Totally confused

[Ash H]

Ok so I spent a lot of my night tonight going through old threads and posts and have noticed a lot of people talking about flying their own photographer to their DW. I'm beginning to feel that I HAVE to do this too. Is it a must? I guess that I didn't really see any comments about the photo. packages and photographer at their resort so I don't know what to think anymore! lol

Were getting married at the Barcelo Maya Palace, has anyone gone with their packages? If so how do/did you feel about them?

[*kellis*]

We're flying our photographer in but we also are having out wedding in CA as opposed to out of the country so it won't cost too much to bring him with us. Mainly just because the photography is a huge deal to me and I fell in love with the style of his portfolio.

 

I would think you would be fine using the photographer that the resort recommends, obviously they're recommending him for a good reason right?

[MarieSam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ash H Ok so I spent a lot of my night tonight going through old threads and posts and have noticed a lot of people talking about flying their own photographer to their DW. I'm beginning to feel that I HAVE to do this too. Is it a must? I guess that I didn't really see any comments about the photo. packages and photographer at their resort so I don't know what to think anymore! lol Were getting married at the Barcelo Maya Palace, has anyone gone with their packages? If so how do/did you feel about them?

I think a lot of brides do this when bringing a photographer with them actually ends up giving them a better deal price and package wise. I actually did this for our wedding about two weeks ago and it was probably one of the best decision I've ever made! BUT it certainly isn't something you HAVE to do because there are some very good resort photographers as well as photographers based at your location

As for the Barcelo Maya -- you may want to check this thread out because I think they just implemented a new policy that DOES NOT allow outside photographers so you may have to stick with the one the resort provides: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t45377

[faithers81]

I am not bringing my own photographer. We are using the one the resort recommends. I am sure my family will also be taking a lot of pictures. Maybe contact your resort and see if they have a photographer.

[becks]

I think you may see a lot more about people flying photogs not because it's more common, but because it's something that gives people more trepidation. LOTS and LOTS of brides use local phptogs or their hotel photogs.

 

Personally, I did fly someone down (Nathaniel Thompson - I'm a huge fan!!!!) but that was mostly circumstantial - if he hadn't been available, I would have gone with a local photog. But take a look at the work your hotel photog has posted, I'm sure they have a website, and see what you think. If you love it and can imagine your own album looking like their style, GO FOR IT!

[TammyB]

Personally I see it both ways, I just so happened to get married in Cabo and LOVED a local person there (Juan Carlos) so I wouldn't have dreamed of anyone else doing our wedding photos. However with that said, I think the reason why so many people decide to bring their own photographer is for a few reasons. 1. You get more bang for your buck, for example you get full day coverage of your wedding and more then likely a TTD session as well, even some pre-wedding day coverage, so it's like they are there capturing your whole vacation. 2. When you bring your own photographer you find the style you like, your not stuck with a resort photographer that you may or may not like.

 

But it really just boils down to a personal decision, There are many great photographers out there, I would search the photographers near the resort your getting married at to see if you like their style and maybe compare what they offer to some outside photographers and see what works best for you.

[TATrisha]

I agree with Tammy. I flew my own photographer in for a variety of reasons. But one of the biggest ones was when I looked at how expensive the resort photographs were. They were OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. And you typically get a hard copy photo in a weird size (usually 6x7 or something odd). So what in the world do you do with that? I wanted the full resolution disc of photos, so that would have cost me an additional $500 on top of the $500 for the 1 hour of photos. Obviously, i wanted more than 1 hour of photos, so that was MORE money. And then I wanted a trash the dress session the next day. In the end, it was CHEAPER for me to bring in my own photographer as a guest at my wedding and as result I received three days worth of coverage and well over 1,000 images! It was perfect and one of the best decisions I made.

[sunnyee]

We are toying with the same idea. My FI's co-worker does photography as a weekend hobby and his pictures are awesome! We joked that he should do our wedding at the GBP in Mexico...no decision has been made yet, but it is "not out of the realm of possibility" as my FI puts it!

 

If we decide against bringing our own photographer with us, we are going to provide SD cards for some of our guests who love to take pictures (some of them are quite creative as well!!)...sort of along the same lines as providing cameras at the reception that was so widely done in the past.

 

Bottom line - there is no right or wrong way to do this...whatever works for you!

 

Happy planning!

[Jacilynda]

We are bringing 2 photographers, but really because we got a good deal, LOVE their work and we're getting more coverage. We are spending the same amount (only because we got a SMASHING deal) as we would have on the photog we picked in RM but they are shooting our welcome dinner, ALL day the wedding day, and a TTD. One of the other reasons alot of girls like to bring their own is they get a free engagement shoot and they get to know their photog before their wedding, etc.

 

Its only your preference though. Some of the top photogs in the world are in Mexico. But read the thread MarieSam posted cause BM has the new policy

[GracieBebe]

We are using the one our WC recommended but our cost of hiring him includes us flying him to France. Turns out he is from Georgia but seeing his work, it is excellent and he has been voted as one of the top photographers on the knot as well as having won several awards so I'm not too worried.