June 15th, 2010 | 
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When our daughter, Michelle, got married a few years back, she hired a wedding photographer who was the ‘best man’s father who was a professional wedding photographer.’ Reminds me of the ‘my friend has an uncle…’ I suggested she look closely at his wedding album sample understanding that the best images a photographer takes are in their albums, of course.
I hadn’t begun doing wedding photography at the time. I even had the foolish notion that I would end up photographing most of it myself so it didn’t matter who they hired. Big mistake!! I am not, and never have been, able to wear two hats at one time. And the most important hat for me to wear that day was that of the ‘mother of the bride.’ I was so busy with the bride, guests, and details that I didn’ t pay any attention to the photographs. Hard to believe, but it’s true.
Not only did this ‘professional photographer’ (I use the term sooooo loosely) not get any good shots of family members, but there is not a single, salvageable image of the bride and groom in his work. Thank goodness I had a nature photographer friend there who got a few lovely images of the kids (thank you, Lu). The disposable cameras on the table were also a waste of money and time, unfortunately.
So when I attended a seminar talking about these unfortunate brides who hire a photographer ‘on the cheap’ and end up with no images of such an important day, the idea was suggested to create what is known as “I do Redo” sessions. We rent a tux, recreate the flowers, and put the bride back in her dress for a fun day capturing beautiful, missed images for a couple. No, it is never the same. But in some ways, it’s better!! Couples are more relaxed, they have fun, and we can concentrate on really creating beautiful portrait art to commemorate their day.
So, this past weekend, my daughter and her husband, Steve, put on their wedding attire and became real examples of what an ”I do Redo” session is all about with J. Love Photography. Here are a few of the images they will have forever. It won’t be their actual wedding day, but it is a celebration of their love nonetheless. And now it’s done the way it should have been done in the beginning. We all learned a lot. Our daughter was a beautiful bride, and we now have some lovely images we can not only show people but hang in our own home!
We worked with Darling Bridal in Ann Arbor and Dexter Flowers of Dexter. These people are top notch professionals who helped us recreate this important day. Thanks to everyone involved. Our kids are most grateful and so are we!
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Hi Jill
When Al and I got married we thought we would save money and just have disposables at the ceremony and on the tables at the dinner….we were being extravagant in other areas right!!?? What an error…..we do not even have one wedding photo that we can call ‘ Our Wedding Picture’ This is a great idea. And beautiful work once again.
Moreen
Thanks for sharing, Moreen. You aren’t alone, unfortunately.
This also begs the question “Who do YOU hire?”… A trained professional who does this for a living! If you are the kind of person who knows that in 5, 10, or even 20 years from now it won’t matter near as much what food people ate or whether they had a chair cover with a bow, but you know what will matter to you is the portraits that reflect back on this moment in time, then it’s important enough to hire a professional.
What is a professional? Someone who belongs to their industry’s organizations to stay fresh and continue to learn and grow, works full time having this be their main source of income, has testimonials from clients, and guarantees their work. That’s a start.
And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, A L W A Y S meet with a prospective photographer before hiring them to make sure that no matter how good they are or how much they cost that you like them! You will (should) be spending a lot of time with them so this is important! They have a big responsibility ahead of them so to me, this is critical.