One of the first things a bride must do after she gets engaged is set a budget. But, Wow, do things get crazy from there. There are so many choices.
What do weddings cost? How about photographers?
Oregon is a great place to get married because costs here are a bit lower than the average. We ALL want to be wise consumers, so where do we begin?
Checking out this list from The Knot is somewhat informative in that it gives you perspective.
The engagement ring is THE most expensive item after the reception costs including the band/dj.
Third? Wedding photographers.
Flowers are fourth.
Everything seems important, your dress, the wedding venue, the music, the selects of groomsmen, maids and guests, table decorations, the cake, the honeymoon, what type of food to have, on and on.
But if you think about it, when its all over, what do you have left from your wedding? Does it really matter if the music was live or from a good dj? If you had designed napkins or plain ones?
So what ARE the most important things?
1. Your spouse of course! :-) ,
2. The rings AND…..if you think about it-
3. Your wedding photographs and how your interacted with your photographer.
ALL of the investment you make in your wedding comes down to this: How did you feel during your wedding, how will you remember your wedding and what will you have from your wedding that you can cherish daily and even 5, 10, 20 years from now?
Your photographs.
It is the one expense that causes the most regrets down the road. Not getting great photographs or hiring an inexperienced, visionless or rude photographer will ruin your most special day forever.
I can speak from personal experience. Before I was a photographer, my fiance and I didn’t know what to look for regarding getting nice photographs for our wedding. We knew we needed someone competent, but didn’t allocate much money to this important service. We hired a commercial photographer. Sure the photographs turned out, but we have regretted that mistake thousands of times because we can’t go back and make it right.
Don’t let this happen to you? You don’t need to hire me, but please make sure your photographer IS a full time seasoned professional, produces beautiful, artistic work and is someone you LIKE….A Lot. The expense you incur will be far less expensive than the regret you will encounter down the road if you cut corners.
Armed with a Kodak Brownie at age 10, Bruce loved capturing candids of people. Now an Internationally acclaimed Master-Photographer, Bruce is considered by many of his peers to be one of the more creative photographers on the West Coast, creating images to fit a variety of styles. 
