As a Planner it never ceases to amaze me how often couples put choosing their Photographer wisely so low on their list of priorities. There is nothing worse than being disappointment in your images after the special celebration is over, and sadly you can’t turn back the clock and repeat the whole day again just to get better images.
One of the wonderful photographs I work with is Stuart Wood.
In November 2010, Stuart won eight awards in the highly coveted British Institute of Professional Photography’s National Photographic Awards and in December 2009, Stuart became a Fellow of the BIPP, holding the highest level of professional photographic qualification available.
The below article is written by the gentleman himself.
‘The happiest day of your life is now a memory.
The beautiful cake has been cut and eagerly devoured, the suitcases unpacked from the wonderful, dreamy honeymoon and the wedding dress, so angst over and so perfect on the day, is now confined to the attic!
What now do you have left of your wedding day that you planned so long for and invested so much of yourself into?
The photographs perhaps?
As a wedding photographer, it never ceases to amaze me how certain couples place us so low on their list and how many stories I hear of downgrading the photographer on price, just so they can then use the money saved to squeeze in some other faux fashion experience on the wedding day.
I also wish that I had a pound for every couple already married, who in hindsight (which as we all know, is a wonderful thing!) wish they had invested more into their wedding photography.
The fact is that your wedding photography will be the only tangible product that you will have left when the celebrations are over. So why would you place that so low down on your list?
I suppose one problem is that with the possible exclusion of certain Hollywood ‘celebrities’, most people getting married aren’t overly experienced in doing so and therefore can unfortunately live to regret certain aspects of their inexperience, because unfortunately while we may get to rehearse the wedding service, this does not apply to the rest of the day. One very important reason to seriously consider using someone like Rula, who is not only respected within the industry at the highest level, but can also discuss your exact requirements and suggest trusted suppliers that will meet them. After all, you would never consider writing your own will or building your own house, (unless of course, that happens to be your trade) so how can you suddenly become an expert at organising perfectly every detail of the most important day of your life and why would you anyway, when such expert help is at hand?
Something else that can be a potential ‘minefield’ when choosing your photographer, is how many there are out there! Photographers vastly outnumber all other suppliers and like everything else, there are all sorts to suit all budgets.
And like everything else, you ALWAYS get what you pay for!
Today and with the advent of handmade luxury albums with images wonderfully printed on laminated pages that will deter the stickiest of little fingers that may well enter the story later, we now have a product that if cared for, will last for generations, with fabulous photography that will endure the years and help you and your future families relive the fun, joy, emotion and love that your actually experienced on your wedding day.
Now that’s something I would invest in!’
