
It just makes no sense to me that to start your life together in debt to your wedding day, and mortgaging your marriage to pay for your wedding is a recipe for misery. But what can you do about it? A bit... but don't leave it much longer!
Let's start with what I know best - photography. There are a few ways to reduce the costs and still get a decent photographer:
- avoid hiring your photographer by the hour or for a set number of hours; instead, buy a package that includes all the basics you want. You'll know what your costs are, and you won't run into unexpected financial pain if the wedding runs behind time. After all, brides do get to the church late, Ministers and celebrants do get flat tyres, traffic accidents do make the musicians late to the reception...
- Some photographers include a second photographer without charge: that's a bargain, but if you can't find one like that, consider using one photographer instead of two (some photographers will still bring an assistant, but if you have specified one photographer, that's all you will pay for).
- A real money saver might be to engage a photography student or recent graduate provided you are not their very first wedding. And if someone describes themselves as a photography student or new graduate, check their qualification carefully. There isn't a course you can do to qualify as a wedding photographer, so there is a very good chance they mean they just took an elective at high school. Look carefully at their portfolio - more than just a few photos they took at a mates wedding - before you commit.



One clever idea is to have all your guests download a phone app (there are a couple) that will automatically upload all the photos taken on the day to a common online gallery for you. They may only be phone-quality pictures, and there will be a lot of rubbish, but it will let you send the official photographer home a bit earlier (only n advantage if yiu ignored point one and hired someone by the hour!).

Remember, your photos are not just for you and not just for now - high quality photos capture your wedding memories for you, your friends, your family and your children. It would be a pity. There are better places to save money, and I'll post on that later.
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