… because gorgeous photos are pretty much non-negotiable, but they’re expensive.
Unlike your wedding flowers or your cake, your wedding photos will last forever, so you obviously want them to be amazing. Hiring a professional wedding photographer or videographer is truly the only way to get those crisp, high quality images that capture every special moment from your day. Realistically, you should plan to allot 10–12 percent of your overall budget to photos and video. (For reference, the average cost for a photographer is £1,500-£2,000, and for video is £1,500).
It might be tempting to skip a pro shooter or to ask a friend to take photos – but trust us, not hiring photo and video pros is one of the biggest, most common wedding regrets for couples who didn’t. If you’re on a budget, missing out on gorgeous images isn’t the answer—instead, follow these money-conscious tricks to save on wedding snaps.
- Find packages you can customize to fit your budget
Before hiring a photographer and videographer, make a list of the style and type of images you want. That way, you’ll go into the hiring process knowing what your package should look like. This allows you to pay only for exactly what you need, whether that’s a certain number of hours of coverage, extra sessions, multiple shooters or access to digital photo files.
To know what to prioritize, don’t underestimate the value of your recently married friends, but also potential pros you interview. Ask them to walk you through the ins and outs of the services they offer, like whether you can realistically fit all your must-have shots in the minimum amount of coverage they offer or how many assistants make the most sense for the size of your guest list.
2. Wait to buy prints and albums (or include one in your package).
If an album isn’t a part of your photography package already, don’t worry about spending money on one right now. Focus on hiring a pro who will take great shots. Think of it this way: A beautiful album is the perfect gift to give each other as a twist on the paper theme for your first anniversary.
But waiting to create an album doesn’t mean you can’t see your photos for a whole year. You can still admire and show off your shots when they’re ready a few weeks after your wedding. You’ll get at least a portion of the digital files as soon as they’ve been edited – you may even get access to an online gallery too. The same goes for videography. Many videographers will upload your highlight reel to an online platform for you to watch on repeat and post all over social (no shame!).
3. Hire someone local to your wedding location
The price of a pro can increase if you hire them for a job they’ll need to travel to. Remember, they’re not just getting themselves there—they’ll be lugging pounds of expensive equipment with them too. Often in France, photographers and videographers will travel a certain distance and charge thereafter, and you may need to pay overnight costs as well. Another option? Some venues include photography/videography in their package, making these two vendors less expensive than they’d be if you hired them outside the venue’s preferred vendor list.
4. Shoot only the first half on the reception
Pair down the number of hours you’ll need both pros. Have them shoot the ceremony, then stick around for cocktail hour and the first half of your reception. They’ll be able to capture the your entrance, toasts, cake cutting and first dance then let your guests take over toward the end. If you haven’t already, check out The Guest app, an awesome auto-sharing photo app that instantly uploads and aggregates all your guests’ snaps and videos in one place (it’s like a hashtag, but 10 times better). Translation: You’ll have every awesome dance floor snap right at your fingertips before the night’s even over.
5. Get a referral from a photographer you love
If you’ve crunched the numbers again and again and still can’t make the photographer or videographer you want work for your budget, don’t give up yet. They may very often still be able to help in other ways, like giving you a referral to another pro within your budget with a similar style. They may give you a few names of other pros they’ve teamed up with before (often called second shooters) who charge less simply because they’re not as well known (yet). Before you sign any contracts, meet with alternate pros in person first (and ask them your list of questions as well)—you want to be sure you’re comfortable with him or her because they’ll be your wedding day shadow!
