Bridal Party/Photographer

Re: Bridal Party/Photographer

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  banana468 member

  

  January 17

  I think you should be truly realistic with this friend.  It's such a change to go from being in the pictures to being in zero.  I'd also ask what she may be needing in this capacity.  Wedding photography goes for thousands.  Is she truly offering to do all of that for free?  I'd want to make sure you two are clear because there is so much emotion tied to the photos that you would not want to hurt a friendship and at the same time by being a friend attending your wedding and working your wedding you are literally mixing business and pleasure. 
  
  FWIW, we looked into this with family as we loved the quality of photos that a cousin took and they very  nicely said that they would not work our wedding because they wanted to be guests at it.   Looking back I'm almost embarrassed that we thought of asking them in the first place. 

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  MobKaz member

  

  January 17

  knottiefb9bc46e6ace7b59 said:

  So, I'm excited to finally be planning our wedding. We've been engaged for five years and we were originally supposed to get married in 2022 but we had a baby and the pandemic that happened nearly simultaneously. We are now actively planning our wedding, we go to sign our contract with the venue this saturday (in three days) and our wedding date is set for November 2025. We have a fairly tight wedding budget. Luckily, we have a very close family member who is gifting us his dj services as a wedding gift and the venue we have chosen has a decor closet so we are anticipating that should help cut some costs. We also have a sister who is a professional wedding photographer who has offered to do our wedding photos for free, as a wedding gift. The issue is this sister is one of my best friends and I want her as a bridesmaid. We LOVE her photography-she does most of our family photos, etc. However, unfortunately human cloning isn't available. Her and I had an idea though, that she could get a nice bridesmaid jumpsuit in the same color as the other bridesmaids, she would still participate in all the normal bridesmaids events (going with me to get my dress, bridal shower, bachelorette party, etc) but she would attend our wedding as the photographer. The only thing I'm curious about has anyone had a "fill in" spot and how did you do this? We jokingly discussed getting a lifesize cutout of her to stand in her spot and the groomsmen my fiance and I talked about pairing her with would carry the lifesize cutout down the aisle with him and place in her spot, etc. But, I wondered if anyone had any other suggestions? If we were to use her photography it would free up wedding expenses for other things like the catering, flowers, cake, etc. 
  
  Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. 

  
  An immediate family member should not be working a family wedding, IMO.  My daughter's photographer(s) put in a 12 hour day on her wedding day.  Please consider someone else.
  

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  climbingsingle member

  

  January 19

  My aunt is an amazing photographer but I preferred she be a guest. Working a wedding is hard work. Let your sister enjoy the day. 

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  MyNameIsNot member

  

  January 19

  This isn't just a matter of taking photos and not being able to stand up in the ceremony. She would literally be working all day. She wouldn't be able to get ready with you, participate in any photos, participate in the ceremony, enjoy the meal, or dance at the party. 
  
  The reason photography is expensive is because it is a lot of work. This isn't something you can ask a guest to handle. 

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  flantastic member

  

  January 22

  I would not want my sister unable to enjoy the ceremony or the reception. (I mean, I'm sure she gets some pleasure out of photography, but she should be able to spend time with you and the rest of her family and friends.)

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  Jen4948 member

  

  February 21 edited February 21

  I would not ask your sister to be "the photographer" for the wedding. I especially don't think she should have to coordinate her attire with bridesmaids if she isn't in the wedding party. If you really want her in your wedding party, then she should be a bridesmaid. And if not, even then I would not ask her to do the photography, just because she should be an honored guest and not "working" at your wedding. 
  
  Also, your photographer, whomever you get, should be actually working in that capacity under a paid contract and not "attending" as a wedding guest. Just a little semantics but an important distinction. They still should receive all appropriate courtesy, but they're there to do a job.
  
  
  

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