Hiring friends and family for your wedding
Hiring friends for your wedding? You have tons of friends and family, do you hire them for your wedding? Everyone tries to save money here and there while dreaming of that beautiful wedding, something like you would see on TV. And sometimes money is saved by getting help from friends and family. I want to be sensitive here, we understand not everyone has 30k for their wedding, but risks exist when not hiring a professional for wedding rolls that involve timelines, pictures and video. So I’ll just share some experiences we’ve had over the years.
Some stories of hiring friends and family
While shooting video, the bride asked their relative to shoot photos at their wedding. We watched all night long as the family member would put their camera down. He talked to girls and chatted with others. He missed a pretty significant amount of the reception, leaving the bride without photos for special moments.
Another time the bride hired a family member to shoot the photos. While shooting the photos, he pretty much ignored most of the wedding party and didn’t get many group shots. Instead, he concentrated mostly on the bride and brides family.
Unfortunately unresolved family or friend issues can creep into a wedding and be upsetting to brides. Unfortunately we’ve seen it. A day of fun celebration for a happy couple and then personal issues pop up. And if those issues are with someone in a key role such as a DJ or photographer, it can drastically affect your wedding day.
For Example; hiring friends to do everyone’s hair and makeup, do they understand that any delay could cause issues with your entire timeline. What if your friend is over bearing, telling you what you need and don’t need on your wedding day. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this too. The bride became upset with the entire timeline being delayed by two hours.
Wedding photography is a ‘one attempt event.’ Having a professional photographer that has laser focus on your wedding is super important. It’s your wedding, you should have people surrounding your inner wedding circle that has you as the top priority for any decisions made. So asking friends to help with your wedding certainly will save you money, but is the savings going to be worth it? One more thought, if the pictures your friend/relative take do not turn out, this may hurt your relationship with them and you won’t have any recourse.
There are other considerations such as professionals carry insurance, so if there is an issue, you’re covered. If something happens with your friend at the wedding, you or your friend could be liable.
Our goal in this article is not to diminish the important of friends or family. Your wedding is a time for friends and family to celebrate, laugh, dance, and drink even. So hiring licensed and insured professionals with a proven track record will put your mind at ease.
For more information visit other areas on our blog for wedding tips.
Sincerely,
Steven Davis
