Should You Let Friends Or Relatives Photograph Your Wedding?

What Do You Do When Good, Old Uncle Charlie (or Cousin Amy) Offers to Photograph Your Wedding?

Weddings are family affairs, so it isn't unusual for family members to volunteer. The bride's brother, Jim, driving the limousine, cousin Mike parking the cars at the reception and Aunt Mary assisting during the dress fittings are gladly welcomed and appreciated, but should you accept family members' offers to provide the most important services for your wedding: photography, dresses, cake, flowers, food, music, etc? The answer to that question could be yes, if, for example, Uncle Charlie has made a very good living as a professional wedding photographer his entire life; and, in that case, lucky you. (Don't wait for him to offer and tell him you expect him to charge you almost nothing, as a wedding gift.)

Most brides and grooms don't have an Uncle Charlie that is a highly experienced wedding photographer; instead, their Uncle Charlies are snapshot takers or, at best, amateur photographers. Charlie may even have the right equipment and some experience with it, but that doesn't qualify him to photograph your wedding. He probably takes pictures during his vacation and at other family gatherings where he can take as many pictures as he wants and a second one if he doesn't like the first.

There aren't many opportunities for photography "do-overs" at your wedding, however. You walk the aisle for the first time as husband and wife only once — and your wedding photographer must have the experience, confidence and cool to capture that important memory (and many others) as it happens.

Only a professional wedding photographer has the eye for the art of photography, the skills to use the equipment to reproduce what the eye sees, and the training and experience in the process of photographing a wedding. Choosing a professional wedding photographer with all those qualities and credential makes you a smart consumer because you know his or her work will equal or exceed the value of the cost.

An even better consumer decision is to find your perfect wedding photographer at a multi-photographer studio. Now, you have the freedom to choose the photographer that matches the type or style of your wedding (which is way outside Uncle Charlie's range). Plus, you're more likely to be able to schedule your chosen photographer on your preferred date.

It may not be easy to tell Uncle Charlie that, although you appreciate his offer to photograph your wedding, you've decided to hire a professional from a multi-photographer studio. Tell him that he, you and everyone will be happier with the results and enjoy those memories longer because of the quality of a proven professional's work.