Not Every One Should Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer.  Especially not one that costs double your monthly mortgage payment!!! In fact, I didn't hire a pro to shoot my wedding. But now, years later, I wish I had.  Our Maid of Honor gave us a wedding gift of providing the wedding photos.  Her brother is an amazing landscape photographer, and I love his work.  The gesture was an amazing gift and very touching as we faced the budget crunches of wedding preparation.  I thought, "Great way to save, and we will place that money toward the Tropical Honeymoon."

Looking back? I wish I had hired a professional wedding photographer!! Ashley's Bridal SessionJust moments before she walked the aisle, Ashley got a few moments alone to reflect and bask in the soft warm glow of the windows of the Opera House in Winchester, Kentucky.

There is nothing wrong with the photos they took. So why would I pay hundreds, even thousands if I had it to do over?

Because a professional wedding photographer captures that day like no one else can. The eye for details to capture the hundreds of hours spent on the flower arrangements, the touches of lace that you hand cut for 5 hours, the three Saturdays traveling until you found the perfect accent fabric.  The emotion of the bridesmaids together in the hours prior, the tears in mom's eye, the nervousness of the groom, the laughter of the toasts...and the list goes on and on. The professional wedding photographer knows what's coming, how to position, how to anticipate, how to catch that moment, so that each aspect of your wedding is preserved for years to come. You can relive, re-trace, and ultimately feel the love and beauty of the day over and over again. My friend was able to capture our formal posed pictures of us as bride and groom, but these little details are what I miss.

What I want now as I look back over the years, is a collection of photos that tell the story of the day. A storybook of the fairytale wedding is what every bride deserves!

More than just a collection of still photographs, I want a memory of us as a couple in the moments leading up to that all important kiss. I need the layers of beautiful that is my wife, my princess, in her gown! I need to see the story unfolding.

On a practical side, I also value that the photos are retouched, and professionally edited. Not to mention the benefit that the Professionals store the images digitally on their website so that I never have to worry about a fire or water damage.

My Maid of Honor's present and her brother's quality were such a thoughtful gift to us. However the hour and a half that a friend of the family will spend on your photography, compared to the 35-40 hours a pro will devote to capturing, editing and retouching your photos, makes the difference between the "cost of a photographer"  vs. "the value of your Investment."