We have been asked numerous times over the years…why should people even hire a professional wedding photographer? And we have heard time and time again…well, I can just get my friend or family member to just take the pictures.

As a bride, mother, and a wedding photographer, I cringe to hear these questions and that unfortunate statement.

As a photography team and husband and wife we believe in wedding photography (and hiring professionals), because we honestly believe in the marriage covenant.  A wedding day is a celebration of a covenant between two people. And it is a reflection of God’s covenant with his people. A wedding is not only the celebration of a covenant, but it is a living legacy of love and the start of a marriage.

A wedding is the start of your marriage and that is worth investing in!

We believe in timeless love and building a legacy for generations to come and at starts before the wedding day even starts. It all starts with your love story. How you met. How you fell in love. How he proposed. All of those moments are moments building onto your love story. And we as professionals want to honor and document your love story. We want to tell your story of love in photographic form.

As professionals we see everything differently than a family member or friend. We see your love story with fresh eyes.

And we want you to have an amazing wedding planning experience from beginning to end, so we share all our wedding planning knowledge with you. We spend a lot of time communicating, planning, and preparing for your wedding day, before it even arrives. We send our couple suggested wedding day timelines, discuss the option of a First Look,  and find out more all about all the wonderful vendors that are a part of your day.

As a business we have all the “boring” things already in place to help you with expectations, invoicing, insurance, licenses, etc. Everything in place to give you the best client experience and to make the process seamless. As a bride, you have plenty of things to worry about, those “boring” things shouldn’t be one of them.

We are professionals, and believe that your friends and family should be guests at your wedding. They are there to love, support, and encourage you as you make your marriage covenant, not to work.

Also, there are SO MANY problems that can happen when a family member or friend photographs your wedding.

What if their camera breaks? Do they have a back-up?

Do they have lighting equipment for a dark reception venue?

Do they have any experience working with other vendors?

Do they have knowledge of a wedding timeline that includes a First Look?

Do they know how to photograph and handle family portraits after the ceremony?

Do they have insurance?

How are you going to pay them?

When are they going to deliver your images?

Are they going to be high-resolution edited images? Are you going to edit them?

These questions could go on and on…..

And these questions can lead to a lot of tension and strife!

Hire a professional photographer. Hire someone whose work inspires you; hire someone that you would love to hang out with all day; hire someone that believes in your love story.