How Much are They Worth?

I'm back after a very busy week and I have a question for you. How much are your memories worth? Last week I had dinner with a friend and while we looked through some photos I had done for her, she said, "I wish you had done our wedding." She looked really sad when she said it, so I asked her what had happened at her wedding.

Her husband and then fiance had hired a "photographer" to take photos of their wedding up North in the wine country. My friend had done all the wedding planning, but left her husband to arrange for the photographer. Apparently he knew someone at work who said, "Sure, I'll take photos for you."

Well, you might already have guessed how this is going to go. Every detail of the wedding day was perfect and the wedding was just beautiful. When the newly weds went to the home of the "photographer" to look at the photos, the new bride was devastated. Each photo was worse than the last and the comment from the "photographer" with each photo was, "Well, a professional photographer would have had the equipment to take care of that problem." After the fourth or fifth excuse, steam was billowing from my friend's ears. Her new husband knew better than to say anything to her as they left.

It turns out that the "photographer" wasn't a photographer at all. He was a colleague of her husband who fancied himself as a landscape photographer. What my friend saw of his work did not impress her at all. I guess the first clue that this guy was not a photographer was when he showed up at the wedding, all expenses paid I might add, and he pulled out a little pocket digital camera. Are we all thinking Oh, my gosh!!! at this point?

So back to my original question. What are your memories worth? Are they worth as much as you pay for the liquor or the flowers or the huge limo? So many people choose to splurge on everything but the photography and like my sweet friend, they spend every year after the wedding regretting that decision. It's been five years since the fateful pocket digital camera incident and my friend has not looked at the photos once. It's just too painful.

I've offered to take the couple out to the beach in their wedding attire and have a do over, but even that will not erase the sadness of losing all the memories from that special day. So the next time you have a decision to make about hiring a professional photographer or asking Uncle Harry to take the photos for you instead, consider this - how much are your memories worth?

Go forth and make it a day for great decisions you won't regret!

Elizabeth