This post is the second of a recap series about a meeting of the Las Vegas Wedding Network. Seven brides spoke and answered questions about their wedding planning experience. –
As Annie spoke, slowly, about her wedding day photography you could see her starting to tear up. Finally, choked up, and wiping away tears, she explained that her photographer had failed to get photos of her walking down the aisle. The collective gasp in the room was palpable. The reaction was disbelief.
Annie described herself as “…knowing exactly what I wanted.” During the wedding planning process, she did not need input. She was looking for wedding professionals to carry out her wishes.
In retrospect, she said “I thought I can’t manage everything during the wedding and reception. But when the spotlight is on you, it’s not really possible to oversee the event. Had I realized what was needed, I probably would have hired a day-of-wedding-coordinator to manage the execution.”
Hearing her explain the situation was brutal. Fortunately, she did have a videographer, and some stills can be transferred from the digital video. Not exactly ideal. Right now, today, she clearly feels like there is a huge whole in her wedding day experience.
It wasn’t clear exactly why the moment was missed, but there was only a single photographer covering the scene. Knowing the venue (which remained anonymous last night), it’s clear that there should have been a second photographer. Even without a second-shooter, a wedding coordinator or consultant would not have allowed this to happen.
Mistakes, such as this, are huge. The blame and responsibility rest with several people. It is a collective failure of several people/companies that allowed such a colossal omission.
Opinion: In speaking with Annie, briefly, after the meeting, I came away with the impression that she still didn’t fully understand the interrelationship of separate decisions. For example, how an inexperienced Emcee can wreck the flow of activities. Or, how a photographer can take a bridal party outside, and take too much time before returning, transforming dinner into rubber chicken.
Even though a first-time-bride may “know what she wants”, she is still a rookie, in the world of planning a wedding. What wedding professionals owe her, in my estimation, is a firm and convincing summary of the risks and rewards, steeped in the truth.
I don’t know which photographers she spoke to, and who, if any, may have said, firmly “Annie, you really need the coverage of two photographers for your wedding and reception. For the following reasons….”. And then one photographer said, “Oh no, I can shoot this with just an assistant. You don’t need a second photographer.”
Bingo! More money to spend on something else.
It’s important for the day-of wedding vendors and venue to work like a team, and all be professional. It’s is critical for catering and event managers to help brides shape their priorities, and keep them for going into a ditch. As a Grade A wedding professional, there’s nothing worse than doing your job alongside a clown. You can, right up close, how one bad hire can disproportionately affect the outcome of the day.
Tell brides the truth about the importance of these things. It’s an ethical obligation, even if they choose to hire someone else. More often than not, if you can master the method of delivering the message, without condescending, you will come away as treasured asset on her wedding day.
Different wedding: This photographer got the shot, but it doesn’t end well.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog
Andy, I would like to comment that the labeling of a photographer as “artsy” may not the best way to make a point about this bride’s unfortunate experience, and really has no baring on whether someone is professional and competent at covering weddings. Besides, all photographers consider their work to be artistic, regardless if they work solo or in pairs, or if they approach coverage more traditionally or with aspects of photojournalism.
It all boils down to experience when you hear about stuff like this. You can’t really make sweeping generalizations about whether photojournalistic style is better than traditional, or if two shooters would have been better than one, because there are competent photographers on all of those sides who would have had no problem getting this shot. So, it is just as inaccurate to tell brides to only choose one type of photographer over another in that regard.
In our company’s 20+ years of experience, I can say that there are generally 3 different preference levels among couples for the appropriate balance between portraits, candid coverage and photojournalism. To put it simply, they either want a lot of portraits & different locations for portraits, or they just want the standard groupings and prefer more candids. When it comes to the ceremony, they can differ somewhat, but by and large there is a consistent flow and anyone with experience will be prepared and know what to expect regardless of the faith or location.
Experienced pros will talk brides through their schedule and properly manage their expectations with the reality of their wedding day plans. If photographers are just showing up without communicating about the game plan in advance, that is where you see a lack of professionalism and poor performance. The most competent photographers guide the couple with properly scheduling and planning the portrait time, so they arrive on time for their reception. I can honestly and proudly say that we’ve never caused a couple to be late for their ceremony or reception because we always take the time to properly educate them about the logistics and best practices regarding the portrait time.
Frankly, I seriously doubt that a photographer who missed a processional actually had a lot of experience with weddings. Any photographer with even less than a year of experience would not miss that moment. It really is not the wedding planners’ job to keep photographers on task or make sure they’re competent. It is unfortunate that some are likely put in that position if they or a bride make the wrong choice when hiring the photographer in the planning stages. Unfortunately, markets are over saturated with less-than-professional vendors in every sector, and photography is no exception. Consumers really need to do their research well, especially these days when anyone who buys a DSLR camera at a consumer electronics store will claim to be a pro and start a “business” the day after they buy their camera to make extra cash on the weekends away from their regular job. Really, there is no area of wedding planning that is immune to the pitfalls of inexperience. People really just need to do their homework.
Thanks for taking me to task on the careless use of the adjective, ‘artsy.’ That phrase has been edited.
On this point, I would challenge that the notion that this particular event needed two photographers was not a sweeping generalization, nor a question of style. It was based on knowing the layout of the facility and the guest count. This is not terribly different than having one bartender for 200 guests. Prediction: There will be long lines at the bar.
I agree, completely, that the primary issue is making a good choice of vendors (photographers or any category), to start with. One of the problems I’ve observed (perhaps you have, too) is the over-confidence of brides, in making quality decisions.
Then, when it gets down to the big day, if they haven’t made great choices, for day-of services, the reception sputters. The fact that a key shot was missed, in this case, only points to the fact that bad decisions were made. Clearly, a rookie mistake.
From my experience, when the reception is over, there is nothing more important than great documentation of the event. Photos and video live on for a lifetime. Making subpar choices in those areas is just sad.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. Hope you’ll comment often!
Andy