Friend as a tog?

Just to throw my opinion in the mix....I didnt search wedding photographers. I knew one, booked them, end off. I trusted & liked the person.

Looking back...and yes I love my photo's..... I just feel some things were missing.

This is quite a 'new' professional who has done approx 100 - 150 weddings. There are loads of me & OH (as there should be) but eg none of say me & my bro etc.

I didnt give a list of what I wanted (indeed, never being married before I went with suppliers I trusted & exoected their expertise) and on the day, which flies in & there are constantly photos being taken, I didnt really consider that anything had been left 'un-turned'.

So whilst I love my pictures, I dont feel they truely represent my day in all its glory. Do I wish I had searched more photographers more thoroughly, ie skills, a team as opposed to a lone photgrapher etc? Absolutely.

Im very very fortunate that I also got a video which I adore. Its amazing & so perfect. I dare say it will be watched more than what our abum will be flicked through.

Hence the "adequate supervision and training." Given my job, I'm only too aware of how awfully things can go wrong if someone thinks they are more knowledgable/skilled than they really are.

I AM having an amateur photographer. So far the responses I've had on here and elsewhere on the net have been similar to what I'd expect if I'd mentioned that I was planning ritual baby sacrifice at the ceremony. Personally, I don't think I'm taking that much of a risk, and if I am, it's one I'm willing to take. Others may, of course, differ.

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Helenia, sorry but the ritual baby sacrifice comment made me giggle. At the end of the day, it's each to their own. If you're willing to take the gamble, and you feel it's the best option for you, good on you. I'm just indecisive in everything I do, so this is not an easy decision for me at all!

This was actually one of the hardest decisions we made, and took a lot of agonising, so I'm not just being flippant and overconfident, which I appreciate my previous message may have sounded. My initial feeling was that it was crazy to use an amateur photographer (OH's brother) and that was backed up by what I read on most websites. I spent a lot of time researching photographers and talking to loads of them at wedding fairs. OH and I had several arguments about it as he thought it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend (before any of the photographers on here jump down my throat, I am well aware of why you charge the amounts you do and am not belittling your work!).

Eventually, as a compromise with him, I agreed to look at his brother's work, which included several weddings of friends, both where he'd just been snapping as a guest and where he'd been the "official" photographer, and talked to him about my concerns. I'd already done a mini shoot with him a few years back to get portraits of myself and my sister for my parents' wedding anniversary and had loved the results of that. In the end, all my concerns just went away, and I realised that he would actually do a brilliant job.

Sure, they might not be quite as perfect as if we had a professional, but I'm not getting married to have a perfect coffee table wedding album. My priorities are to have a fantastic day to celebrate our commitment and for all my friends and family to enjoy themselves. Of course I want some nice pictures to remember it by, but the most important pictures will be in my head. I don't want to spend the day ensuring that I've got all the "important" shots, and I trust BIL2B to catch everything that matters to us. So, while I don't think it's the right option for everyone, I don't think it's the absolute disaster zone that plenty of people would imply.