that they will want even just one decent photo of the day, then hiring a professional practitioner is the thing to do.
While a professional photographer may add to the budget, they can usually tailor packages to suit what you can spend. They can also guarantee the quality of the service and product that they provide. Whether you think photos of your special day are important to you or not, there may be others who cannot attend who want an accurate representation of what the day was like.
So think carefully before making plans, and, if in any doubt at all, opt for a professional.