Whether you have just started planning your wedding day or you’re already deep into the process of choosing vendors, you’ve likely realized just how quickly everything can add up. As you look for the right florist, caterer, DJ, and other vendors to bring your wedding day vision to life, you may also be looking for ways to cut costs and stick to your budget.

Do not make the mistake of hiring a friend/ family member to photograph your wedding day. If you have a close friend or family member who is just getting into photography or has a professional camera, it can be tempting to accept their offer to shoot your wedding day for free (or much cheaper than a professional photographer would). But letting a non-professional photograph your wedding can result in low-quality or even terrible images, meaning you end up with no good photos of one of the most important days of your life.

While we totally understand your budget constraints, wedding photography is one area of your budget where you definitely shouldn’t skimp. Here are a few reasons why you should turn down your friend or family member’s generous offer to capture your wedding photos.

Only a professional can guarantee images you’ll love

Your cousin will try their absolute best to capture photos of your wedding day, but if they’re not a professional photographer, your images simply won’t be what you want them to be. A pro brings so much to the table: years of experience and training, framing and lighting expertise, editing skills, and everything else needed to create stunning images. If your venue is dark or the day is cloudy, only a professional photographer can work that less-than-desirable lighting to their advantage.

They won’t miss a major moment

A professional wedding photographer will have a schedule and plan for capturing each moment of your wedding that matters most to you. They won’t miss the reactions to the vows, your first kiss as a married couple, or your first dance together. Your friend with a camera can’t offer the same guarantee and likely won’t plan ahead and be prepared to capture each moment as it happens. The last thing you want is to miss out on images and moments that you want to look back on for the rest of your lives.

There’s more to wedding photography than just images

In addition to taking your photos and editing them into stunning images, a professional photographer can create albums, wall art, and other products and can deliver your digital images to you in a specific timeframe. How much support will a friend or family member be able to provide? Will they help you create a wedding day timeline that allows for optimal picture-taking time? Will they edit your portraits? Provide any additional products? How long will they take to get your photos to you? Wedding photography goes far beyond just the wedding day and requires a professional to provide all the services you need.

Working at and attending a wedding are very different

When you hire a friend or relative to do a job at your wedding, they are no longer your guest but one of your vendors. As a result, they are sacrificing their own enjoyment to photograph your special day. They won’t have time to visit with anyone or dance at your reception because they will be running around trying to capture every moment of your wedding. When you ask your friends and family to work at your wedding, they miss out on the fun and joy of being a guest, which is a huge sacrifice to ask any of your loved ones to make.

You want wedding photos that you will love for a lifetime

As with any service, you get what you pay for. When you invest in a professional wedding photographer, you will receive images that you can cherish for years to come, hang on the walls of your home, and share with your loved ones. If you are unhappy with your wedding photos, you can’t go back and retake them. This is a one-shot kind of event. It can’t be redone, so it’s important your photographer is capable of creating images you’re sure to adore.