Wedding Regrets
By the time you get to this stage, it's already too late.This is the stuff most either gloss over prior to 'the big day' or simply do not even consider.Everyone is different and has different wishes and priorities, but when you scroll through couples' post-wedding regret lists (not something I do very often!), there is always a familiar pattern and some of those top regrets are:1: Not hiring a videographer.2: Wishing they had booked a better photographer.3: Regrets over spending money in certain areas that seemed like a good idea before the wedding, but in reality...4: Wishing they had spent more time with X, Y & Z.5: Wishing they had spent more time taking it all in and enjoying it more.Most couples DO enjoy their wedding. At least that's the feedback I get from my clients but of course there are always a few niggles about some details.That's natural because;A: You have so much to consider and organise plus,B: Most of you have never done this before and so have very limited first hand experience.I have only been married once (and still am by the way!), but I have been on the inside of over 700 wedding days in the last 20 years.There is NO ONE other than photographers/videographers who have this privilege.I have seen hundreds of make up artists and hairdressers at work ranging from terrible to fantastic.Hundreds of celebrants ranging from terrible to fantastic.Hundreds of caterers ranging from...Bands that kill and not fill the dance floor, mediocre acts brought in often at great expense to 'entertain' the guests etc...It's what I am paid to do, - be a witness on the inside, to observe, to document and preserve. I see everything from both the intimate inside and from further afield than anyone else attending your wedding. 700+ times over.And then during or just after the honeymoon, the capture/memory regrets begin to kick in...How many times have I been documenting speeches only to hear thanks to the makeup artist, the celebrant, the caterer, the bar staff and the band as yet unheard, but hardly anyone ever mentions the people or person capturing that one single day that must then last a lifetime.Why? Because all the ephemeral stuff is happening but the photo/video is still a few weeks off becoming a reality, but the day after the wedding, it starts...Suddenly, it becomes increasingly more important and at that stage, you either booked the right people to have captured and preserved those memories. Or you didn't."But you are a photographer/videographer, - of course you would say that, - you're biased!"Perhaps I am, but the reality is still that the 2 most common top regrets of 10's of thousands of recently married couples is that they;1: Wished they had a wedding video.2: Wished they had researched better and placed more emphasis on booking a better photographer.The first 5 sources according to Google (from my location, today):Source 01Source 02Source 03Source 04Source 05But who is listening?! Who is reading?!Wedding regrets, don't have them.