You’re planning a destination wedding and getting everything ready for your beautiful day, you have the perfect location picked out, and your guest list is fine-tuned… the one thing that remains is the question of your wedding photographer. You keep wondering to yourself “should I travel with my own destination wedding photographer?”
Choosing a photographer for your destination wedding is an immensely personal decision. Your photographer is there to witness every intimate detail of your wedding and is responsible for capturing it all. There are plenty of unique factors to consider that you shouldn’t overlook. If you’re overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start when looking for a destination wedding photographer, you’ve come to the right place!
Why Focus on Photography?
A wedding photographer will, on average, cost you around 15% of your overall wedding budget. That’s a big chunk, but that’s because choosing a photographer for your wedding day is a big decision! Your wedding photos will last for decades to come. You’ll get to share them with children and grandchildren. Future generations will see them. Even as time erodes memories, you’ll be able to look back on your photos and remember the key moments from that day. It’s important that you invest in your wedding photography. You want to have beautiful and memorable photos that hold precious sentiments for you and your soon-to-be spouse.
Because of this, you’ll need to make sure you hire a destination wedding photographer that can encapsulate precious memories and do it in the way you want. To make sure this happens, you won’t want to settle for your resort photographer. Instead, hand-select your destination wedding photographer to ensure you get the greatest quality and have the best experience.
This is why I’m sharing the top 3 reasons you should travel with your own destination wedding photographer.
1. Confidence In Your Wedding Photographer
Traveling with your own destination wedding photographer will give you a great deal of confidence. You’ll be able to research and select the exact photographer you want. You’ll be able to choose someone who fits your style, vibes with your personality, and has plenty of experience as a traveling photographer.
Before I work with my clients, we always get on a free call together to make sure we’re a good fit for one another. You’ll be able to ask me any questions you might have and share your ideas with me. I will always do my best to accommodate your preferences and work hard to make your day special.
When going with a resort photographer, you’ll most likely be assigned to a random photographer. You won’t get to hand-select your photographer and won’t have any opportunity to speak with the photographer beforehand to go over your preferences. Instead, you’ll meet him or her the day of, and cross your fingers that you get a good one.
Destination Wedding Photographer:
- Fits your style
- Connects with you personally
- Captures pictures of all your planning and decorations
- Get a pre-planned, customizable experience
Resort Photographer:
- No idea who your photographer is until that weekend
- No personal connection
- No assurance they fit your style
- Doesn’t know what details make your wedding special
2. More Time with Your Destination Wedding Photographer
When you travel with your own hand-selected photographer, there’s a much higher chance they’ll spend more time throughout the day with you. You’ll likely have an uninterrupted full day of coverage, which means they’ll be more likely to capture those candid and hidden moments between you and your guests.
I LOVE being a part of the entire day experience. From getting ready in the morning and capturing the details, to the first dance at the reception, I love every minute of the day. I’ll be there to capture every beautiful moment.
“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it”.
Irving Penn
It’s not quite like that with a resort photographer. You’ll probably have your photographer for just a few hours. You won’t get those spur-of-the-moment emotions caught on camera. They arrive with an agenda, take their photos, and then it’s sayonara to your wedding photographer.
Destination Wedding Photographer:
- As much coverage of the wedding day as you choose
- I live for destination weddings! So I’ll be there for every moment.
- Stays for the reception
- Spend time talking about your wedding day leading up to it
Resort Photographer:
- Typically only 4 hours of coverage
- Missed opportunities for candid photos
- Limited remembrance of your special day
- Treats it like every other wedding the resort hosts, which leaves your photos feeling generic and unoriginal.
3. Photographer Experience
Again, traveling with your own photographer means you get to choose based on their experience level. You can make sure you find someone who has spent lots of time perfecting their craft, has quality equipment, has worked with plenty of other couples, and can adapt to any unforeseen circumstances. You’ll have more trust in their ability and that will allow you to relax and not worry about photos being captured on your wedding day.
I’ve been doing wedding photography for over 4 years and with dozens of weddings under my belt. I know how to beautifully capture the little moments throughout your day and make your photography session unique.
Resort photographers are often part-time weekend wedding photographers. They’re normally less experienced than a professional wedding photographer and are less likely to strike up a personal relationship with you or your guests. They also typically have a selection of poses and groups of people they’re trained to take pictures of which means your images will look generic and just like everyone else’s who has worked with that resort.
Destination Wedding Photographer:
- Prompts you and offers suggestions, rather than bringing a rigid pose itinerary
- Trained to capture all aspects of the day in different lighting and angles
- Specially trained in wedding photography
Resort Photographer:
- Feels generic and ordinary
- Quality is sacrificed for quantity
- Impersonal photos and general experience
Capturing Special Moments to Last Forever
Although selecting a resort photographer can be cheaper, you don’t want to make the wrong decision by focusing only on numbers. There are lots of other, and quite frankly more important, factors to consider. A lot of value needs to be placed on factors such as your confidence in the compatibility of your photographer, the quality of time spent with them, the quality of images you’ll receive, and the experience of the photographer.
We could all use a wedding planner goddess in our pocket, but it’s even more important to capture those special moments that make the planning all worth it! If you’ve been on the hunt for a wedding photographer that can capture those candid moments and the pure emotion of the day, look no further!
Contact me to learn everything you need to know about destination weddings and hire a personable, detail-oriented, high-quality destination wedding photographer. And don’t forget you can always schedule a free wedding photography consultation call with me.
