Photographer ££££

Yes, it is a lot of money, BUT, if it makes you smile every single time you look at one of those photos, because you have an image of you that you want, then it is worth every penny.

But only if you can afford it. You sound as though you can, and that it is actually quite high up on your list of priorities, so I would say do it, love it, and enjoy the results for ever.

You will always have something to show for this £2500. There are many aspects of a wedding that cost the same amount, or more, that will be long forgotten about in a relatively short period of time!

My sister had a cheap photographer who left her with some not-very-good pictures. She says if she could have changed one thing about her wedding, it would have been a better tog.

The moral of that story is, if you can afford to spend money on a great photographer, do it. The pictures will remain long after your memory fades.

Have you contacted them both to see if they are available on your date? The decision may be out of your hands if they are already booked.

Assuming they are both available, if you love the £2.5k tog and can afford them, you should go for it IMO or you'll forever wonder what might have been.

No matter what the price tag still always always always do your research- make sure you see full galleries and love the work as much as you did first time around. Portfolio images are not always a good indicator of an over all style, so have a good look through and make sure you're happy with everything. Also have a good chat at some point and make sure you have a rapport of some sort. Someone you can chat to freely is someone you'll probably feel far more relaxed with, which plays a big part in creating beautiful photos.

Best of luck making a decision, let us know if there's anything else we can help with ?

I'm paying £950 for our tog and his photos are amazing. I've seen the same qualiity as someone who charges double. I don't really see how much better you can get for the extra £1.5k? I think that's a lot when you're not even getting an album out of it.

Having said that we all have something we won't compromise on and if you absolutely love this tog and nobody else will compare then you don't want to regret not having the one thing you really wanted.

You can find photographers offering similar packages for anything between £500 and £3000+. I think you answered the question yourself - it's pretty clear that your heart is set on this one specific photographer, so I think that's the one you should go for. £1500 is still a lot of money, especially if it's not quite what you REALLY want. Go with your gut feeling ?

Hope this helps.

Andy

Photography is one of those things that is relative really. When we were looking for ours, there were people around the £3K mark who we didn't think much of and others who were nearer £1k who's style we loved. Sometimes pricing isn't a reflection of quality, but a reflection of the demand for that particular TOG. If they're turning bookings down left right and centre because lots of people are currently looking for the style they offer, they'll be priced higher than someone who may be technically equal, but offering a different style, if that makes sense?

For me personally photos are only second to the actual ceremony in terms of prioritising costs. I would rather make savings with food, or my dress (I've got a £35 copy from ebay that I will alter myself, and if it doesn't work I have a lovely burgundy frock I bought from a friend), or decorations and venue. Photography is a passion of mine, and long before I met the OH I knew I was going to have a friend's hubby take my wedding pictures. I love his style and I know he will make the day look amazing.

It's costing £1100, and that's with a couple of extras thrown in, but I can't take the chance of going cheaper and risking not having the same quality, style or composition etc. OH nearly hit the roof when I told him how much it was. He can't get round it being a quarter of the total cost, and feels there are much better things to spend the money on. Memories will fade. People will forget what they ate, what the venue looked like, and will think the bride looked gorgeous now matter how much the dress cost, but photos will always bring the day back and are the only lasting thing to remind you. I have compromised on a lot of things for our day, but the tog isn't one of them, and OH has accepted he has no say in it.

Yes, £2500 is a huge amount of money, but you do get 2 people, and peace of mind it's what you want. We will get everything that is taken (around 500 images), and will be able to print somewhere ourselves, so I can get that done a lot cheaper and can crop to my liking. If you can afford it, go for it. You will only be wondering 'what if' if you go for someone cheaper that you aren't so sure of. Even if the photos are still excellent, they will probably not be in the style you love from your first choice. I am scrimping away every penny I can to be able to afford my tog, even digging stuff out the loft to sell to boost the kitty lol. It's tight, but do-able.

Good luck xx

Our tog is costing us around £2k inc an assistant tog, and same as you digital images instead of an album.

It is nearly double our initial TOG budget and I haven't quite decided where we'll cut back to recoup the costs, but I realised very early on that Photos were very important to me and as someone said 2nd on my list only to the ceremony. We're not having a VOG as opted to spend more on photos then try and split the budget between TOG and VOG , and after seeing the photos provided to my friend when he did their wedding a few months previously I was pretty much sold. I'm about as photogenic as a rock so it was important to me that I had a TOG that would put me at ease so it was easily worth the extra money in comparison to the others whose photos were nice, but I didn't get the same feel from them as a person.

Sorry, I'm rambling - what I'm trying to say is if you've found a TOG that you LOVE compared for others you like, you'll probably always wonder if you made the right choice if you don't go with your gut.

Unless you see full galleries from each tog you can't really compare the two.

There's great photographers at all price brackets in direct relation to expectation.

And there's some who just charge a crazy amount because they can.

I was watching a sales thing the other day which covered the issue of price. The guy said that when an average wedding guest costs a couple £300. You only have to invite a few less to cover the cost.

I don't completely agree with it, but it has a ring of truth to it. You see expensive weddings with 100+ people in and they have a £800 tog. Values and all that.

I think in one way you're lucky because you have a budget of 1.5 to 2.5k which will get you someone good. So either way you should be a winner!

My feeling is that if you can tell the difference between your 1st 2nd & 3rd choices go with the one you prefer regardless of cost. However, you need to meet at least two of them. It's possible that when you meet them you might prefer the cheaper one! Our work alone is not the only criteria for selection, people choose photographers for their personalities as well.

If you have doubts now, don't have them on the day.

^^^^^ Took the words out of my mouth. Do your research and look at full galleries, there are so many photographers just showing their best 20 photos online but when you see a full gallery its a real let down, take your time and research well and you should be ok and if you need anyone to look over the photographers for you for piece of mind then I will if you want even though it sounds like you are pretty clued up to what you want?

I agree with Sam&Louise, go with who you love.

See full galleries of their work to see what a full day would look like. If I was to marry my Husband now, I know exactly who the Photographer would be and would make cutbacks elsewhere to get him.

Would love to know who it was ?

Thanks so much everyone. Both are free on our date, have met one in person and spoke to the other over the phone. Both sound lovely and our kind of people...and second favourite their photos are also fab it's just my fave has a slight different style that I just haven't seen elsewhere? I've done a fair bit of research so I'm confident in my choice.

I don't think it's fair to name both but my fave is Dottie photography. Kind of hope she doesn't see this though hehe.

I think I need to go with my heart as you've all said...better start finding other areas to save the pennies hehe x

She's very distinctive! I think stretch and go for it, you'll look at those for the rest of your life and you'd earn the price difference between you and OH within a month so it evens out!

Which area are you in??? To give you a greater choice selection of togs so that you can make a better informed choice, knowing this will enable brides to post their togs urls....

There are many fantastic togs who stay under the radar who are gems if you can find them.....

hth

Peter

I would take Peter's advice above.

You have to go with your gut. No regrets girl!

I used these guys: www.nakenagency.com

They're a small London based agency, they mostly shoot fashion but they also do events. They don't display these images on the website, but if you email them, they can show you examples of their event photos.

I am also self conscious, but I was super happy with the result. I think maybe because they work in fashion they know how to make the model/bride look her best. If that makes sense..

And the best part is that they're very open with your budget, so just approach them with a number you're happy with and they will work around your budget. At least that's what they did with me

Good luck!

.

Don't confuse professional models with brides on wedding days...chalk and cheese. Fashion photography and wedding photography is very different and only a few can move between the crafts..... I would be honestly interested to see a link to your wedding photos as their website doesn't show any......

Welcome to the forum btw

Peter

Peter, the Naken Agency website was launched only this November.

I say go for it too, you'll soon forget the cost in the grand scheme of things, but you will coo over the pictures forever!

UPDATE ****

I have booked Dottie! Feel so relieved that she isn't booked up so i'm happy I've made the right decision. I'll just have to find other areas to make room in the budget.

Thanks so much for everyone's advice!

You've done the right choice! She's fab. Congrats! ?