How ya mean molgrips?

I can’t imagine spending that much on a photographer. I can’t imagine the wedding photos being that important. My wedding wasn’t that big of a day – it didn’t need to be. It was simply the start of a great journey, that I am reminded of every day. I don’t need photos for that!

Weddings are simply a means to an end, and a family piss up. Snaps record the day just as well as fancy photos, for me.

Seems a bit weird for someone that’s into photography :shrug:

Perfectly fair enough that some people don’t place as much value on the photos – but it some ways in 30 years time you are not really going to remember how good the cake tasted, or how much free booze was provided, or how tight the band were – but some really nice photos will still last and refresh your memory of the day.

But then I would say that too 🙂

Seems a bit weird for someone that’s into photography

Well yeah.. but for me taking the photos is the fun part.. I wouldn’t want to pay someone else to ride my bike for me, after all 🙂 I’m not saying my pictures would be better to a third party than yours, they wouldn’t. But they’d be better to me.

Plus in 30 years time I’ll hopefully have loads of pictures of my wife on all sorts of different days 🙂

Anyway it’s really weddings I don’t care about. I wanted to marry my wife, that’s all I cared about. Cake and flowers, wedding cars, dresses – don’t care 🙂

I think people investing a lot in wedding photos is less about the hard copy photos for some, but more about living the lifestyle that is sold to people by modern advertising, while grasping at self esteem.

I cant speak for the blokes, but I think for women, it very pushed at them that being ‘famous’ for no particular reason is very important in modern society and part of the ‘herd’ behaviour. They are also supposed to spend huge amounts of time and effort and money in trying to look pretty as its still pushed as the most important aspect of existing as a female.

Modern women compete with essentially faked women on cosmetic adverts who are flawless, with photoshoped skin, whitened eyes and teeth, change of eye colour, artificial sculpting of the face in computer programs to make their faces more ‘in proportion’ so noses are make shorter or longer, eye shape is changed, cheekbones raised, lips made wider and fuller. Standards of impossible beauty normal real life women will never physically be able to meet however hard they try.

On a wedding day its the one shot in life to be near perfect and the centre of attention/approval. Your one shot at a pro photographer shoot, making you look like the impossible beauties, giving you your one day of being famous. Its the one chance at being valid in a society that pushes women to be seen in this role. And the photos give women that forever ro hold on to – a huge shot of self esteem in an advertisers battle the women can never ever win in real life, a war that sets people up to fail cos that sells more products.

I see other reasons for photos too of course – nice memories etc, but feel the above is a big factor for many and molegrips and grums posts caused me to dwell on peoples reasons for such huge outlays on weddings in general.

I think people investing a lot in wedding photos is less about the hard copy photos for some, but more about living the lifestyle that is sold to people by modern advertising, while grasping at self esteem.

just the photography then? not the dress, bridesmaid dresses, venue, car, band, catering, flowers, invite stationary, wedding list, honeymoon etc?

i know somebody who cried at their wedding, not because they were overcome with joy but because there were not enough silver ribbon sashes to go over the dining chairs, kinda spoiled her day. 🙁

MrSmith, you have a point. I guess as I am interested in photography I have highlighted that more. Personalty I dont really get many aspects of getting married – to me its about the person you are with, not the event but I know its not like that for most people.

I have heard that some people get very depressed after the big day as they have built the last year or so entirely around the event, rather than what it was actually about and the day is gone along with a focus point they had put so much into. But back to photos,

I think doing weddings on the cheap is more viable if you get a good photographer as they can make things look much better and more expensive. An associate of mine had her wedding pics taken in front of a huge area of stinging nettles as the event location was hopeless. They looked great on the photos though as it looked like a blurred out hedge or border of flowers. 🙂 In the circumstances the photographer was great at ‘amending’ the somewhat bleak reality of the location and well worth his money.