Q.
My fiance and I are trying to cut down on costs. His father happens to be a professional photographer. Do you think it would be okay for him to be the photographer on our wedding day?
A.
You don't mention whether or not you have run this plan by your future father-in-law yet. If not, think twice about doing so. Asking him to perform this most important duty at your wedding may be a little too much to ask. He likely will want the day to sit back and enjoy his son's wedding, without having to worry about completing one of the most critical tasks of any wedding day. Photographing your wedding could be pretty stressful for him too -- after all, his son is the subject! He will probably spend more time and worry trying to ensure each photo is perfect. You don't want to have a frazzled father-in-law on your wedding day, right? There are many other places to cut costs; try not to do it this way if you can.
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lynlovesjoe
my brother is going to be my photographer. He was honored when i gave him the choice between that and a usher. I still think I want a professional to take pictures too, and my brother thought that was a great idea since artistically it will give us a different feel. It seems that most people don't want to be ushers because it is a cruddy job. My fiance wasn't even asked if he wanted to be an usher at his cousin's wedding, she announced it on their wedding web page, and we were kinda shocked. so I sat in the back row with him, and couldn't even hear the vows. :/
lilsecretstrwbry
My future father-in-law is also a professional photographer; but he is being the father-of-the-groom that day, not the photographer. We were able to work out a deal with our photographer because we took my father-in-law to our consultation and let the photographers talk. So think about that. Look through local photographers online then send the links to him and ask his opinion. And, personally, I believe that spending the most money on the photographer makes sense, aside from your marriage the pictures are the only thing that last forever.
MarilynRose
Maybe your father-in-law has a co-worker who is also a good friend and won't mind giving you a much lower rate than a photographer who doesn't know you.
vbrigden
My Mom is also a professional photographer, and actually offered to take our formal shots for us. We also have a friend (another photographer) who has offered to take the shots that my Mom can't (the ones that she would actually be in). We have a small budget, so we couldn't afford to say no when the service was offered to us.
JeanneRyan08
I would say to ask your future father in law to reccomend someone. This way, you can bring up the topic, and if he volunteers to take a few shots, great, but make sure there's a back up for the important shots he needs to be in. Also, as Carly mentioned, you don't want him to spend the day at work rather than enjoying himself. Perpaps he can photograph a sitting, or portraits of you before the wedding. You can always hire an amature- will save you a ton of money. But listen to your FFIL first.