Chit Chat

Is it weird that we aren't having a photographer or videographer?

My fiance and I want to make things as simple as possible for our wedding and we've decided that neither of us take or look at that many pictures of us so we don't see the need to have a photographer at the wedding. Neither of us want to spend hours posing with different people in different places. We figure we can get disposable cameras to put on the tables at the reception and friends and family will surely take pictures during the wedding with pictures they can send us. Plus that will shave a good $2000 off the budget. How odd is it not to have a photographer or videographer at your wedding? Every wedding I've been to has had one or both.
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Re: Is it weird that we aren't having a photographer or videographer?

  • I've never heard of a wedding without a photographer. I would at least consider hiring an inexpensive photography student from craigslist. Whenever people do disposable cameras on tables, they end of with pictures of people's shoes and the inside of the bathroom. Don't expect your guests to take the pics. If you truly don't care about the pics, just skip it, but consider that you will want to look back in 10, 20, 50 years and remember exactly how you felt that day. You'll want to look at your friends and family members and see how young and happy they all looked. You'll want to remember people that are no longer in your life. If you have children, you'll want to show them the pics of friends and family members. Maybe I just don't understand. Of all the things about our wedding, documenting everything with a good photographer was at the top of our priorities. We knew that after the party was over, the pictures were the only thing we'd have forever.
  • I think I agree with pp, at least an inexpensive photog... try a local college if there is one and look for a photog student to do it cheap.
    ~*Married my best friend on October 2, 2010*~ BabyFetus Ticker
  • Yeah, but if you look at people who elope (like we REALLY wanted to do and forget about all the hoopla but are having the church thing for my Mom) they don't hire photographers and go nuts on the pictures.
  • We are not having a photographer/videographer. Our intention is for the ceremony to be very private, we are inviting our guests to also have some time to share with us their thoughts (or dance or sing!) before we exchange our own vows which will also be very personal and intimate. We have invited only those we REALLY want to be included in the moment, and thus are not interested in videos to share with those we have not invited. We enjoy some of the exclusivity of it and we do not want to detract from the intimacy or the comfort of our guests. We invite our guests to take photos before and after the ceremony, with their own cameras, if they choose.I don't think there is anything wrong with not having one. It all depends on what works for you.
  • I've seen plenty of elopement pictures, actually.If you don't want to take a ton of posed pictures, find a photographer who specializes in candids, and tell him you don't want to pose.Honestly, those disposable cameras usually end up costing quite a bit of money once you buy them, get them developed, make the prints, and assemble them into some sort of album.  For the same price, you could probably get an inexpensive photographer who actually knows how to operate a flash, unlike most guests when they've had a couple of drinks.I know we're not going to look at our wedding pictures every day, but I'd be heartbroken if we didn't have them at all.
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    Sometimes I feel like people think that brides are delicate little flower princesses who get all dressed up and pretty for one special moment of their dreams, when really they're just normal people who just happen to be getting married. Things shouldn't have to be sugar-coated for grown-ass women. -mstar284
  • Like I said, if you really don't care about it, skip it. But don't expect that your guests will do it.
  • yes I find it weird not having a photographer (I did not have a videographer)  I love looking at my wedding pictures.  Not really the ones of us, but seeing all my guests having a good time.  It just makes me smile. But it's your choice.  Unfortuantly it could be one that you regret.  






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • We'll just bring my fiance's digital camera and he can snap a few, I can snap a few and we can ask others to snap a few. That's enough for me!
  • If you know what you want why ask for others opinions? I think the girls here are just trying to say that you may not realize now how important those pictures will be to you and your family later. 10/10/10 Bride!!
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  • I have yet to see photos from my guests from our wedding. Don't count on them to be your photographers.
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  • Just my opinion, but I think you might underestimate how much stopping on that one special day to take your own pics might be kind of a hassle... I dunno, I guess IMO, I just couldn't see NOT having those pics to look back on, and as much as I love to take pics at holidays and such, that is MY day, and I can't imagine having to stop and take pics.
    ~*Married my best friend on October 2, 2010*~ BabyFetus Ticker
  • Having a photographer doesn't mean that you have spend hours posing. Personally I would at least want a photographer to be able to capture the ceremony. Even if you don't look at them all the time, it will be nice to have something to look back on years from now, when your memory might not be as good as it used to be. Not sure where you're located but I'm in the tri-state area where the cost of things are usually higher than most places and for minimal coverage you can definitely find a photographer for less than $2000 so you'd probably be able to find one for less than that where you're located. Also, your guests' digital camera and those disposable cameras probably wont take that great of pictures. I know mine always come out really dark or I'm not close enough to get a really good shot.
  • Yeah, I'm a major photography buff, who shot quite a lot at both my sister's wedding and the wedding of a good friend (was even comparing shots with their pro photographer at the latter), and so's FI.  But there's no way I'd want to mess with a camera on my wedding day.
    This is a neglected planning bio.
    This is a belated married bio, with no reviews yet because I'm lazy.

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    Sometimes I feel like people think that brides are delicate little flower princesses who get all dressed up and pretty for one special moment of their dreams, when really they're just normal people who just happen to be getting married. Things shouldn't have to be sugar-coated for grown-ass women. -mstar284
  • Something to look into...My sister and her FI are photographers so I am hiring an outside photographer to take our pictures and put it on a CD and I am paying for the photographer and CD not the prints etc... So that cut my photographer cost in half. Well more than half. See if you can hire someone to just photograph and give yo a CD of pictures that way you can print what you want when you want. And you will want at least one professional picture of you and your FH.
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  • Honestly, I'm not pumped up about the whole wedding thing in the first place. Yes I want to be with my fiance but I don't want to go through with all this crap just to be husband and wife and I certainly don't want to be the center of attention! I honestly just want it to be him and me. The only thing I'll probably be thinking of the whole day is "I really hope this day ends soon and everyone goes home". That's just how I am. I am a very quiet and private person. It's why I'm getting a $99 dress, having barbecue sandwiches for dinner, not having the dj introduce the wedding party to the guests when we arrive to the reception, no special dances, etc. I just am not into the whole wedding thing.
  • IMHO regardless of you not being into the whole wedding thing, it is still your wedding day and it's something so special that not having pictures to remember it by might be something you will regret. If you find a student photographer that is budget friendly I doubt you would regret it even if you think you may not want it.You might end up loving your wedding day and wishing it hadn't gone by so fast!  
  • If your friends have digital cameras you could ask them to bring them and set up a photosharing site instead of doing disposable cameras ( which are often expensive, ineffective)Print up some cards with the details of the site and leave them on the table for your guests (use vistaprint free printing)I agree that you may live to regret not having professional photos, you could just book a photographer for a couple of hours and have him leave before the party starts? Have a look on craigslist or ask your local board, for recommendations, a good photographer doesn't have to cost the earth.
  • VERY late to this and just skimmed the other responses... My sister did not have a photographer at her wedding 5 years ago and regrets it.  You can ask for people to take pictures, you can even designate a family memeber to take pictures, but it's NOT the same. The FIRST vendor Robert and I booked was our photographer.  Of the 77 teasers he's sent me, I couldn't be happier. I highly recommend finding a photography student or at least making sure you're "paying" someone.  Even if it's a friend of a friend with a nice Nikon and you give them $100 at the end of the night. GL and HTH!
  • I agree with Alexia. My friend got married 7 years ago and was very lax on everything. She had the same mind-set that she just wanted to do the wedding quietly and not go overboard with money. The first thing she said when I was planning my wedding was "hire a good photographer". Obviously different brides value certain parts of their wedding differently, but if you posted this question you must still have some uncertainty.
  • I just told my sister about this post, and she said at the end of the day, all you have are the memories.  Yes you're married to the man you love and all that love mushy stuff, but for the planning and the family and the friends, you have the pictures to remind you of the silly dance between grandpa and your sister, or the way you all grabbed sunglasses and danced to "I wear my sunglasses at night" - the pictures remind you of the people that were there.  The family and friends that love and support you.  They capture the loving looks you think no one sees, the frosting on his nose from when you fed each other wedding cake, etc. The photos document the memories... and they're really nice to look at. GL!
  • I just can't see how someone can regret HAVING a photographer.  A lot of brides comes back with regrets on having spent money on things.   Limos comes to mind.  Expensive tableware, personalized napkins, maybe even their wedding dressBut I've never heard someone regret having a photographer.  If anything they regret not paying for a better one, but I've never heard a bride say they wish they had saved their money on one in general.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • Are you typically anti-photos or is it just you're wedding that you're not sure you want captured on film? I'm asking because everyone is different. Sure, it seems difficult for most of us to imagine NOT wanting photos, but maybe you never take photos of anything, so it's not so strange to you. I personally have no desire to have a videographer. I hate watching home movies and can't imagine ever sitting down to watch a video of my wedding. However, I LOVE LOVE LOVE looking at photos. I guess what I'm saying is, if you rarely take photos or look at photos, then maybe it's not that weird. But if you are just shying away from photos because you don't want to be the center of attention or feel like you're not photogenic, then you might want to reconsider because someday you might change your mind.
  • Hire someone, anyone, to take pics.  They don't have to be posed, but you will wish you had pics later on.  And loved ones will like to have them too.  Disposables are a waste - I speak from experience.  I thought my guests could handle the task of taking pics of the reception.  Wrong.  80% of them are worthless pics of feet, butts, dark figures (oh, there's a flash on here?), and stupid stuff.  Don't bother with disposables, but spend a couple hundred bucks on an amateur photographer.  Really.
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  • We figure we can get disposable cameras to put on the tables at the reception and friends and family will surely take pictures during the wedding with pictures they can send us. Plus that will shave a good $2000 off the budget. If you want any quality pictures I would not rely on your guests' photos and pictures from disposables.We didn't have a videographer but we had a photographer and, honestly, there is a reason that almost every bride considers them necessary.
  • No I am not someone who has ever taken many pictures. Some people will go on vacation and take a picture of EVERYTHING! Oh look a rock, sit on the rock, look out to sea, now pose by this tree. When I go on vacation I don't have a camera and when I did, I'd take maybe 2 pictures. The only pictures I've had in the past 10 years are pictures given to me by friends and family from their cameras.
  • It's hard for me to relate, as photography was one of my top priorities.  I would suggest that you get a professional photographer. One day, you might feel differently and it will be too late... Plus, if you plan on having kids, I'm sure they would love to see professional photos.  There really is nothing comparable that comes from a friend's camera.  Just my .02!
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  • Even if you don't want a photographer, at least get disposal cameras and put them out at each table. Theknot.com store has some cute ones on sale and everything. Put those out. Even if you don't look at pictures, you might want something commerating the day you married your husband, you know? Your parents, and bridal party probably want photos too. I don't think we'll do a videographer, but for sure a photorgrapher, that's really important to us.
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  • You seem to have your mind already made up, so I'm not really sure why you posted this.  In response to your original question: Yes, it's very strange not to have any kind of photographer, and yes, you're very likely to regret it later, especially when you have kids and grandkids.
    This is a neglected planning bio.
    This is a belated married bio, with no reviews yet because I'm lazy.

    image
    Sometimes I feel like people think that brides are delicate little flower princesses who get all dressed up and pretty for one special moment of their dreams, when really they're just normal people who just happen to be getting married. Things shouldn't have to be sugar-coated for grown-ass women. -mstar284
  • I would at least hire someone to take a few pictures of you and your bridal party, parents etc. I don't blame you for not wanting to spend hours getting pics taken or a ton of money. But to not have a single professional picture from your wedding? And maybe ask a friend or family member to at least record you & Fi exchanging vows and being introduced at the reception?
    Crosswalk
  • You seem to be really anti posed/staged formal shots. There are plenty of photojournalistic photographers out there that will blend in with the backround and just capture the day as it happens, if that's really your main concern.
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