Wedding Question

[Flipballin80]

Hey all,

I have a question. My fiancee and I are getting married in Oct. of 2007. We have met with a couple photographers and we cannot decide on who to choose:

Photographer A is good, very friendly, and is going to include a photo album (40 pages), engagement session, unlimited hours, photo dvd, all negatives for $2600. Although he's friendly, he's not very personable. It doesn't seem like he wants to get to know me and my fiancee. It's just another "job" for him.

Photographer B is WONDERFUL. She has a great personality, her pictures capture the moment and the emotions of those she's photographing. Her package includes an engagement session, unlimited hours, proof album, negatives, and $2000 credit toward our photo album. Her pictures are wonderful. The only bad thing is her package is $5000. Yikes!!!

We were looking at our wedding budget and figured that we can afford the latter one, but it will be hard. I just wanted to know your opinions if this is way too much. Remember, I live in Southern California so it can get pretty expensive out here.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

Ron :laufband:

I have the photographer's websites if anyone is interested.

[ed3]

I'd go with A. After all, it is just another job for him. :)

[crna2be]

Hey, I would base my decision on their previous work. If A's portfolio is just as good as B's then he should be fine but I will tell you this, Those negatives are gold!!! I got my negatives from my photographer and had pics made from them so getting a package with a bunch of pics isn't necessary when you can take your negatives and get what you want. B's $2000 towards an album is overpriced when a decent photo lab can make 8x10's off of negatives for less than $20 each.

[RAYMAN]

It's like I told my dad when he needed a recommendation for a hand surgeon. I told him who the best guy around here was and also that this guy wasn't exactly the most personable. When he asked me about it I told him, do you want somebody to fix your hand or hold your hand? Every photog I've ever met have been kinda strange anyway.
I only hand one formal wedding.....my wife has those pics.....just as well....I probably would have done something foul to them. Best Wishes!

[Flipballin80]

Thanks for your advise! We might go with Photographer B because we feel more comfortable with her. Her work is also wonderful. You can see a difference in each of the photographer's work.

[WakingLife]

I had almost the exact same situation. I ended up going with the "less personable" photographer. It was interesting because at the wedding, he was much better. I think he was uncomfortable during the meeting because the focus was completely on him...but he was great when the focus was on "the event".

I think it comes down to who's portfolio you like better and also the photography style. Do you want a candid style, a artsy style, a posed-picture style? There are really a lot of photography philosophies that reflect in the pictures.

[wvuturtle514]

Wow....I'm glad I'm not the only one planning a wedding while going through school! My wedding date is Sept. 8, 2007 and I'm already pulling my hair out and wondering if I have a death-wish for myself. Anyways, I got really lucky and we have a very good friend of the family who is a professional photographer. He is doing our rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception, 45 5x7 photos and a disk with ALL the proofs taken for $450!! I would go with the photographer whose work you like best. If you can afford the more expensive photographer and you really like her work and her personality, then I say go for it. I'm already having a hard time keeping my wedding under budget....haha! Best wishes to you!!

[Flipballin80]

Can you send your photographer across the country to California after your wedding!!???!!! J/K!!!! I actually posponed my application to NA school because I didn't want to start a program and have to worry about school at the same time. So I'm gonna get married and apply for school right after so I can enjoy one year of married life before the walls of education come down on me for the last time!! Anyways, Good luck with all the wedding stuff. I know it's hard. My fiancee is actually doing about 90% of the planning. Okay, she's doing 95% of the planning, hahahaha. I'm just here to say "yes dear, That looks good dear." But I had strong opinions on photographer B, which actually took my fiancee by surprise. We like photographer B's artsy/candid/fun style. Plus, we seem to vibe with her more and I hope it shows in our wedding photos.

Thanks for all the advise!!! My fiancee and I really appreciate it!

Ron :laufband: