A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As someone who is getting married, it is something that you will want to remember for the rest of your life, because it represents the beginning of a lifetime commitment to someone that you truly love, and who truly loves you back in return. It is only natural that you want something physical to remember the special occasion many years after it has happened, and photographs are the perfect way to do just that.
Photographs capture not just the event itself, but the emotions behind the event. With every photograph that is taken, you are given a story about your special day, including what happened, how you and your spouse felt during the event, as well as the happenings and emotions of all of your friends and family who attended to celebrate the special day with you.
However, just because we all have the ability to take relatively decent pictures on our cell phones, that is no substitute for having a professional wedding photographer to capture all of the priceless moments at your wedding. In fact, even people with professional cameras may beg to differ on this, but even with the best equipment around, you need someone who really knows how to use it to capture everything at your wedding.
While a wedding photographer is someone who obviously knows how to use their camera on a basic level, what separates them from other “amateur” photographers is the fact that they have an artistic side to them that has been honed through many years of taking photographs. And not just taking photographs in their spare time on the weekends like most amateurs can attest to, but by taking photographs on a daily basis, as their livelihood and main source of income.
A wedding photographer also has the added benefit of having experience with weddings in particular, as compared to other professional photographers who might be more specialized in nature or some other genre of photography. Having that specialized experience can only help as the photographer makes his rounds and captures everything, from the basic posed pictures of the bride and groom with their guests, to the candid photos that will really capture the emotions of the day.
Although you (or someone in your family or group of friends) may think that you can get by with an amateur photography taking photos at your wedding, it is simply something that you should not be willing to risk. There are no do-overs when it comes to your wedding, and as each moment throughout the day passes by, it is gone forever, only preserved through the photographs that your photographer ends up taking. So if you end up hiring an amateur photographer (perhaps to save money), whatever pictures they produce for you are permanent and final. And if they aren’t up to your understandably high standards for such a momentous occasion, well there is unfortunately nothing you can do about it.
And that is why no matter what your budget looks like, or how much your friend or family wants to take on photography duties, you need to commit to a professional wedding photographer. You only get one shot to capture all of the memories that you will look back on for the rest of your life – it only makes sense to get the absolute best person for that all-important job.