May 2014 Weddings

The problem with people doing you favors...

Our budget has been pretty tight from day one so my FI and I have asked a lot of family and friends to do things for us as a favor and not as a service. And they have all been super willing about it. One of our good friends is doing our music and one of his cousins is going to sing in our ceremony and my aunt and cousin have been helping with all sorts of little things and lots of family will be handling set up and tear down before and after the wedding... And my cousin agreed to do our photography. She used to do some as a side business but relocated and isn't currently doing any but she said she'd love to. And then emailed me last night to say that she started a new job that is extremely demanding and she might not even be able to make it to the wedding so she won't be able to do the photography anymore. If I had hired a professional there would be a signed contract and this wouldn't be an issue. Sometimes, despite all the money you can save, getting favors doesn't work out terribly well. And of all the things we were most concerned about, photography was number one. Everyone always says people forget the majority of their wedding day. That's why you get great pictures. And now I am photographer-less. Ugh I am so over all of this!

Re: The problem with people doing you favors...

  • You'll find one.  I actually found someone that I work with that will do it for a great price (relatively speaking).  We also talked, and there will be a contract that we will read and sign.  This is for both our protection and there is no question. I'm sorry that things didn't work out with her, however I'm not sure why she can't ask for the day off, its still months ahead of time.  I mean, it is a family wedding regardless of her doing the photography or not.  She should at least be able to get the day off on presumably a weekend day to attend a family wedding.  I'm sorry you're going through this, but put some feelers out there, maybe someone knows someone who does photography on the side for cheap.  Good luck!
    Anniversary
  • Ugh, I'm sorry that happened!

    My photographer is a very close friend, and she and I both agreed that we absolutely need to have a contract in place, just in case anything were to ever happen. It protects us as well as her, the same way it would any other client. I've had a few friends and family offer to do various things for us, but I'm hesitant for that very reason -- people change their minds, have limited capabilities they don't want to admit to, or things just happen to fall through and then you're SOL.

    I'm sure you'll find someone great!


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  • Are there any local colleges in your area? Do they have a photography major? Maybe look into hiring a student photographer. A lot of my photog friends would do the occasional wedding for portfolio building and extra money.
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    Anniversary
  • That stinks that she can't do it now. I hope that you are able to find someone.

    I had a ton of people volunteer to do different things for the wedding. I went ahead and just paid professionals instead for everything because I was afraid of something like this happening.
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  • I kind of know what you're going through. We had a good friend, who does photography agree to do our wedding for SUPER cheap. Well... about 2 months ago she told us she was pregnant and she wouldn't be able to do it anymore.
    Now, I really can't get mad at her, and really should thank her for thinking ahead in case she were to be bedridden or really sick and we'd find out week of or something.
    We ended up finding one (for not too much more than our friend was asking) on a service called Thumbtack (just google it). You can put in there what price range you are looking for and anyone in that range will message you about what they will offer. Just a thought!
  • Yea I did check Thumbtack @kellibastien - I actually have used that website a lot! With little success in my area though :/ 

    I think  did find someone though! My FI and I talked with this girl before and LOVED her work but ended up going with my cousin for the sake of saving some money. Well she still has the date open! The only problem is that a friend of mine really wants me to have her do my photos. She would be the cheaper option but I don't know if she's any good at all and she's already told me that her spring schedule is crazy busy! I hate seeming like a bad friend by telling her no but I don't know if I'm willing to trust this big part of our wedding to a favor again /
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