Keep up the good work,
David

You need to have a frank conversation and manage the happy couple’s expectations. So you agree which parts of the day you photograph, and how (in our case we did it as a couple and did reportage at the registry office, a set of posed family pictures and then reportage at the meal. Then we stopped and enjoyed ourselves).

We did this for a couple we’re friends with, who didn’t have the budget to pay a pro such as yourself and so wouldn’t have had organised photos otherwise. A few years previously a friend did the same for us. Their other option would have been the haphazard “everyone will be taking photos, let’s just hope we get the ones we want” approach.

I do understand where you’re coming from because clearly you’re a pro photographer and you need to be clear that the service you offer is worth paying for (and I’m 100% sure that it is). But increasingly as people are trying to get married on limited budgets, the choice is not between a pro and a friend standing in for a pro. It’s between a friend doing a favour, or nothing.

Also for what it’s worth, one of the factors that made our wedding special, was the sense that it was a real joint effort and that their time, energy and creative input were gifts that friends gave us. That goes for the friend that helped with the cakes, those who ushered and helped organise, the friend who acted as a master of ceremonies, those who did readings, the friend who DJed for us…… and the friend who did our photography.

We can and have done similar for others. I don’t know where a goodwill economy leaves professionals in the wedding services arena. But in some cases (and not yours) companies who rip off people getting married by offering a poor service for a marked up wedding price could do with a wakeup call.

I’m thinking of the bakery who had two pricelists for the same products – they charged more for weddings! And some of the woefully crass and overpriced DJs we’ve all come across at wedding receptions….