Wedding Photography and Videography Forum
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Not sure what to do.

Ok, here is my issue, for a while now I have been looking a photographer and I could not find any that I liked that was'nt over $3000 which is out of our budget. So, a friend of mine who is actually a very good photographer and has her own company and has shot many weddings offered to shoot my wedding with the price range that we were aiming for. But her husband got relocated for a job out of the country but her and I worked it out so that she could come back here and visit her family AND shoot my wedding at the same price that we want. Perfect right? Well, something happened (cant really remember what) and we were told she couldn't do our wedding anymore and that we should look for someone else. So we went to meet with someone else and she was great (and the same price as my friend) and we both thought seriously about booking her. That day my friend texts me that she is NOT moving out of the country anymore and she's moving closer to me so she can shoot our wedding now. Now we have two great photographers to choose from. My fiance thinks we need to hurry up and book someone and he would rather book with the one we met recently but I'm not sure because while I am comfortable with both shooting our wedding, I just feel like my friend would do a really great job, maybe I'm being bias. I feel like we should think about it a little bit longer since we still have a year but he wants to book soon. Any advice? (sorry its so long)
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Re: Not sure what to do.

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    It's nice of your friend, but given how she's been alternating from moving across the country to staying local with the way the wind blows, I would book the other photographer.   You don't want to find out last minute she's moving or unavailable and then you are left scrambling.  Tell your friend that in the time from when she advised you to find someone else, you have, but appreciate her continued offer, tell her that you have found a photographer, and are looking forward to her enjoying your wedding as a guest.
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    Your friend has already flaked out on you once - I know the moving thing probably wasn't entirely in her control, but nevertheless, she's already shown you that if something else comes up, she's not going to keep her commitment to you.  Besides, it's incredibly awkward to mix business with friendship.  What happens if she moves a week before your wedding and doesn't show up?  What happens if her priorities change again after the wedding and a year later, she still hasn't gotten you proofs?  If this were purely a business transaction, you could report someone who flakes out on you to the Better Business Bureau or even sue them, but are you going to report or sue your friend if she doesn't come through for you?  Go with the other photographer. 
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    I had a similar situation occur the night before my wedding.  My wife-to-be's friend flaked, and we were left scouring Craigslist for a replacement.  Always book a professional instead of a friend, in my opinion.
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