Shutterbug has been chosen

Ah, one more major thing crossed off the list!

I have learned from other people's weddings that photography is one thing to research. And unfortunately, you can do tons of research and still end up with a crappy photographer - and there's no do-over. It needs to be right - you've got 4-5 hours to get some good photos.

An acquaintance of mine is absolutely livid about the photography of her son's wedding. She's so glad she decided to hire a photographer of her own. There are hardly any pictures of the groom's side of the family. Also, there were plenty of shots of inanimate objects - food, floral arrangements, etc. And also backside photos, backs of people's heads. Lots of "artsy" photos of the room (with no one in the photo) and shots taken from a great distance where you would assume a more intimate composition - you know, like the couple are reciting their vows. These photos were taken by a reputable photographer in the DC area - a firm with plenty of weddings under their belt. But you wouldn't know it from the photos. There are also very few good photos of the bride's family. The bride is heartbroken. She wanted candid photos, but not of the back of someone's head.

I have decided to go with a friend who shot two of my cousins' weddings. I told him up front that I'm not a girly girl - I'm not interested in photos of me without makeup, putting on makeup, getting dressed, closeups of my dress on a clothes hanger, closeups of my shoes, etc. My mother and I are only interested in posed, portrait-like shots of the family. No closeups of food, tableware, decor. Bruce agrees with me - we want pictures of people - nice, clear pictures of people and their happy faces. Apparently the bride I just told you about made the mistake of not being specific.

We have plenty of friends who are all budding shutterbugs - so we'll get plenty of candid shots from them. Our photographer will work from a shot list so a lot of pressure is taken off of him and he concentrate on getting good portraits. I'm a little nervous that he's not as experienced as some wedding photogrpahers. But we trust him. We've seen his portfolio and we know we're going to get a bunch of very good photos.

Share your horror stories here - and your advice! It will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!