The last few months have been full of developments, both personally and professionally. In September, Laura and I had our first child, Julian. We have seen him grow into the most happy and curious baby. We have also used some of these quieter months (in the wedding business at least) to work on our website and add some extra polish to our business. We just recently kicked off our first wedding of the year about two weeks ago and we are ready to dive right in to the thick of wedding season in the next few months.
Over the last few months, we have been getting a lot of new inquiries. As we build up our business, we are seeing requests come from all different avenues of social media and word of mouth. We have been getting a lot of varied questions from future brides and grooms, who are working within their budget to accommodate all different types of vendors for their big days. Out of all the questions we have been receiving, one question has been coming up a lot.
"Can I have only one photographer/videographer for my wedding?"
There is one big reason why I think this question keeps coming up and that I think that reason is to help keep the price down.
For our photography and videography packages, even our most affordable packages include two photographers/videographers. We don’t offer any packages with just one single person shooting on the big day. Here are the reasons why:
Making Sure We Have Those “Getting Ready” Shots of Both the Bride and the Groom
When the bride and groom start off their big day, they typically get ready in two different places. In some instances, this just means they’re getting ready in two different hotel rooms at the same hotel. In others, they are getting ready in two different locations (houses, the venue, and/or a combination of both). Last year we shot a wedding in Rhode Island and the bride was getting ready in Rhode Island, while the groom was getting ready in Massachusetts. The locations were only about 40 minutes apart, but it sure gave me a scare when I first found that out.
Having one photographer/videographer with the bride and one with the groom alleviates so much avoidable stress. You will never need to worry about your photographer missing a perfectly unplanned moment or your videographer missing a funny joke to the bride. We shot videography for a wedding last year where there was only one photographer and not only was the bride and groom stressed that he was running back and forth between them, but the photographer was stressed too. And if the photographer is stressed, it is going to end up affecting the quality of the photos. Not only will photos be missed, but the inspiration and creativity from your photographer will start dwindling. They won’t have time to soak in your venue or try shots from more unique angles. A lot of the best shots are taken when photographers step out of the box and try something new. You don’t want your photographer/videographer completely burnt out on your big day hours before the bride walks down the aisle.
Capturing Different Angles of Big Moments
I couldn’t tell you how many times I have the perfect shot lined up of the bride walking down the aisle, only to have a wedding guest stick their phone out in front of my camera to take a photo. I worry less about events like this happening when I have a second shooter with me. For example, during the ceremony, I will typically shoot up front where the groom and the bridal party are waiting. Laura will usually shoot at the back and capture the bride walking up, along with reactions of the bridal party and guests. This frees me up to capture the groom’s reaction as he sees his beautiful bride walking down the aisle. In the end, whether we’re editing photos or videos, we’re able to provide a more complete representation of that moment from every angle and every emotion.
Built In Backup
We try our best to plan for the worst, even if the worst hasn’t happened yet. In the unplanned event that one of our cameras stops working during a big moment, we have another one already rolling. For example, if we’re shooting a ceremony and my camera just shuts off, Laura’s camera is already recording. We bring backup cameras and backup memory cards to every event, but it takes a little bit of time to set them up. This gives us the opportunity to make sure we never have a moment where we can’t recording something.
This is why we don’t have an option for a single photographer/videographer. And when we are asked if we can accommodate that for a more affordable price, we make sure to highlight all the reasons why we don’t offer it as an option. At the end of the day, we don’t offer it because we want to provide the best experience possible and with the most consistency. We want to protect your day and capture it in the best way possible.
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