If you're a bride that doesn't really care about wedding photos, is on an extremely tight budget, or has some valid reason not to hire a seasoned wedding photographer then you may skip this article.
For the rest, I want to explain why they're the most important vendor of them all.
Photographs are the most cherished possessions a bride and groom will hold on to after the conclusion of their wedding day.
Its the lasting memory of the start of two lives joined into one.
Photos that also depict two families becoming one.
Moments that are priceless if ever lost.
As to why clients gamble with this by having a relative just to save money is mind blowing.
While I am a wedding photographer in Hawaii I'm not trying to being bias when I say hiring a seasoned wedding photographer should be the most important vender you go with.
It's just from past experience I've realized how the role of a wedding photographer has evolved.
As you may have noticed, I have used the term "Seasoned" instead of "Professional.
" The reason being everyone claims themselves to be professional photographers.
The term "professional" these days seems to be used as an advertising slogan to get people to bite into their so called professional status.
With the digital age, anyone can take professional quality photos, but not everyone can handle the wedding day responsibilities that come with being the photographer of a wedding.
This is why I classify a seasoned wedding photographer as one who not only knows how to take amazing photographs but also knows how to manage the wedding day itself.
A season wedding photographer prepares for the wedding day in advance, knows hows to take photos needed to fulfill a wedding album without being obtrusive, knows how to relate on a personal level with the bride and groom should anything negative occur throughout the day, and is able to make critical adjustments when obstacles present themselves all at the same time.
You see, the photographer has the most critical role while every other vendor works in the background.
The photographer is the only vendor that interacts with Bride and Groom constantly throughout the entire wedding day.
The photographer plays a director role pre-ceremony, post-ceremony, and pre-reception.
It's the responsibility to keep the Bride and Groom busy with taking photos while friends and family are mingling during cocktail hour.
Its their role to make sure everyone gets a photo with the newlyweds.
The list goes on from there.
So while you don't have to hire the most decorated wedding photographer in your area.
Be sure to hire a someone who at a minimum possesses the qualities I've listed above.
Your photographer is not only there to take photos, they're there to guide you throughout your day, and most of all they're there to be your friend when you're in need.