I have photographers who could cut me a deal, but I'd rather spend my money on the honeymoon, and my future with that person. I feel like the more pricey the wedding, the more stressful.

I agree, those photographer's photos are a thousand times better, but it kinda seems like the point of this post is to explain that photos are the most important part of the wedding. They are a nice plus, but to some they are more important than others.

A friend took a dozen photos of our wedding. Good enough. I was there for my wife, not photos.

Somehow I like the photos from guests more. Yes, the photos from the photographer are really beautiful and have a lot more quality but the guest's photos are more personal, more realistic and more "out of life". Also like other said before: photos aren't the most important thing of a wedding, it is the love (and maybe the food ;))

Ummm, all that's left is the marriage.

if your guest happens to be a professional photographer then double win

I agree with the comments that it's about about the photography. Hell, of course I want wedding photographers to make their dough. But people put so much pressure on themselves to have perfect photos that it's pathetic. I went to about 50 weddings in my 20s and 30s (i won't even go into the second and third and fourth marriages I went to in my 40s) and all I can say is that I have exactly 18 photos from my parent's wedding in 1972 and they were all taken with a boring Kodak and not a single 8x10. When you have those few images instead of 100 or more and they was just happiness in every shot, not planned not posed, you feel like a million bucks. Sure, get them professionally done, I think if you have the money it's nice. I got married and had normal photos with a semi-professional photographer who was a family friend and we were happy; no need for Cartier-Bresson finishing. I feel like a sh*t also saying- every high priced super expensive wedding I went to: they are all divorced.

The cost of weddings is completely out of hand. Sadly, people hardly blink an eye at spending huge amounts on engraved napkins but then they want to cut costs by using friends and family to do the professional services like photography, music, the cake. Either way, professional or amateur, you could have results you love or results you'll regret. Sadly, there's no guarantee. We were married in 2007 and DID use a professional photographer, who happened to be a family member. His pictures were technically beautiful, but they all look so still and formal and very old fashioned poses. During the photo session, I would say I wanted a picture of all of us doing this or that in casual and fun poses and he just didn't want to do it, snapping a quick pick to make me happy. Meanwhile, our friends and family snapped away on their own cameras. So, we had back to back comparisons of the same poses and the differences were too minimal to even notice. The amateurs shots were gorgeous too!

You can re-create any of these photos with a cell phone and a few filters. Wedding photogs get over yourselves.

I didn't have a pro 24 years ago. Just friends and family who took 15 - 24 exposes disposable cameras and filled them with wonderful pics that no pro would ever get. Those are the memories i want, not me and my spouse standing in some nameless field looking unnatural.

The professional's photos are beautiful but I think the ones taken by the guests make the moments seem more real and spontaneous and show the character of the people more. They're more fun to look at anyway!

I agree with OP here: Photos are important. I'd totally downgrade on the wedding dress or on the food or some other fancy display to get some nice photographs. Because those details will be forgotten in the long run, but I'll still be looking at the photos years later.

I remember a wedding where the couple bought a couple hundred disposable cameras and distributed them to all the guests to take pictures during the reception. At the end, as you left, you just tossed the camera into a large bin with all the others. I imagine they got some good pictures, but, wow, they probably got tons of c**p too. A pro would have been a lot cheaper, I'll bet.

I wasn't planning on having a photographer, but our parents want updated, nice family photos because it isn't everyday that we are all in the same place. Not just my parents and sister, but Aunts, uncles, cousins etc. We have busy lives and live all over. It has been over 10 years since my fathers side of the family has had a family photo taken. I also had mentioned that my guests could take photos, but I don't want anyone to feel obligated to, and they are my guests so they should enjoy the day, and not watch it through a lens. So I found a professional who my fiance and I were comfortable with and I am happy that I did. My wedding is also not expensive at all, at least compared to what is normal these days. Everything will be paid for by the end of my wedding day.

Weddings can be ridiculously expensive. And for what...one day?! By having your guests take pics, you get to experience the day through their eyes. It makes it more personal, too, I think.

If all that is left today are the photos, that's kind of sad. I agree that if you care about having high-quality photos, you ought to hire a professional but don't just take it for granted that wedding photos are something of universal value and every human being needs them. Plenty of people don't need a wedding in the first place.

I am pretty sure you still have eachother left not just the photos. Also, when you are both dead the majority of your photos will probably just be thrown away. Sad truth. This is a bad article with annoyingly stupid advice to splurge with money that should be invested in the future, not the past.

you want to remember for the moment the participants will remeber of grainy pictures too who werent participants of a wedding they wont feel better by master photoghraps if you want really special then hire an artist, give a picture then an artist can paint something unique, no camera can capture

That's really a good set of wedding photographs and without them your wedding event wouldn't be complete because wedding is a part of our life which happens only once in our life time so that we have to save those memories by hiring a professional wedding photographer - https://bhalajephotography.com/

Dose it matter what other people choose to do. The cost of hiring a photographer might be too much for some people. So should they be told that they should. No. My friend did not have a wedding photographer and she got some great images. It the persons choice

Yous just got M. Night Shyamalan'd

I'd advise people to hire student photographers or young people in training who need experience but still have skill. they'll usually do it for free or for food and drink or just a small fee at most because they'll be seeking to build their portfolios too!

But the shots taken by the guests are more meaningful, taken by people who know and care about them, also I'm 100% sure at least one guest could take great shots given or allowed to take a good camera, even on a mobile. Professional photos are nice of course but the photographer is there for the money only.

I think the photos taken by the guests are more special. The quality might not be as good, but I expected way worse! Those people know you and the pictures are even more personal to me.

"All that's left today are the photos"... and, i would hope, their relationship...???!

This is the saddest thing I read from the above: “All I know from the experience of getting married is that all that is left today is the photos”.

Yes, quite the contrast: Now they look like everyone else's wedding photos, all prettified and every scrap of individuality gone.

This is such bs, we had no wedding photographer and you know what we did have instead? A f*****g fabulous time, thank you very much

I don't see anything wrong with the pictures that the guests shot.