Wedding Planning Ideas

Your wedding photography is arguably one of the most important wedding planning decisions you will make as a bride – after all, once the plates are cleared and the flowers die – all you’ll have left of your wedding day is the photographs. Bottom line – scrimp on photography, and you’ll regret it forever.

You should plan to allocate a significant portion of your wedding budget to ensure photographs are perfect. Expect to spend at least $1000 on a professional wedding photographer to document your event. Albums and prints are usually extra. Other extras that may increase your bottom line include additional hours, additional photographers, custom albums etc. etc. Add on too many extras – and your photography budget could quickly creep to $5000 and beyond!

Before you panic, remember that just like every other element in your wedding day, there are ways to save on wedding photography without sacrificing on quality. Save on wedding photography with these photography budget tips:

Cut the Extras
Purchase a basic wedding photography package from a skilled photographer. By paying for the photographer’s expertise only, you will ensure great images – and you’ll buy yourself some time to save up for the custom album and prints after the wedding.

Get the Proofs
To that end, try to find a photographer who will let you keep the proofs. Many photographers consider themselves to be photographers only – artists not in the business of selling photographs. After the big day, they’ll hand over your proofs and be on their way. They’re yours to keep – you can print them in any manner you please or save them for printing after you’ve saved up some cash.

Enter the Digital Age
Digital photography is less costly than film, and with technological advances in equipment – digital images are no longer a sacrifice in quality. Many photographers have taken the digital plunge – which results in savings for you!

Cut the Timeline
The longer your event, the more it will cost to document it. Since photographers often charge based on the number of hours they will spend at your wedding, a shorter/smaller wedding celebration will yield big savings in your photography budget.

Do Your Research
This sounds like a given, but you will find that a number of photographers in your area offer similar skill levels and packages – yet varying prices. We’re not saying to go on price alone, but definitely take your time to shop around and REALLY compare what you are getting. Determine the skill level, photography style and products that suit your needs, and then shop for the wedding photographer who meets your requirements and budget.

For a complete guide to keeping your sanity while creating an elegant and memorable wedding celebration, visit http://www.elegala.com, your ultimate wedding planning resource.

Cori Locklin is editor-in-chief for http://www.elegala.com and Elegala Magazine. Elegala is a new wedding planning resource offering the most comprehensive portfolio of superior wedding reception sites and wedding vendors, with the planning tips to keep brides in the know on today’s planning trends and styles.

When selecting your wedding photographer you will inevitably have to decide whether you want your images captured using film or digital cameras. Both are capable of wonderful results, but the debate rages on as to which is “better”, which will last longer and finally, would you even be able to tell the difference. There are many factors which come into play and I’ll try to go over some of the most common misconceptions about digital wedding coverage and why I made the transition to all-digital wedding coverage three years ago.

Many falsehoods are circulated on various wedding chatboards where one person blurts out an unsubstantiated opinion and somehow this becomes “chatboard gospel”. One of my favorites is: “digital photographs aren’t as crisp and vibrant as those made with a film camera”. This can certainly be true, if the photograph was made with a two megapixel point and shoot camera and the image printed out on an inexpensive desktop inkjet printer. However, a qualified professional will most likely be using what’s known as a digital single-lens reflex camera, or DSLR, with an average of 8 megapixels and perhaps even more. These cameras, manufactured by such well-known companies as Canon and Nikon are more than capable of producing wonderfully crisp enlargements of sixteen by twenty inches and beyond. While inkjet prints may be fine for family vacation shots, I much prefer to have digital album photographs printed by a professional processing lab. The digital printer used by a pro lab is an extremely expensive and specialized piece of equipment. The prints are made on actual photographic paper and should enjoy a long fade-free life given proper care. Ask your photographer to show you some samples. You won’t be disappointed.

Digital wedding photos are becoming much more prevalant due to quickly evolving technology and advancements in image storage capability. Film has been around for more than 100 years but is rapidly fading in popularity. I was reluctant to provide full digital coverage for my clients until I was confident that the finished product could meet or exceed that which I could deliver using film. I’ve seen the wonderful results from my digital gear and nothing could convince me to go back to film. Other market factors influenced my decision, such as long-time medium format camera manufacturer Bronica discontinuing US availability for a number of products and Canon’s recent announcement indicating that they may halt future development of their film camera line.

There are many advantages for the Bride and Groom when they choose an all-digital photographer. Some of these include the ability for online posting of their wedding photos, conversion of images from color to black and white or antique sepia tones and the ability to have the photos placed on a CD or DVD for easy storage. From your photographer’s perspective, starting with a digital file allows for superior image retouching and corrections when necessary. Additionally, the larger storage capabilities of a digital camera allow the photographer to shoot more images, giving the client a greater selection when it comes time to assemble the wedding album.

Andy Heller is the owner/operator of Heller Photography, http://www.hellerphoto.com specializing in Boston Wedding Photography and social events throughout Massachusetts since 1987. He can be reached at 508-668-4277 or by email: andy@hellerphoto.com