(Conclusion - Planning Your "Picture Perfect" Wedding
| CONTRACT: Sign a contract with whomever you select as your wedding photographer. Although most competent professionals will require you to commit to their services via a wedding contract; this is something YOU should demand! It is for YOUR protection. It ensures that the photographer will be at your wedding on the date, time, and place you so indicate. Items such as travel and additional time should be covered in the contract.. Ask if there is an additional charge if your reception is in another city? Be sure the time for your photographer to arrive and leave is spelled out. Some professionals work on an "A-La-Carte" or combination order basis. This allows the bride and groom and family members to select photographs after the wedding with a certain minimum obligation. This is a good plan for those couples who can't tell before the wedding which photographs they are going to want. A combination album (3-1/2 x 5's, 5 x 5's, 5 x 7's, and 8x10's) of different sizes is always an alternative, and can be ordered at a later time. On this type of coverage, be sure the individual prices for different size prints are in your wedding contract. Last of all, if you have contracted with a studio that offers you a "Package Deal," be sure you know exactly what is included. Do not wait until after your wedding to say, "I thought I got a free album, portrait, etc." Have it spelled out "in writing" exactly what you will receive. |
COST: Although cost is important, it should not be your primary concern when selecting a photographer. As previously stated, when most brides call a photographer their first question is, "How much are your wedding packages?" What they really want to know is, "How can I get the best photography that my money can buy?" A wise man once wrote, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price has been forgotten." There is nothing someone makes that someone else cannot make and sell cheaper. The most expensive is not always the best, and the cheapest in the long run could turn out to be the most expensive. You must first determine just how important wedding photographs are to you, keeping in mind that after the wedding they are all you have left to remember your special day. The food has been eaten, the flowers have died, and your dress is stuffed in your mother's storage closet. Like any purchase with lasting value, you should spend as much as you can afford. By using the above 6 C's and create one more: Confidence. This is the confidence that you have made the right choice in selecting the photographer for your "Picture Perfect Wedding." Best wishes for a wonderful life together. |
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About the Authors: Ed and Jo Alexander, owners of Alexander's Photography, have been in business since 1964. Ed is a Master of Photography, a Photographic Craftsman and a Certified Professional Photographer. He is the current President of the Texas Professional Photographers Association. Jo is a Photographic Craftsman . Both are active in their local and state professional photographic organizations and actively support their fellow professional photographers. |