Photography on a budget?

I agree, Ashntommmy. I just had my taxes filed last night and was sooo upset to find out that I have no money left over once I pay a debt I have to pay. I was hoping like mad to have money to put towards a photographer, but I don't.

My saving graces are that another set of good friends just MIGHT come too and I can trust Eric to take some great pictures for me, AND I've met some other people on the CTI board who will be there at the time we are and I will be bringing some extra digital cameras with me and passing those out to those people who are willing to use them for me.

I really really appreciate Molly229's post too. That made me feel better.

This thread has helped me a bunch! Thanks to everyone! We're getting married at CSS on 5/28/2011 and professional pics are much more important to me than they are to my fiancee. We are on a tight budget though so we have to prioritize. I'm with Molly, I really just want something nice to frame and maybe some extras for family. I definitely won't spend a lot of time flipping through an album. :)

I've had the same thoughts about this and agree that it is a difficult decision. Like Molly229, we are also "secondtimers" in our 40's. I am guessing quite a few couples who get married this way are too . I think that makes us more cautious about our cash plus we have learnt lessons in the past about the wedding industry and what the important things are . My other big decision was my dress. There are such lovely "destination wedding " dresses in the photos people have posted and nothing similar in my local shops. Plus spending huge sums on a wedding dress really does seem an extravagance when money is needed for setting up home .

Molly - I think you have just made my mind up too.

Hope your wedding @ CSA was beautiful - maybe when you are home and settled you could post a few of the pics!

I'm getting married at CSA on 5th May - less than 12 weeks to go!

Good luck to all future brides!

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Originally Posted by Una

I've had the same thoughts about this and agree that it is a difficult decision. Like Molly229, we are also "secondtimers" in our 40's. I am guessing quite a few couples who get married this way are too . I think that makes us more cautious about our cash plus we have learnt lessons in the past about the wedding industry and what the important things are . My other big decision was my dress. There are such lovely "destination wedding " dresses in the photos people have posted and nothing similar in my local shops. Plus spending huge sums on a wedding dress really does seem an extravagance when money is needed for setting up home .

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Hi ulna..smart woman about not wanting to spend to much on a dress.....remember your dress does not have to be white or what's considered more of a wedding dress.I have seen many beautiful brides in pretty every day dresses in many colors...just hold some pretty flowers or not and try to get 3 or 4 nice wedding pics. and enjoy your day:-)

Trishamarie, Does the $1000 cover any of the pictures and printing? Do you get to keep all your pictures? I was planning on using the resort photographer then I saw some of stacey's pictures. I was truly impressed. What are you exactly paying for with the $1000?

I'm glad to help :)

One thing I might mention is this. Don't be so quick to pick out and have your photos printed the next day. We went the day after our wedding, picked out 60 photos and then whittled it down to 36. I wish I had picked the 60 and waited until the next day. Then I could have whittled it down more and waited yet another day to make my decision.

I have 36 photos in my album that are beautiful, but when I look at them, I think. hmmmm should I have picked a different one than this one?

Someone said that you only get one shot at it and you are right. I loved the resort photographer and he did a fabulous job, but I was far too quick to pick out the photos and then have them put in an album. We were there for 2 weeks. I could have waited and made sure instead of rushing myself.

Just my thoughts.

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Originally Posted by jtlooney24

To anyone getting married at CSS during the week of June 18th - 25th:
My wife, who is a professional photographer, said she would love to offer her services for FREE. She's looking for a way to write off our trip as a business expense. If you are interested you can check out her website at alicialooneyphotography.com.
Email me @ jtlooney24@bellsouth.net

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Darn, wish she was there on the 9th :( That's really nice of her though! Good luck!

Just a thought along the lines of Molly.

My husband and I were married 19 years ago. At the time I thought the pictures were THE most important part of the wedding and we spent a huge amount of money on them. We got an album with lots of pictures in it and then several individual pictures including a 20"x 20" picture. 19 years down the road and our album is shoved away in some closet. Of the individual pictures we bought, only three remain in view. The 20"x 20" one is still above our fireplace, but the other two just hang on a wall in our hallway. The other individual pictures are shoved in a drawer somewhere.

If money is tight, go with the resort photographer. 36 pictures will be plenty. No need to fret.

A couple thoughts.....

Assuming you booked your trip while they were offering resort credits ($300-500,depending when you booked), you will have the opportunity to use some of those monies towards the fee for the resort photographer...so not only will you save some cash, but will be able to upgrade as well if you so choose....Yippeee!!.....we plan to do this when we renew our vows in January of 2012.

Also, when we were there in 2010, a lovely couple was getting married and I was in the vicinity, and as usual, had my camera with me....so i started snapping some photos...I later saw them at the gala and we exchanged email addresses and I sent them the pics I took....So, I'm sure hoping someone will be around for you...this is paradise, there are always cameras everywhere...

There's my 2 cents, for what it's worth...hey maybe it's worth a couple hundred dollars saved... :D

I agree with Coloradojulie, we used the resort photography, got the smallest package of pics and had 3 blown up and display those. Hardly ever look at the album. What we watch alot is our DVD. Lovelovelove it!!
It was a second marriage for both so that might have been part of it.

Softail19 ~ We had a VHS made, but now no longer have a VHS that works. We really need to have it copied over to a DVD before the tape gets ruined.

Coloradojuli, at the time we got married, we got both the VHS and DVD and I think it was 80 dollars extra for DVD that was in 2004. I am thinking of going up to my local proex photo shop and having all my VHS converted too. Especially our wedding tape. It is so special to me, it would be the first thing I would grab in case of a fire!

We are getting married May 4th at CSA. We are going to let one of the resort photographers take our pics, but I was wondering....can we have someone or even one of the witnesses use our camera to take extra shots?

Sorry...another question....after they take our pics, do we get something that will enable us to view or get more pics at a later date? I'm not knowledgable in this so I am not sure if I am wording this right. LOL :)

Our wedding is May 9th CN. Not sure what to do about photos. I know it sounds odd but check out AMAZON for the dress. I got mine for under 200 (looked at some for as low as 69). Strapless chiffon with a slight train. The vendor was Pacific Plex. They answered my questions about sizing on the phone. This is my 3rd dress from them. All were inexpensive but well made.

I paid $1000 for Stacey Clarke (that includes photos and resort fee) She took 400+ pics and did the slide show. I loved it so much and to me the few hundred extra was money well spent! I was going to used the resort photographer and get 48 pictures for $500, so for the extra $500 I get all the pictures and the slide show. My dress I ordered from China. Inweddingdress.com It was $210. (So I saved some $ on that) Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be wonderful. CTI is a BEAUTIFUL resort!

www.scphotographyslideshows.com/Steve_Tricia

We will be at CSS May 14-21, getting married May 17! We are coming alone, so I was also curious about pics. I think we will go with the resort photography... Thanks all of the post I have read have been really helpful!

Nicole