Dear Couple,
Hi! It’s Tobin!
Our creative fee for shooting weddings is higher than what many photographers charge and when some couples first see it, they get a jolt of sticker shock.
Recently, I had a bride-to-be reply to me, asking why we charge what we do. She shared that her wedding was already adding up to be much more costly than she’d originally estimated, what with all the other vendors’ and so I thought I’d take a few minutes and write a little letter to hopefully open up a glimpse into a perspective that may be more helpful than the one you might currently be looking from.
If, after reading this, you feel inspired to have me come capture your wedding, great! But my real aim is to hopefully allow you to see this consideration from a vantage that may help you make a choice that will serve you and your family for generations.
First, I’d like to invite you to close your eyes and ask yourself this question:
In a year, ten years, or twenty years after our wedding, “What will still matter to us?
Will it be the quality of the wine we chose, whether we splurged on the premium appetizers? The lavishness and quantity of bouquets?
If you’re honest, I think you’ll find that the answer is “no.” Little of that will matter all that much. What will matter will be how vividly your photographs depict the authentic emotion – the love, joy, and togetherness shared on that special day between you and the most important people in your life.
There are countless folks out there with a fancy camera who can shoot your wedding.
But I’d like to submit that your wedding photographs aren’t just another vendor expense. They are your children’s birthright. They are literally the document of the genesis of your family’s story.
Given this, it only makes sense to consider your wedding photography as an entirely different kind of expense, altogether. These pictures will be treasured family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, used to tell the unique story of the beautiful beginnings of your love, your family. This is what has your photographs grow more valuable over time. The other products and services you purchase for your wedding are “here today and gone tomorrow. Poof!
And this is what qualifies your wedding photography as the only real investment from your wedding day.
I know this because over the years I have encountered dozens of women, who, on seeing my photographs, have lamented, often through tears, that they don’t like their wedding photos and that they regret deeply not having made photography a higher budgetary priority during their planning process.
I urge you – whether or not it’s right for us to work together: don’t skimp on your photography budget. Regret ain’t no fun.