Wedding Blog
The first thing I did when I got engaged was book my photographer. The studio came highly recommended by a male friend of mine who made their promo video, and I knew right off the bat that I wanted someone reputable and reliable. We met, our personalities clicked, I enjoyed his books, we shook hands, put down a deposit, and the deal was sealed.
Four months later, I found Weddingbee, and the wonderful world of the internet. I saw countless beautiful photojournalistic engagement sessions and wedding photography that I drooled over.
….and I kept going back to my photographer’s website. All of the sudden, his work didn’t seem that great to me. And what was worse, he was pretty expensive (at least for my taste).
I stumbled across the somewhat new photography blog of Travis Hoehne. It was exciting because he graduated from my high school, and I remembered him from “back in the day.” My girlfriend Jenny (of my Cake Topper Fame) had recently gotten engaged, so I told her to check him out, as I heard his rates were great ($2500 less than my photographer). She booked him, and recently took her engagement pics, which were featured on his blog.
….and THAT’S when the serious regret kicked in. I know my photographer is reputable, friendly, and has put out some good work. But it’s very “commercial” work. I KNOW in my heart that Travis’ work fits my style perfectly. The icing on the cake is that he’s thousands of dollars less than my photographer.
I finally got up the nerve to call Travis today. And of course, he had just been booked for my date last week.
I’m still considering letting go of my photographer if I can find a better photographer at a cheaper price. I’ve already put down a $600 deposit, but if the price is right, it’s possible I might be able to save money in the long run. It’s a little late now, but at this point it’s not even about the money. It’s about the pictures that I want.
Have you booked any vendors that you regret? Are you sticking with them or have you broken up with them?
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Share this post: Vendor Regrets…
I wish I chose my videographer more wisely. I assumed they were all the same but after I booked and like you I realised there were so many options/styles.
I say if you feel like you will realy be dissapointed in the end… make the change!
Our reception venue. When we got engaged I felt like we had to decide on a date & venue ASAP - we picked a nice country club. Long story short, they were so snobby and rude to DF and I - it was awful. We ended up dropping them, and going with a fantastic lnew venue!
I have a makeup artist dangling in the balance due to a misfired trial. We have a redo planned for end of this month and if she doesn’t get it, she and I will be breaking up.
BTW, I love my photographer but I STILL get photo envy! There are so many great ones…sigh
WOW! Travis’ photos are amazing. I love them and I am a photographer myself!
My vendor regret was my florist…he promised the moon and stars and didn’t deliver. Aside from that I wish I would have gotten professional videography.
My photographer too…. Hes great and all…but
there are so many more awesome vendors. I did get a great price…so I will make the best of it and make it a reference of all images shots I want.
That way I am sure i will have pictures that aren’t ‘typical’
I am regretting my cake baker - she is “the” person in my hometown to go to - and she was our first vendor. We did it to support the locals… But i don’t really even like cake…. and she has way too many opinions. She said “You aren’t going to have a chocolate fountain are you??” And then went on to tell us how she thinks they are SO unsanitary and gross. I like chocolate and kind fo wanted one… but now my mother refuses to even discuss the subject.
Also, i’m kind of regretting the church…. isn’t that kind of sad??? I’m Methodist and my fiancee is Catholic. I went to Catholic school for grade school and had a priest that i liked. At first i thought we would get married in Andy’s church (becuase we are getting married in his town). But the organ doesnt’ work - so we went around and looked at other churches. We really liked this other church and decided to go wtih that one. Well the priest (and organist) are really gossipy and aren’t very nice people. Also in the process of making the ceremony - it just seems like a recipe. You choose the readings and prayers from a list of readings. I was hoping to have a little bit more freedom to plan the ceremony. So we are kind of unhappy with the decision to go the Catholic route.
Sigh….
GO FOR IT!!! I did the exact same thing, but ended up keeping my photographer… Way too expensive for the so-so quality and care put into the photos. simple things were grossly overlooked (like my necklace crooked in EVERY single shot), and now I’m paying another more artistic photographer $1200 to artistically edit my photos before I hand them over to my original photographer to get my flushmount book published…
He got some good shots, but seriously some of my favorite photos were taken by guests at our wedding. He missed 5 out of the 6 shots that I specifically asked for/printed up examples of and brought with me to the wedding? I just don’t understand. My day was AMAZING, and unfortunately it was hardly captured in photos.
My photographer also. My problem is our venue. They have a list of preferred vendors and highly recommend them because of the backlighting in the chapel (Floor to ceiling windows) and if you bring in your own photographer that is not on the list, you have to pay extra.
As much as it sounds like a bit of a rip, an acquaintenace had a family member get married at the same chapel. They disagreed with the recommendation and brought in their own photography and the pictures? They were AWFUL! Not a nice picture in the bunch. It’s their biggest regret and you can’t re-do your wedding. Sooo.. eh. What’s a girl to do you know?
I regret not having a videographer - especially a great one.
When planning it did not seem important - in hindsight it is my biggest wedding day regret - especially when I see awesome ones from other brides.
I have also begun to recently doubt my choice of photographer. We already put down a $1000 deposit and I’m honestly not sure how his final cost compares to other, more photojournalistic photographers, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have to just stick with the man I’ve chosen…. and hope the photos turn out okay!
I just broke up with my photographer yesterday.We had a family/engagement session with a different photographer last weekend and we had such a blast that we both came away from it thinking that we would so much rather use him for our wedding. And even though we lost our $500 deposit, we will still save about $1000 in the end. So that seems good to me.
I am questioning my photographer choice too - she was also the first vendor we booked. I found the photographer from my bat mitzvah and we loved her then, so why not now when she has 14 more years of experience? She’s good and gave us a good deal, but now that I’ve been introduced to all of these amazing photographers, I’m starting to wonder if I should have shopped around more . I think I’ll stick with her because I know she has a great personality and the price is right - I just hope she gets some good candid shots.
I am questioning my photographer choice too - she was also the first vendor we booked. I found the photographer from my bat mitzvah and we loved her then, so why not now when she has 14 more years of experience? She’s good and gave us a good deal, but now that I’ve been introduced to all of these amazing photographers, I’m starting to wonder if I should have shopped around more . I think I’ll stick with her because I know she has a great personality and the price is right - I just hope she gets some good candid shots.
I broke up with the very nice woman who was going to do my hair and makeup. She was super sweet and tried really hard, but after three horrendous trials at which I ended up looking worse than if I had just woken up and put my hair in a pony tail, I knew I had to find someone else. I hadn’t paid a deposit, but even if I had, I would have been fine losing that money. I ended up at a salon that made me, my mom, and my bridesmaids look and feel gorgeous, and it was worth every penny. The feeling of relief I had after I placed the cancellation call convinced me that I had done the right thing.
Photography is very important, some might say the most important, vendor. If you’re not feeling confident, I think you should look for someone else. But check your contract–it may require you to pay the full amount even if you cancel depending on how far out you cancel.
YES! As I was about to send out my deposit check for my photographer, i started to look around for other photographers. This great guy (loved by weddingbee) was charging 1500 less and lives pretty close by the reception venue. So I sorta broke up with my first photographer. It was painfully awkward. I was sort of avoiding him b/c I felt so bad.
Then, I started to have major doubts about the new photographer. He does a lot of boudoir photography and I was getting uneasy. So without breaking off the contract, I just started sending out my feelers to another photographer. But I talked myself out of it. I really do love the photographer I signed a contract with and I am happy with my choice!
pengy - go with your heart with it comes to your photos - they’re the only things you’ll have left! and those pics were gorgeous!
You have to love your photographs! It’s all you have left. Your family will love you for it, too. My family and friends are still talking about my pictures. My photographer was the best decision I made (other than the man).
Do what you need to do to find a photographer you love (within your budget). It’s the most imp. thing IMO.
Ask Travis if he can suggest someone.
So bizarre but the EXACT sme thing is happening with me now. Only the photographer I want is more expensive. I’ll also lose about $600 if I cancel the other ones but good pictures that I love are so important to me…in fact they’re the MOST important thing. I’m so stressed over it! I also need to find extra cash now to afford the new one I want. Its like double the price…but soooo worth it!
i was having major doubts about my DJ… he is expensive! but he is also acting as my DOC (he’s a 2-person team) and FI & I both really liked him (i have seen wayy too many cheesy DJs). so i figure i am saving money by using just him rather than hiring a separate DOC. but i was plagued by major doubts..!! i also had major doubts about my hair & makeup person, who was highly recommended by another wedding forum. i decided not to hire her, and ate the trial cost.
Are you getting married in Sacramento? I love my photographer & his rates are great (he worked around what we could afford)…
hey pengy! i’m so glad you blogged about travis! i had chatted with you before about it, he’s my photog in august and he’s soo nice and easy to work with, not the mention i love his pictures. sorry to hear he’s not available on your date though!
if i recall correctly, he works often with this guy:
http://mnorwoodphotography.com/#
his prices are quite a bit higher but i think they have similar styles.
We changed venues, florists, and bakers (twice). So I totally understand. You want to feel completely comfortable with your vendors, and you should. I would definitely recommend trying to find someone you love for photography - you’ll be so much more excited about your wedding.
Pick a photo you love! There’s no room for regret on your wedding day.
sorry to hear about your regrets. :(. travis second shot for our wedding, and he is definitely talented. i think his brother, trever, second shot for our engagement pics, some of which were awesome, too. and if you can swing michael norwood (our photographer), budget-wise, you should see if he’s available. good luck!
Oh my gosh. I could written that entire entry. But sad to say, I pushed through with the original photographer…and although he did have some good shots, he really didn’t measure up to my dream photographer (that I met later). Sigh.
Go with your gut. The few dollars lost now will look petty once the wedding is done and you’re already looking at the pictures.
Thanks for turning me on to Travis, he is just what we’re looking for! I’m hoping to meet with him soon. Yesterday I found out that the photographer we really wanted was booked and I was so depressed but I’m so excited now. I hope you get what your looking for because photography is really the only thing you have after to remember the day by.
As a wedding photographer, I have to encourage you to break up with your current photographer if you feel the fit is not right.
I agree to not shoot a wedding that I was committed to shoot for a client as she and her hubby to be moved to the other side of the country and as a consequence decided to have the ceremony in their new area rather than the DC area where I’m based. Obviously, adding a travel expenses made me less attractive than hiring someone local and communicating across the country would have added a complexity to the wedding that was not very attractive to me.
I suggest that you tell your photographer that you two aren’t as good of a fit and be prepare to loss the retainer. This is prime time booking season so the his chances to replace your wedding date with another is greater and gives you a good bargaining position to ask for a refund of the retainer if he is able to book another wedding of equal or greater value than yours (which is my policy). For that same reasoning if you want to find the replacement ASAP.
I’m going through the same thing! My photographer is amazing, but I don’t see any really creative or /interesting/ shots that he has done. So while it’s not posey, there’s not much creativity. I’m hemming and hawing over it… will probably lose $600 and anyone else I want is more expensive. sigh, sigh….
I totally understand your thoughts, as I went through exactly the same thing for my wedding with my photographer.
I got married in 1999 and started planning in 1997, my brother had got married the year before, and as my parents were paying, they decided it would be “easier if we just go with the same vendors again” So same band, photographer, videographer etc etc etc.
As at that point I had a heavy interest in photography, I wasnt too pleased with the very traditional choice of photographer but went with it to keep parents happy.
Fast forward to 5 months prior to the wedding and we meet the booked photographer at a wedding fayre; his photos were just as traditional which was not what I wanted, and to boot, he was rude.
I asked my parents I could cancel, and get someone else.
I am SO glad I did.
If you have ANY concerns about your vendor of any kind, please ask yourself if they will spoil your wedding day. I know that this rude man would have not given me the pleasure I wanted on my wedding day, and I was so glad to get someone who did a far better job that the first guy would have done.
When I meet potential clients now as a wedding photographer myself, I want them to be completely happy with me and my work before booking.
[...] as many of you advised in my previous post, you only have one wedding, and there is no room for [...]
I’m so glad I found this thread. My fiancee and I had told a photographer we’d been having conversations with that we would book him and are in the process of setting up a second meeting to pound out details and put down our deposit. Just today, I found another photographer whose work I like a lot better! I couldn’t help but request more information from this new photographer, and I think that if the details work out, I would rather have the new photographer than the first one.
However, our first photographer has been extremely friendly and helpful, and he turned down another wedding when I told him I wanted to book him. There’s nothing wrong with him, so how do I tell him that I want to go with someone else? I really don’t want to hurt his professional pride because his work really is good, his packages are outstanding, and his prices are very reasonable. I can’t even tell him the other person’s rates were better or that they offered more in their package because that wouldn’t be true. Plus, we hadn’t even put down a deposit, so he wouldn’t have gotten anything out of his time spent with us. How do I properly tell this person that we don’t want to book him anymore without insulting his work?
For me… VIDEOGRAPHER!!!
I went cheap, thinking what mattered was the amount of coverage time they were there. when REALLY I should have paid more attention to what a finished video would look like. Mine is SUPER CHEESY!!!
Yet I have since seen so many highlights on line I adore!
I so wish i knew of wedding bee and projectwedding before I signed contracts!!
But hey….. at least i have something! : ))
If you have a gut feeling about a vendor that is not good, my recommendation is to drop them. My ceremony musicians sounded great, thankfully, but I booked with someone named Susan, who is in charge of the company and she always seemed a little ‘odd’ on the phone. After my wedding, my wedding planner informed me that the musicians were hard to deal with, they wouldn’t listen to her and talked during the ceremony. But again, thankfully they sounded good. I reported her complaints back to Susan via email and she became very angry and left me a mean voice mail- turning around the blame on me for starting my ceremony late. I ended up regretting that I gave even a cent to this company.
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Mrs. Penguin, Northern California
Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
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