If I can't afford a wedding photographer, what should I do?

Plenty of people, students and otherwise, are willing to do wedding photos for very little or free -- but of course there's a risk attached. 

If you're going down this route, then I'd suggest getting two students rather than one student. Doubles your chances.

Where to get free non-students from? Well, put the word out through our friend network, and post an ad on Gumtree. Someone, somewhere, has a half-decent camera, is half-decent with it, and will be willing. This is, to be honest, how a lot of people get into wedding photography.

Another alternative is to fully crowdsource it. Ask all the guests at the wedding to take photos on their phones. Maybe you can arrange a website for them to upload to, using a QR code. (I don't think this service will be free. But perhaps a wedding photographer would be able to help you out at a minimal price.)

Whether, instead of going this route, you should cut back on other areas is completely up to you! Just depends how important photos are to you. Some people for example, will basically never look at their photos after the wedding. 

Approach one you like and ask for a deal with minimum hours. 

If you can't afford the photographer you have been looking for and or had your heart set on, I would cut back in other areas to get who you want.

For example, $1500 for car hire or $1200 for a cake may not have been that important when the cheap in-experienced photographer or student photograher don't even end up capturing those things on the day or use the car to his/her advantage and get some nice shots of you and your partner in it.

Having the right photographer for you is one of the most important decisions you will make.  One of the few things that you will take away from your wedding, besides the obvious (each other as a married couple) is what your photographer and videographer will give back to you.  So I would rethink some other areas you are spending money as you don't want to cut your photography budget and settle for someone you are ok with.  The last think you want to do is get back your images back and regret what you have done.  You can't take that back, so its important you make the right decision.  

• See if you can find a photographer who meets your new budget. There are good photographers who are just starting out and have very reasonable prices. 
• Check out the bridal expos. Photographers at these expos have great specials if you commit on the day. So be prepared to make a quick decision. 
• The photographer has a payment plan. Booking early with them could mean it is paid for before the wedding. There may also be a payment plan that will allow you paid off afterwards.
• Maybe you can have only the ceremony photographed. This would be a couple of hours and should not cost as much as the whole day. 
• Have a chat to the photographer they may be able to offer you a custom package that may suit your budget.

My suggestion would be to simply reduce the number of hours coverage and/or the complexity of the wedding photography coverage. For example, couples portraits require planning and site visits beforehand to execute properly. This may mean the photographer needing to visit the location of couples portraits the day before to observe the lighting and choose appropriate scenes at the same time of the day.

Taking family group photos with a pleasing background also required the photographer to be early on the day, or to complete a site visit beforehand. Hiring a documentary style wedding photographer (professional photographer, not amateur) and not requesting couples portraits may mean less preparation and therefore cost (for some - not all photographers).

I offer discounted pricing for wedding photography in these circumstances (no couples portraits), but not every photographer will be able to.

The other approach is to simply look at the day and hire a professional for the most difficult or important stages only. Normally this will be the ceremony, family group photos and couples portraits (if required). The problem with this approach is that if the reception is at night time, then this will also become a difficult stage to capture due to flash lighting. You may have to compromise on certain stages of the day (for example foregoing coverage of the reception).

You will also find that photographers (and all suppliers in general) are much more flexible and less expensive on any day than a Saturday. Getting married on a Thursday or Friday for example should give you more options. 

I would not recommend approaching a student or amateur to capture your wedding because I know how difficult it can be to do properly and reliably (even for a professional). You may be better off finding a wedding photographer who has some experience (say 6 months to a year) but is still in the stages of building up their portfolio. 

If you absolutely must hire a student or amateur photographer, then that will be risky, but this might be mitigated by hiring at least two photographers just in case one pulls out at the last minute, or is not as effective as you might have hoped. 

At the very least, I would recommend hiring a professional for the arrival of guests at the ceremony and the cermony itself, and whatever else you can afford and budget for. I hope this helps, and all the best with your wedding planning!

Hello there! Thank you for the question that you posted - I get asked this quite a few times...

In my opinion, there are three main things I would put in priority in terms of financing a wedding. 

1) Hair and Make Up

2) Professional Photographer/Videographer

3) Food and drinks (canapes and reception)

With the first one - this is important as this will establish your look for the rest of the day. WIth professional hair and make up, it doesn't matter if you cry on the day or you sweat because of the weather, it will keep your beautiful look for the rest of the day; your photos would look beautiful in any angle. 

The second one, which is the professional photographer - Photos have a way of capturing that moment of emotion, having an "experienced" and reliable photographer will be able to achieve this for you. If you were thinking, "Ah, I can ask someone to "photoshop" it after the photos have been taken", this is a big no for me. A professional photographer will be able to capture photos that need minimal editing as the emotions will stand out of the photo.

The third one is food, you've gotta have great food! Not much anything else to say, really! 

But to answer your question - hire a professional wedding photographer, don't settle for less, make your memories count and have someone do it excellently! If you hire a student, you'll get student quality photos, if you a professional, you'll get professional quality photos. 

Hope my answer helped!