Generic Wedding Related Rants!!!!

Then there is issue of divorced/remarried parents. I had one a couple of months ago and the instructions for the shot list was something along the following lines:

Grooms family
No shots of mum and dad together (messy divorce)
Shots of mum and new partner
Shots of first stepmum (but not with dad due to....yep, you've guessed it, messy divorce) and new partner
Shots of dad but not with his 'new wife' (younger than the bride) and who didn't appear to be liked

Brides family
Mum and Dad divorced
Shots of mum, not bothered about stepdad
Vice versa for dad
Shots of mum and dad together without new partners

Then we got onto the group pictures where both sets of parents were to be shot together, it then started to get really interesting and I was going into meltdown :bang: as I'm sure Starrider will testify to.

And it was November. And cold. And windy. And wet.

:)
 
I second you all getting together and writing a book, some of these posts are brilliant :LOL:
 
I've got one coming up this year where the Groom's family are not even coming. Church is going to be a bit one sided then. :shrug:

The longest one I ever did was a pagan handfasting ceremony held in a fetish club. I got away at 4am and funnily enough it was one of THE most enjoyable shoots ever, truly lovely people.

I've got a mixed traditional/Hindi one that I'm doing as a second for another wedding tog in just over a week. it should be a pretty big event and it's a long day for us. The Traditional Ceremony is in the morning with the Hindi one later the same day. Just time to refuel in between. Doing the dancing round the fire pit too so I'm really looking forward to it. All that colour..........not a white wedding dress in sight...........Yipee!
 
I just luuuvvv being asked to photograph weddings (which happens on a daily basis). My reply is usually "Thank you very much for asking, but I am afraid that I am a little busy"

What I would like to say is "Yes, of course I will photograph the wedding for you........but there will be a few things that I will need. You see, I only ever work with a full studio lighting system, so will need a very large room rented for me to set up my gear. This takes three days to set up, so you had better rent the room for four, no maybe five days, to allow for takedown. Now of course we need to get hair and MUA sorted for everyone. On average this takes about two hours per person, so, how many are coming to the wedding? Two hundred you say! Ok, at an average of about 2.5 hours per person, let's say we hire fifty MUA's and stylists, and get the guests to arrive at about 2.30am on the morning of the wedding we should be able to get through them all by the time of the wedding at 3.00pm. Of course I will need everyone to sign a standard 'release form'. Shall we send them out with the wedding invitations? Now, shall we talk about costs?..........."

I then let them stand mouth agape for about ten seconds then explain to them that just because I have a camera and regularly take pictures of beautiful women, I do not want to spend four elbow bashed hours in a grimy village hall on a sweaty Saturday evening in July "doing their wedding" for fifty quid, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!


Oh, I do feel better for getting that out of my system.
 
CanonSax said:
I just luuuvvv being asked to photograph weddings (which happens on a daily basis). My reply is usually "Thank you very much for asking, but I am afraid that I am a little busy"

What I would like to say is "Yes, of course I will photograph the wedding for you........but there will be a few things that I will need. You see, I only ever work with a full studio lighting system, so will need a very large room rented for me to set up my gear. This takes three days to set up, so you had better rent the room for four, no maybe five days, to allow for takedown. Now of course we need to get hair and MUA sorted for everyone. On average this takes about two hours per person, so, how many are coming to the wedding? Two hundred you say! Ok, at an average of about 2.5 hours per person, let's say we hire fifty MUA's and stylists, and get the guests to arrive at about 2.30am on the morning of the wedding we should be able to get through them all by the time of the wedding at 3.00pm. Of course I will need everyone to sign a standard 'release form'. Shall we send them out with the wedding invitations? Now, shall we talk about costs?..........."

I then let them stand mouth agape for about ten seconds then explain to them that just because I have a camera and regularly take pictures of beautiful women, I do not want to spend four elbow bashed hours in a grimy village hall on a sweaty Saturday evening in July "doing their wedding" for fifty quid, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!


Oh, I do feel better for getting that out of my system.
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It's a hard life eh! :p
 
inaneredstripe said:
we regularly photograph beautiful ladies.
sometimes theyre the bride.:cautious:
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PMSL. That's so true. Take a beautiful bride, handsome groom, nice setting, and you can't really go wrong. The reality is often somewhat different.
 
Hacker said:
Then there is issue of divorced/remarried parents.
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I actually didnt think i had a rant, but this just reminded me of the last wedding i shot.
They were good friends of mine, and have been for about 7 years. I went along to the rehersal to check out the venue and take some pics during, which was nice (lovely lady vicar too).
Anyway, got there, and the vicar and grooms family were speaking about where to seat people. Luckly i was listening...apparently the Brides parents hadnt spoken in 10 years or something and i got that sprung on me the night before.
After the rehersal, i grabbed the groom and ask "what the hell, why didnt you tell me this", luckily its a case of they dont talk but are pleasant for stuff like this and her graduation! So not really a rant but major panic through the rehersal! :LOL:
 
mastertrinity said:
six years ago my mum's wedding was coming up and when the big day arrived i borrowed a fujifilm 2mp camera and took some shots and apparently they were some of the best!!(i was only 9 lol)
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If I go to family events once the main job done, drinking starts! my Daughter now 10 takes control of the camera and gets stunning pictures too, something to do with oh were all drunk look a kid with a camera smile and job done.

Michael
 
Hacker said:
Then there is issue of divorced/remarried parents. I had one a couple of months ago and the instructions for the shot list was something along the following lines:

Grooms family
No shots of mum and dad together (messy divorce)
Shots of mum and new partner
Shots of first stepmum (but not with dad due to....yep, you've guessed it, messy divorce) and new partner
Shots of dad but not with his 'new wife' (younger than the bride) and who didn't appear to be liked

Brides family
Mum and Dad divorced
Shots of mum, not bothered about stepdad
Vice versa for dad
Shots of mum and dad together without new partners

Then we got onto the group pictures where both sets of parents were to be shot together, it then started to get really interesting and I was going into meltdown :bang: as I'm sure Starrider will testify to.

And it was November. And cold. And windy. And wet.

:)
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Had one just like that a few years ago and in addition Grandad got to the bar and would not come out for the photo's and it was so hot that the bride fainted half way through the shots

Aint weddings fun
 
Only wedding tog story I have is my own.

The 'tog had arranged for £250 deposit, in cash on the day (we're talking 20 years ago now), which I duly passed to my Best Man, Paul to take care of.

When he turned up, Paul offered him the cash only for the 'tog to go on about how the Government were taking all his earnings and that he had to do "something" without the tax man getting his hands on all of "his" cash. He did go on about this at length, only to suddenly stop in his tracks when Paul showed him his "HM Collector of Taxes" ID card :LOL:

He was very quiet for the remainder of the day.......

Steve
 
wifey has been out to see a potential client today.
shes looking at one of our top album packages, and all day coverage.
2010 booking. if she books . she'll get it at current price.whichdoesnt go up for 09 till end of march.
shes paying for the bloody horse and carriage ,country club and assorted other flash stuff. still arguing the toss about our prices.two togs, all day.for what a lot of people round here charge short day, and one tog.
my mrs isnt amused.
bet she doesnt book.
 
inaneredstripe said:
wifey has been out to see a potential client today.
shes looking at one of our top album packages, and all day coverage.
2010 booking. if she books . she'll get it at current price.whichdoesnt go up for 09 till end of march.
shes paying for the bloody horse and carriage ,country club and assorted other flash stuff. still arguing the toss about our prices.two togs, all day.for what a lot of people round here charge short dasy, and one tog.
my mrs isnt amused.
bet she doesnt book.
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You can't beat them sometimes

£600 to capture the whole day on a 300+ shot DVD

Or

£600 for a horse for 2 hours where all they'll remember is that it dropped a #2 which stank :LOL:

Tricky to some people eh :thinking:

But if it is, you should be advertising your 'divorce' fee too :LOL:

DD
 
inaneredstripe said:
wifey has been out to see a potential client today.
shes looking at one of our top album packages, and all day coverage.
2010 booking. if she books . she'll get it at current price.whichdoesnt go up for 09 till end of march.
shes paying for the bloody horse and carriage ,country club and assorted other flash stuff. still arguing the toss about our prices.two togs, all day.for what a lot of people round here charge short day, and one tog.
my mrs isnt amused.
bet she doesnt book.
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When you are, like me and the gaffer, nearly 25 years on from the big day all we have apart from memories are the photographs and yet people still pay through the nose for food reception transport etc but try to skimp on the Tog's
 
CaptainPenguin said:
When you are, like me and the gaffer, nearly 25 years on from the big day all we have apart from memories are the photographs and yet people still pay through the nose for food reception transport etc but try to skimp on the Tog's
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But there are people who believe that what you do and experience on the day are more important than photographs of it. :shrug:
 
fabs said:
But there are people who believe that what you do and experience on the day are more important than photographs of it. :shrug:
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Pffft, well they are dead wrong. What the hell are memories worth? You cant pass memories down to your grandchildren :LOL:
 
Betty said:
Pffft, well they are dead wrong. What the hell are memories worth? You cant pass memories down to your grandchildren :LOL:
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Pffft, let your grandchildren have their own wedding! :p :D
 
The togs that did my wedding had a domestic outside the church because he was having fun snapping away and she berated him for straying from the list :LOL::LOL:

They were funny though :D
 
Betty said:
I have been invited to my mums friends wedding as a guest in July. My mum wants to pay me to take a few shots and make an album up as her present to them, no problem says me. The bride says she doesn’t mind me taking a few discreetly, as her brother is shooting the wedding. He isn't a pro, but he, and I quote, “Has a nice camera”, and doesn’t want to offend him. *screams*

FFS, I cant very well be discreet with a sodding 30D strapped to my wrist. You either want me to take some shots or not. My dads wedding photos were chaos for this very reason, eyes looking in different directions in every shot. I couldnt take the photos and be in them too, the same goes for this wedding.

After I calmed down, I realised that, even if I don’t take any images of the day, I am worried they will come to me afterwards and ask me to process her brothers shots because they wont be up to scratch. My mum also said the brides brother will no doubt be leglessly drunk come 7pm, so I would probably end up taking over then anyway.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand breathe.
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Quoted so you can see where this next rant comes from ;)

I am now the official tog. My mum is paying me for the day as a wedding present to her mate, and she wants a photobook of the day, a handful of prints and all images on a CD.

For £60.

:bang:
 
sorry I can't help but smile - else I think I'd cry,

to add mine groom has approached me 4 times through 4 different web adverts - all asking for a full day plus album for £400........wedding is 250+ guests in Twickenham Stadium :bang:

hes done the same to atleast one other local tog too

Cheers

Hugh
 
nice betty, looks like your just in budget then:LOL:
 
oh well betty, at least no worries of getting in the way of the "official Tog"(although he will prob be in the way now of you), and for that price, they should get bout 20 mins of togging time:D
 
my best one was at the Olympia wedding fair a few weeks ago. Bride has booked the Globe Theatre on Southbank (Ged only knows how much that costs), but our price for a tog plus assistant for the whole day is too high and can we do it for 500 quid.
 
He has agreed to stay out of my way, well he'll have no sodding choice if he has to be in the shots :D
 
I had an interesting one recently.

Day after the wedding the bride's mother buggered off with someone else. I was asked/instructed that she be "removed" from all the group photos. :bang:
 
dod said:
I had an interesting one recently.

Day after the wedding the bride's mother buggered off with someone else. I was asked/instructed that she be "removed" from all the group photos. :bang:
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:LOL:
 
:beer:I'd decline I think Betty. Ifthey have a 'sharpshooter' lined up let them get on with it and enjoy the champers!
 
J Gordon said:
:beer:I'd decline I think Betty. Ifthey have a 'sharpshooter' lined up let them get on with it and enjoy the champers!
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We've settled at £100. I know its still not great, but its for my mum more than anything, and i know she's a bit skint.

Just this once mind ;)
 
Betty said:
Quoted so you can see where this next rant comes from ;)

I am now the official tog. My mum is paying me for the day as a wedding present to her mate, and she wants a photobook of the day, a handful of prints and all images on a CD.

For £60.

:bang:
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I just done a 6 hours reception shoot for exactly that much, well, it was a gift really. Did it more for a favour for a friend.

But not that this is not a rant.

Story is that, a life long friend planned to get married this summer, and i was supposed to do the entire day's shoot, which would be around £400. Not long after they set the date, Groom's mother found out she has terminal cancer so the wedding was put forward by about 10 months, they did the ceremony in the same Church their parents got married in over 30 years ago in St Ives (We all live in the Midlands now), and only invited family for the do. I didn't go and the only photos were done by people there.

I was then asked to do this reception shoot, which by now the price won't be a full day, and with their mother in a bad shape I said i would do it for £50.

Shot it the Saturday before last (21/02/09), on Wednesday (25/02/09) the Bride calls me while i was at my normal 9-5 Job at work and said that they had just been to see the mother in the hospice and she's in a really bad way and ask if they can have the photos because the mother wants to see them. At the time I had just been through the collection and filtered out the really bad ones but done ZERO processing.

I said that I need more time and asked if I could have until Friday. She then started crying on the phone, :eek: so i gave in and said that i'll go home from work and process as much as i can and I'll call them around 10pm when they are done.

So i got home from work at 7, went straight to my computer and started to process the pics, picked out just shy of 100 pics and did them the best I could in 3 hours and the groom picked up the photos on a CD.

He got them printed in Tesco or Asda, showed it to his mum on Thursday, which they all loved, and she passed away on Friday. :(
 
Betty said:
We've settled at £100. I know its still not great, but its for my mum more than anything, and i know she's a bit skint.

Just this once mind ;)
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LOL Mum's eh? Sound's like you're doing the right thing in 'testing' circumstances. Hope you all have a good day. (y)
 
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