Why does wedding planning have to be so stressful?

The venue, the flowers, the guest count, table settings, DJ or band, pick a caterer, choose a dress, choose bridesmaid dresses they’ll love (haha…good luck), deal with your new mother-in-law, stay on budget…AHHH! I thought weddings were supposed to be fun, not stressful!   Congratulations, by the way! With the stress of planning a modern day wedding affair, sometimes you need to rely on others to help you through the stresses of the big day. But with all the elements you have to deal with as a bride it can seem extremely overwhelming, even with a wedding planner by your side. Trust me, I’ve seen it all!    I’ve been creating professional wedding images for my clients for 30 years. Last time I counted, that’s over 1200 weddings under my belt and counting! I’m not doing 50-60 a year anymore, though—I like to keep it around 15-20 at the max with a few destination weddings thrown in there as well. One of the reasons is that I like taking the time to actually get to know my clients beforehand. How else am I going to capture the true essence of you and your groom unless I know a little something about you!   About 80% of my brides today are current clients, many of which were high school senior clients of mine.   It's pretty cool, I've been called upon to photograph my client's special day all over the place from Kansas City to Maine, New York to Chicago, and Iowa to St. Louis!

So after all these years, do I still love photographing wedding and engagement portraits? You bet! Call me a hopeless romantic—I love helping couples capture their love through photographic art. Your wedding day will be one of the best days of your life, but you only have one chance to capture it.   Unfortunately, these days, my staff and I get phone calls from frantic brides all the time hoping we can “fix” their wedding photographs. With the advent of digital photography, anybody and everybody with a camera thinks they’re a photographer. You know what I’m talking about; everyone has a “friend of a friend.” It seems all you need is a camera and website…now you’re in business! This could not be further from the truth; there is a difference between a full time professional and someone with a “nice” digital camera.

Would you choose a DJ because they have a “nice” iPod? Would you trust a caterer who said they are just doing weddings for cheap to build up their experience? Would you let someone fix your hair so they can tell their clients they’ve done weddings?      You see what I am getting at? Unfortunately, many brides are doing this with their photographers and thinking there is nothing wrong with it until it’s too late. This can add major stress both the day of wedding and beyond. But it’s not the brides’ fault—they are inundated by photographers at the wedding shows where they seem to be in every other booth! Talk about stressful!

Yes, experience is nice, but what does that mean for you the bride? Simple—I know what I am doing!    Ok, seriously, I’ve done this long enough to know how to do it right. I’m not the photographer you hire via email, see once, have show up the day of the wedding, and leave you with thousands of images to sort through on a disc.   Part of making your wedding day a successful and un-stressful affair is planning and trust. From your first consultation with me to the meetings leading up the wedding day, you’ll take comfort in knowing that your photographer has a vested interest in your happiness and sanity! I actually care and take the time to get to know you. Even how you see your final images is different and hands on!   A mere 12 days after the wedding you’ll see your edited and color corrected images on our website in a password protected folder. No proofs you’ll have to share with everyone, no dorky slide show to sit though and high pressure sales to go with it…no, this is about YOU and taking your time to enjoy your wedding images in the comfort of your own home.     Then, one by one everyone gets to pick their favorites and place their order for prints/albums; we even begin to design your final album immediately after you place your order! That’s another thing; we have an in-house album designer to help you get the wedding album of your dreams!  No waiting forever to see your album design…and YOU approve the final design, after all…it’s YOUR album!

As for wedding day stress, it’s something I have seen time and time again. In a sense, planning a wedding is like planning a life together. Having a wedding in itself is a test for a young couple’s relationship; it forces you to have to work together. But just like in life, people along the way will help you through stressful times.   A photographer should fill that role on the wedding day. I always see myself as not just an image taker the day of, but someone who helps the bride and groom enjoy their day.   Wow, this is a little longer than I expected, but it comes from the heart. If you think you might be a good fit as one of our wedding clients, give me a call; I’d love to have you out to the studio for a free consultation. If you already have a photographer, I wish you nothing but the best and congratulations on your up-coming wedding day!   Gregg Hejna www.kcwedphoto.com (816) 741-7090