One less thing you need to stress about
Amongst my social group, destination weddings appear to be a popular alternative to a traditional wedding at home. Destination weddings can easily save the bride and groom thousands; especially if they are capable of finding a location that is more affordable. With my wedding still over a year away, I am considering every option to keep my costs as low as possible.
A few months ago I was having lunch with Randy Alvarez, Spent Magazine’s Editor, discussing my wedding budget. At the time we were sharing a table at a ramen restaurant with other diners. I told Randy my initial plan was to buy a brand new DSLR and have guests take turns passing the camera around. I figure if I was going to pay $2,000 for a wedding photographer, I might as well get a brand new camera, with an additional lens, that I can use moving forward.
Randy agreed that purchasing a new camera instead of paying a photographer $2,000 for one day’s work was a great idea. Unfortunately, our conversation was attracting a lot of attention from other customers. One person in particular was hoping to jump into our conversation. She was able to get my attention, and she politely told me that she was a wedding photographer. I was initially embarrassed, as another customer was laughing/choking on his noodles; however, I refused to apologize for my thoughts regarding wedding photographers.
The premiums freelance professionals add to an event, just because it is a wedding, is unethical. The wedding photographer agreed that the quotes I was given were steep; however, I was reluctant when she informed me that she would charge $1,000 for her services. I explained that I wasn’t getting married locally and I wasn’t looking for a photographer.
This past weekend, my fiancé and I spent a nice relaxing weekend in Portland, Oregon. We packed our DSLR camera and we only managed to take 5 pictures over a 5 day long weekend. I have found with every passing vacation, I am less interested in taking photos and more interested living in the moment. With this conclusion, I am now contemplating the most ideal solution for a photographer.
We are planning a 2 month honeymoon; therefore, lugging around a camera case can be a nuisance; especially, if we aren’t going to use it as much. Therefore, we are now considering other available options. With the current standard of cameras on smartphones, all you need is your phone for travel photos; however, I know my fiancé might not love the idea of our wedding photos being produced exclusively by smartphone cameras.
Fortunately I came across Flytographer http://www.flytographer.com, which has freelance photographers within various locations around the world. They promote vacation photography with set prices per time period, locations, and # of photos. They have photographers in Lisbon (beneficial for me), which gives me the option to book two 30 or 45 minute sessions if I want to.
For the record, I am not a fan of wedding photos. Most photographers have preset ridiculous poses that they force the wedding party to do, and they are almost always cheesy and fake. I prefer candid photos where a photographer can truly capture the raw emotion of the event. A benefit of using Flytographer is that the photographers have a set price, with additional options if you wish extend locations, pictures, and/or time.
The less you spend on your big day, the more money you will have in your bank account when you start your new life together. Anyone planning to get married should seriously look for the best value and not blindly commit to the first professional that gives them a quote.
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