10 Reasons to Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer

As you go about planning your dream wedding, there's bound to be a checklist of items you need to complete before the big day. Set a date, find a venue, send out invitations. One of those items that might be on your list is whether or not you should hire a professional wedding photographer. You might be tempted to hire someone with little to no experience to save some cash, or you might know a friend who will do it for a discount. As great as that might sound, here are ten reasons why it's worth it to hire a professional photographer.

1. Less Stress Overall
Your wedding day is meant to be one of the most special days of your entire life. Having a professional means that you can rest easy knowing that they are on top of it. They take professional photographs for a living so they know what lighting to use, the best angles, and what shots will make their clients happy. With an amateur, you're more likely to be stressed about what they're doing and if they can accurately capture a day that you will remember forever. You already have enough stress with a wedding. Why add another item to stress about?

2. You Want Experience and Someone with Reviews
With a professional, you'll be able to see what other couples thought about that photographer. This means that a professional will more than likely have client testimonials or reviews so you can see their past work. Client testimonials here are important - you can read what other couples have said and start to get an idea about what working with this person would look like. Someone who doesn't do this for a living is not going to be able to give you that so you're more likely to be taking a chance on something really important.



3. You Only Get One Shot (No Pun Intended!)
You only get one chance to make your wedding day everything you've ever dreamed about. If your photos look like something out of nightmare rather than your ultimate dream, how are you going to feel?

4. It's Better to Splurge on the Big Things
It's likely when you're planning your wedding, you are looking for ways to save some money and there are definitely ways you can do that. Do you need the $500 a piece table settings, or can you find something comparable? Should you buy the designer wedding dress or is there a smaller boutique that could still sell the dress of your dreams? There are certain details about your wedding day that your guests won't even notice were done at a discount. No one is going to point out that your flowers didn't cost more than your mortgage. But what people will notice is the quality of your wedding photos. And so will you! It's better to look back on your wedding photos and know that spending the extra money was worth it because you have high quality images of a day you'll always remember. Which brings us to number 5...

5. Your Wedding Photographs Will Last Forever
Imagine in 40 years your grandkids are looking through your wedding album and the photos are blurry or poor quality. Instead of seeing the most special day of your life the way it was meant to be captured, they only see a resemblance of what it could have been. The photos of your wedding will last forever. You will always have photographic evidence that this special day occurred. Would you rather that the photographs be "just ok" or a beautiful visual of your love?



6. You Want Someone with a Back-up Plan
Sometimes things happen and there might be a small hiccup on your wedding day. The weather could act up, forcing you to make a last minute venue change, or maybe not everyone is on their best behavior. Professional photographers are used to things not always going smoothly, which means they're going to know how to adapt and change with the situation. All while still being able to provide beautiful photographs.

7. Professional Photographers have a Portfolio
Along with reviews and testimonials, a professional is going to have a visual portfolio for you to see. You can see their past work and determine if their style of photography is what you're looking for. This is helpful because you can picture what your special day will look like based on their past work. Anyone who doesn't do this for a living is not always going to be able to provide that so you won't actually know what you're getting.

8. You never want to say "What if"
Really think about this one. When everything is said and done, is this something you want to look back on and say "I should have hired a professional. My memories of this special day don't capture how beautiful it really was?" You are going to want to know that you did everything that you could to ensure that the memory of your wedding day will look picture perfect for the rest of time.



9. You will be able to buy prints
Maybe you want to send out custom thank you cards or buy some prints for you to put up around your home. A professional photographer will be able to create and print any size or type of photo you're looking for. Even if they don't print themselves they will know someone that can help you purchase exactly what you want.

10. It's all you will have Afterwards
Once the dust has settled and the honeymoon is over, the only real living proof of your wedding is the photographs. The cake is gone, the flowers have died, and your wedding dress is hanging up. You should have peace of mind knowing that those memories look their absolute best. Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of eternity. There's nothing more beautiful than that.