Destination Wedding...Need Photographer Advice

[dani2142]

Ok so we are getting married at Beaches Negril in Jamaica and the resort photographers are provided for us to use. However the pricing to use them is insane!!! Ex... 36 pictures for $650 and we don''t even get the digital negatives...and they aren''t the artsy type photos fiance'' and I really like so I''m getting nervous about everything. We initially were going to go with a local photographer we found that lives in Jamaica but our resort doesn''t allow third party vendors...

So I have a friend who does photography on the side as a hobby and it''s something she just started basically. She isn''t a close friend but I''ve known here since middle school. What do you think about us paying for her to come to Jamaica to take pictures for us? We couldn''t afford for her to be there for a full week but I''m thinking 4 days, 3 nights. It''ll still be really pricy to that even still. So I''m wondering if we should just use the dang resort photographers. Hmm.... any ideas would be appreciated!!!

 

[vc10um]

Not sure what to do about the Jamaica photos, but what about doing a post-wedding session with a local photographer when you get back? To get all those artsy shots of you and the hubby? It obviously won''t be a comprehensive portfolio of your wedding, but you''ll at least be able to capture shots of the two of you that you can cherish!

As for paying for your acquaintance to come down and photograph for you, would the venue still look upon her as a third party??? Especially if they''re watching over you and she''s doing posed shots on the beach or something, there might be fees and such involved...most notably if there''s a clause about no third parties in your contract...just a thought.

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 11:00:11 AM
Author: vc10um
Not sure what to do about the Jamaica photos, but what about doing a post-wedding session with a local photographer when you get back? To get all those artsy shots of you and the hubby? It obviously won''t be a comprehensive portfolio of your wedding, but you''ll at least be able to capture shots of the two of you that you can cherish!

As for paying for your acquaintance to come down and photograph for you, would the venue still look upon her as a third party??? Especially if they''re watching over you and she''s doing posed shots on the beach or something, there might be fees and such involved...most notably if there''s a clause about no third parties in your contract...just a thought.

Thanks for your insight. My friend wouldn''t be considered a third party guest because she will be a guest who has paid to stay at the resort. I''ve asked them this already and she has to stay there for 3 nights in order for us to do this. Good point though for sure

The idea about doing the photoshoot after we get back.... I wouldn''t want to do it because we are getting married on the beach and I definitely want the "in the moment shots" they are like once in lifetime shots.... hmmmm

Thanks for your thoughts though. I appreciate it!!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Are there any other photographers in Jamaica? I would imagine there would at least be a few you could compare with. Or, there are a number of photographers out there that are "destination wedding" photographers and sometimes the price of travel is built into their price.

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 11:51:16 AM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Are there any other photographers in Jamaica? I would imagine there would at least be a few you could compare with. Or, there are a number of photographers out there that are ''destination wedding'' photographers and sometimes the price of travel is built into their price.

We were going to use Stacey Clarke. www.staceyclarkephotography.com but our resort doesn''t allow for third party vendors. We even paid the deposit for her and ended up losing it because we figured if we got caught sneaking in a third party vendor we could get kicked off the resort or something horrible like that. Could you imagine... LOL I would be too stressed and worried about getting caught the entire time she would have been there.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Here are some that I found just by "googling" - maybe get quotes from all of these...

Sungold
Saab Weddings
Nyla Photo
Here''s a bunch of ''em

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 11:56:57 AM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Here are some that I found just by ''googling'' - maybe get quotes from all of these...

Sungold
Saab Weddings
Nyla Photo
Here''s a bunch of ''em

We can''t use third party photographers....

Thanks though

 

[dani2142]

OMG!!! I just got an updated list and the prices have gone up since we booked in March... now 36 pictures are $750.... wtf??? LOL

 

[Rock_of_Love]

That really sucks that you can''t use third party photographers!! I hate it when resorts do this...like they have you captive!! You have no other choice. It''s not like you will pick up and move your wedding because of it, and they know it! Ugh!

Anyway, would they even allow your friend to be the photographer? It sounds like maybe not...and you may be stuck.

You could ask the photographer about various packages...I agree $750 for 36 pics is a lot, but what were you planing to spend? Maybe they have something that offers more for maybe not that much more money.

When I was getting quotes, I was also surprised at how expensive photographers are. Then, after I got over sticker shock I just started comparing packages and seeing who was offering the most for the money, but I also didn''t want to spend an outrageous amount. I ended up going with a photographer whose price was $3000 - BUT that is for 8 hours, with a 2nd shooter, 650 - 900 pics, photos retouched and corrected, unlimited reproduction rights, all photos on a CD. Some photogs were offering these really expensive albums, but I figured I didn''t really need that.

So, what if you spent $1000-$1500 - could you get more of a dedicated hourly with a lot more pics??

 

[dani2142]

Rock_of_Love......... frickin'' tell me about it. it''s ridiculous. i had my heart set on using stacey clarke too but because of the resort we chose we can''t use 3rd party. we would have gotten married at couples negril because that''s where we got engaged but we have nieces and nephews who are coming and it''s not a kid-friendly resort. couples has a third party vendor fee of $500... which still sucks but at least they don''t have the lame no third party vendor rule...

The resort does have other options here is one they have for $1,500.... (36) 5x7 prints and (6) 8x10 prints in an exquisite ivory and gold matted album. You''ll also recieve (42) digital negatives. Also includes a standard edit DVD

One for $1,200.... (36) 5x7 prints and (6) 8x10 in an exquisite ivory and gold matted album.... includes (42) digital negatives

I guess I just hate how the restrict the amount of pictures so much. I''m thinking about asking my family and friends to take a crap load of pictures and we''ll just get the bare minimum from the resort. Then maybe my friend will edit my pics that my family and friends took and we can pay her...

Thanks again for your insight

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Ugh! It sounds like they just print them all for you?? That is probably where the cost is. Why don''t you tell them that you don''t want prints, you don''t want an album...just the digital photos on a CD...and you want as many photos as they can take! Maybe that would cut costs and give you what you want.

 

[katamari]

That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Date: 9/25/2009 2:45:03 PM
Author: katamari
That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

YES!! And, just say she is a friend!! Hee hee!

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 2:45:03 PM
Author: katamari
That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

The resort prohibits 3rd party vendors. We even tried to get their permission to use one and they said she would have to be a guest at the resort with a minimum 3 night stay. Add that to the cost of using the outside photographer and we may as well of used the resort photographers.

The no third party vendor rule blows!!!!!!!!! I hate it. It was our only way though

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 2:53:23 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love

Date: 9/25/2009 2:45:03 PM
Author: katamari
That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

YES!! And, just say she is a friend!! Hee hee!

We were totally going to do that.... sneak her on... but then fiance'' started to make me worry about us getting caught and he started to get nervous and told me he would be super mad at me if the idea got us kicked out so we decided against it. Plus, Stacey is sooo well known now on the island... everyone knows her...

I think Sandals/Beaches should offer guests the option to use a third party vendor for a fee. But they don''t!!!!!! ARGHHH!!!!!!!!

 

[katamari]

Date: 9/25/2009 2:57:00 PM
Author: dani2142

Date: 9/25/2009 2:45:03 PM

Author: katamari

That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

The resort prohibits 3rd party vendors. We even tried to get their permission to use one and they said she would have to be a guest at the resort with a minimum 3 night stay. Add that to the cost of using the outside photographer and we may as well of used the resort photographers.


The no third party vendor rule blows!!!!!!!!! I hate it. It was our only way though

You have to pick your battles and choose how you want to spend your time, but I would honestly test them on it. If it would be okay to bring your friend, but not another photographer from the island, I would make them explain the difference for me very very carefully. It is evident, though, that they know they are ripping couples off big time, or else they wouldn''t be such persistent jerks about it.

What about using Stacey Clarke for a beautiful Trash the Dress session with your FI? MrsHtoBe just posted an AMAZING session her and her husband had at their DW in the DR. Trash the Dress sessions are much cheaper than wedding photography, so you could probably get it for what you already paid in the deposit.

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 3:05:58 PM
Author: katamari

Date: 9/25/2009 2:57:00 PM
Author: dani2142

Date: 9/25/2009 2:45:03 PM

Author: katamari

That is absolutely ridiculous, honestly. What about a work-around. If you can book your friend in the hotel, and you are willing, why not just book the room Stacey Clarke? She wouldn''t have to sleep there (or she could if she wanted), you paid for the room and made her a guest so it fits the resort requirements, you don''t loose your deposit or have to pay the astronomical cost for 35 photos, and you wouldn''t have to pay for the airfare for your friend and deal with asking a HUGE favor for someone you aren''t terribly close with.

The resort prohibits 3rd party vendors. We even tried to get their permission to use one and they said she would have to be a guest at the resort with a minimum 3 night stay. Add that to the cost of using the outside photographer and we may as well of used the resort photographers.


The no third party vendor rule blows!!!!!!!!! I hate it. It was our only way though

You have to pick your battles and choose how you want to spend your time, but I would honestly test them on it. If it would be okay to bring your friend, but not another photographer from the island, I would make them explain the difference for me very very carefully. It is evident, though, that they know they are ripping couples off big time, or else they wouldn''t be such persistent jerks about it.

What about using Stacey Clarke for a beautiful Trash the Dress session with your FI? MrsHtoBe just posted an AMAZING session her and her husband had at their DW in the DR. Trash the Dress sessions are much cheaper than wedding photography, so you could probably get it for what you already paid in the deposit.

we are totally doing a trash the dress session. just not with Stacey unfortunately. She isn''t allowed on the resort property. Her pricing was the same though just for the TTD session as if we were going to have her be the wedding photographer. We initially thought to have her pick us up the day after the wedding and do a session with her but it wouldn''t be the same. She would miss all of our special moments ya know?

The resort photographers do the TTD sessions also so ..... I just hate how they know they can get away with charging so much...

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/25/2009 2:22:58 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Ugh! It sounds like they just print them all for you?? That is probably where the cost is. Why don''t you tell them that you don''t want prints, you don''t want an album...just the digital photos on a CD...and you want as many photos as they can take! Maybe that would cut costs and give you what you want.

Hey Rock of Love.... yeah we would just want all the pics on a cd... this is their price for that...

Wedding CD Package-$2,000 CD includes 200 digital images of ceremony, reception and walk on the beach and/or garden.

Talk about horse shiat!!!!!!

They are raping people on prices because they know they can get away with it! A-holes! Sorry to sound so mad... but I am!!! LOL

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Hi Dani-

Sorry I am late to your party...but we had a similar issue for our Destination Wedding. Having a friend who does this as a hobby is a good option, but you have to think that if you are missing any photos, or any are blurry or they miss any special moments, you won''t be able to complain to a friend who does this as a favor to you.

FI placed an ad in our local Craigslist under the services wanted list and offered to pay for the entire trip for a photographer and an assistant in exchange for full day of wedding coverage (getting ready, details, ceremony, formal family photos, and reception coverage) as well as a TTD session. We asked for copyright release of all images and a high resolution CD of all. We offered that we would purchase albums separately after the photos were delivered.

I don''t remember exactly what the number of responses was, but I know it was over 30. We had so many photographers jump on the opportunity and send us links to their portfolios and references. In the end, we choose a married couple that had beautiful studio and baby pictures who were looking to break into wedding and artsy photography and we just paid for their travel package with our group. We LOVE our photos, and the issues I have with my photos are due to the people IN the photos and certainly not the quality of the photographer...we have so many beautiful photos (over 1200) and we considered it a bargain.

Could you do something similar? and instead of offering whatever your full package is, ask them to come for 3 nights? You could also only offer to pay for one person, although at our resort, it was such a small difference to have two people (because they charged a single supplement fee if we didn''t book as double occupancy) that it was a wash.

My only concern is that the MOST stress for me during our entire wedding process happened when FAVORS, FRIENDS and FAMILY were involved. I would not wish that on anyone else!

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/26/2009 4:36:11 PM
Author: wannaBMrsH
Hi Dani-

Sorry I am late to your party...but we had a similar issue for our Destination Wedding. Having a friend who does this as a hobby is a good option, but you have to think that if you are missing any photos, or any are blurry or they miss any special moments, you won''t be able to complain to a friend who does this as a favor to you.

FI placed an ad in our local Craigslist under the services wanted list and offered to pay for the entire trip for a photographer and an assistant in exchange for full day of wedding coverage (getting ready, details, ceremony, formal family photos, and reception coverage) as well as a TTD session. We asked for copyright release of all images and a high resolution CD of all. We offered that we would purchase albums separately after the photos were delivered.

I don''t remember exactly what the number of responses was, but I know it was over 30. We had so many photographers jump on the opportunity and send us links to their portfolios and references. In the end, we choose a married couple that had beautiful studio and baby pictures who were looking to break into wedding and artsy photography and we just paid for their travel package with our group. We LOVE our photos, and the issues I have with my photos are due to the people IN the photos and certainly not the quality of the photographer...we have so many beautiful photos (over 1200) and we considered it a bargain.

Could you do something similar? and instead of offering whatever your full package is, ask them to come for 3 nights? You could also only offer to pay for one person, although at our resort, it was such a small difference to have two people (because they charged a single supplement fee if we didn''t book as double occupancy) that it was a wash.

My only concern is that the MOST stress for me during our entire wedding process happened when FAVORS, FRIENDS and FAMILY were involved. I would not wish that on anyone else!

It''s never too late!!! Thanks for your reply. I''m still trying to figure out what the best option for us is. The thing about having friends/family or paying for a photographer to come on the resort and stay as a guest is the resort we are staying at is really pushy when it comes to using their own photographers. I''ve heard stories from previous brides where the resort photographers were rude to family members who were taking pictures because they were getting in the way. I would hate for that to happen because I would instantly become a MEGA bridezilla and I don''t want that to happen at all. Especially on our big day. I''m starting to think the 200 pics on a cd for $2k is our best option. The trash the dress session is included in this also so we wouldn''t have to pay extra. There are so many extras with the resort we are staying at, it''s just crazy. So if we did that 200 on a cd it would include all of the special moments without having to pay any extra. To me it''s so much money but I''ve heard that it could be worse.

Now I just have to convince my fiance'' that spending 2k on pictures is worth it...

Wish me luck!!! LOL

 

[sparkly_stars]

I think wannaBMrsH has the best idea; I know you are saying that they are pushy with their own photographer- but whether you bring a friend from home or someone who does this and pay their stay...the hotel will have them as a guest. Its not as though they are going to go by each guest and find out how they are related. (if they do...yikes!)

I would never in a million years agree to on site photography. Not for those prices, and those arrangements.
There are so many new faces out there just looking to build their portfolio, that if you put an add offering to pay their trip (not THEM just their trip), they''d jump on it.
So ultimately you''d have a "photographer" vs. an acquaintance who might be able to get a few good shots.
I''d much rather have someone who knows what they are doing...I don''t hate the idea of bringing your "friend" but what if they don''t turn out, or that her vision isn''t the same as yours?

 

[sonnyjane]

I just wanted to say I agree with the $2,000 for 200 images on CD option. By the time you have the friend come down and stay for 3 nights, etc., you''re already paying a fortune for images. I have a feeling that even if you did follow their 3-night rule, they would still be exceptionally rude to you, and that''s not something I''d want to deal with on my wedding day. I had a destination wedding in Maui and our photographer/officiant combo was $1,500 and that included 125 images on a CD, but I think she took about 170 and just put them all on the disk. No clue how much the officiant got out of that deal, as it was a package, but wedding photos at any destination are pretty expensive

Good luck and I hope your photos turn out great

 

[sparkly_stars]

ps. part of the reason I think you should bring your own...you''d have a greater say in what you want, and what kind of feel- plus you could get whatever photog you want, instead of being "appointed one" where what you want may be limited.
I think photographs are the MOST important expense of the wedding- the dress, the cake, the decorations, etc..they are all things that will reflect in your PICTURES!
Just my opinion of course!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 9/25/2009 3:34:31 PM
Author: dani2142

Date: 9/25/2009 2:22:58 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Ugh! It sounds like they just print them all for you?? That is probably where the cost is. Why don't you tell them that you don't want prints, you don't want an album...just the digital photos on a CD...and you want as many photos as they can take! Maybe that would cut costs and give you what you want.

Hey Rock of Love.... yeah we would just want all the pics on a cd... this is their price for that...

Wedding CD Package-$2,000 CD includes 200 digital images of ceremony, reception and walk on the beach and/or garden.

Talk about horse shiat!!!!!!

They are raping people on prices because they know they can get away with it! A-holes! Sorry to sound so mad... but I am!!! LOL

Frankly I don't think this is too terrible a deal. We're doing it up in Vegas, and while our photography is included in our package (Twenty-5x7 Color Prints in Deluxe Album and Four-8x10 Color Prints and the total package for EVERYTHING is $3,055+taxes) BUT if we want negatives, it's over $2,000 JUST FOR THE NEGATIVES. It's an extra $500 fee for black and whites. Don't get me started on the rest of the fees for extra photos or extra time with the photog.

Vegas also doesn't allow third party pro photogs in the chapels, and I'm planning on fudging it by asking a friend who is a amateur photog if she'd like to photograph it for her portfolio, saying that she is our friend and guest. How can they disprove that? They can't, since there are over 100,000 rooms on the strip alone. Besides that, it's true.

And if they question me on that, they will get an earful from me and my dad considering the small fortune we're paying to have it at their hotel.

It could be a lot worse.

As for my honest opinion, I would reconsider having my wedding there, because it sounds like you are more interested in photography than you are in the actual location of the wedding. I'm sure deposits have been paid, but if I were you, I'd at least think about it.

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/28/2009 6:27:24 PM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 9/25/2009 3:34:31 PM
Author: dani2142

Date: 9/25/2009 2:22:58 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Ugh! It sounds like they just print them all for you?? That is probably where the cost is. Why don''t you tell them that you don''t want prints, you don''t want an album...just the digital photos on a CD...and you want as many photos as they can take! Maybe that would cut costs and give you what you want.

Hey Rock of Love.... yeah we would just want all the pics on a cd... this is their price for that...

Wedding CD Package-$2,000 CD includes 200 digital images of ceremony, reception and walk on the beach and/or garden.

Talk about horse shiat!!!!!!

They are raping people on prices because they know they can get away with it! A-holes! Sorry to sound so mad... but I am!!! LOL

Frankly I don''t think this is too terrible a deal. We''re doing it up in Vegas, and while our photography is included in our package (Twenty-5x7 Color Prints in Deluxe Album and Four-8x10 Color Prints and the total package for EVERYTHING is $3,055+taxes) BUT if we want negatives, it''s over $2,000 JUST FOR THE NEGATIVES. It''s an extra $500 fee for black and whites. Don''t get me started on the rest of the fees for extra photos or extra time with the photog.

Vegas also doesn''t allow third party pro photogs in the chapels, and I''m planning on fudging it by asking a friend who is a amateur photog if she''d like to photograph it for her portfolio, saying that she is our friend and guest. How can they disprove that? They can''t, since there are over 100,000 rooms on the strip alone. Besides that, it''s true.

And if they question me on that, they will get an earful from me and my dad considering the small fortune we''re paying to have it at their hotel.

It could be a lot worse.

As for my honest opinion, I would reconsider having my wedding there, because it sounds like you are more interested in photography than you are in the actual location of the wedding. I''m sure deposits have been paid, but if I were you, I''d at least think about it.

Thanks everyone for your input. The more I keep doing research on this the more I see that the $2k isn''t really that bad for pics. We are still undecided on what to do, but we have a bit so I''m trying not to stress out too much about it. I just started my Master''s program this week so it''s taking my mind off of things which is probably what I need

FrekeChild-Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Sounds like a blast And you are definitely right. It could be a lot worse. I just hate how they have so many hidden fees. It''s crazy! As far as changing the wedding location we already have like 5 rooms booked with our family and friends. We went with Beaches Negril because it''s a kid friendly resort and my fiance'' and I wanted our nieces and nephews to come to our wedding and everything. I''ve honestly thought about switching the location to a different hotel that allows third party photographers for a fee, but then our nieces/nephews would have to leave the resort right after the ceremony because the other resort we were looking into was not kid friendly. It was actually Couples Negril or Couples Swept Away. Couples is amazing for any of you that are looking into going to Jamaica. We were there in January and had an amazing time.

My travel agent was recently married at Beaches Turks and Caicos and she brought some sample photos that she wanted to do with her to make sure the resort photographers took the pictures she wanted. I might use her idea. Here is the photos that they took for her...

http://sandals.latahosting.com

Password is UVI

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Hi Dani-

You are right 2k is not bad for pictures, but 2k for 200 photos seems a tad outrageous.

As to your point about pushy resort photographers, I sat down with my wedding coordinator at the resort the first day and told her this: "Our very good friends are professional photographers and their wedding gift to us is our wedding photos. They are guests at our wedding and we want them to feel like guests and would appreciate the full cooperation of your staff to allow them to give us this very generous gift."

They said okay and they were included in ALL wedding related activities so there was no way the resort could fight it (we gave everyone in our party a listing of everyone else with room numbers and they were on there; we sat them at a table just like all the other guests and made place cards for them, etc.)

The only problem was the actual resort photographer who tried to block their shots a couple of times during the ceremony. I didn''t make a big deal about it, but I dismissed him immediately after the ceremony and my wedding coordinator was very apologetic and we didn''t even have to deal with him during the beach photos, reception photos or trash the dress session. It was great.

Good Luck with your dilemma. Our wedding package with the resort included 14 free photos and we were SOOOO thankful when we went to pick out our photos that we brought our own team. During the ceremony, the resort photographer took about 120 photos and most of them were compeletely unusable. A good 30-40% were blurry or out of focus; he focused on the wrong people (dumb@$$ sister who forgot her bridesmaids dress); not a single photo of me smiling; all in all, it was so easy to narrow them down to 14 that I think I irritated him.

 

[NYCsparkle]

i just got back from beaches in negril on monday...i didn''t get married there, but did buy pics from them. they have photographers walking all over the place and then want to charge $10 per pic. i was with 30 people and needless to say we took over 400 pics. we went to the photo place and they said we could purchase unlimited pics for $300. thats what we did...they gave us the dvd and we are printing our own pics. you may be able to purchase just the dvd and make your own.

btw...it was a fantastic resort...gorgeous beach and very friendly people.

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/30/2009 9:56:28 AM
Author: wannaBMrsH
Hi Dani-

You are right 2k is not bad for pictures, but 2k for 200 photos seems a tad outrageous.

As to your point about pushy resort photographers, I sat down with my wedding coordinator at the resort the first day and told her this: ''Our very good friends are professional photographers and their wedding gift to us is our wedding photos. They are guests at our wedding and we want them to feel like guests and would appreciate the full cooperation of your staff to allow them to give us this very generous gift.''

They said okay and they were included in ALL wedding related activities so there was no way the resort could fight it (we gave everyone in our party a listing of everyone else with room numbers and they were on there; we sat them at a table just like all the other guests and made place cards for them, etc.)

The only problem was the actual resort photographer who tried to block their shots a couple of times during the ceremony. I didn''t make a big deal about it, but I dismissed him immediately after the ceremony and my wedding coordinator was very apologetic and we didn''t even have to deal with him during the beach photos, reception photos or trash the dress session. It was great.

Good Luck with your dilemma. Our wedding package with the resort included 14 free photos and we were SOOOO thankful when we went to pick out our photos that we brought our own team. During the ceremony, the resort photographer took about 120 photos and most of them were compeletely unusable. A good 30-40% were blurry or out of focus; he focused on the wrong people (dumb@$$ sister who forgot her bridesmaids dress); not a single photo of me smiling; all in all, it was so easy to narrow them down to 14 that I think I irritated him.

Argh.. that''s annoying. I''ve heard that they get ugly and try to get in the way of other people taking pictures. How crazy because they knew your situation. That''s awesome that you have a good friend that could make it that''s also a professional photographer. I''m sure that was a load off your mind. You are lucky Thanks a lot for your post. I appreciate it

 

[dani2142]

Date: 9/30/2009 10:05:27 AM
Author: NYCsparkle
i just got back from beaches in negril on monday...i didn''t get married there, but did buy pics from them. they have photographers walking all over the place and then want to charge $10 per pic. i was with 30 people and needless to say we took over 400 pics. we went to the photo place and they said we could purchase unlimited pics for $300. thats what we did...they gave us the dvd and we are printing our own pics. you may be able to purchase just the dvd and make your own.

btw...it was a fantastic resort...gorgeous beach and very friendly people.

Oh, oh, oh!!! Tell me more!!! LOL I''ve never been to Beaches Negril but have been to Negril before. I''m so glad you had a great time. I''m so excited!!! That''s crazy how you were offered unlimited pics for $300. Shoot... my worries would be over if we got the same offer!!! LOL I wonder if we could do some more wheeling and dealing if we just waited until we got there?

How was the food there anyway? Ohhhh I can''t wait to have a hummingbird!!!

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Date: 9/30/2009 10:16:45 AM
Author: dani2142

Argh.. that''s annoying. I''ve heard that they get ugly and try to get in the way of other people taking pictures. How crazy because they knew your situation. That''s awesome that you have a good friend that could make it that''s also a professional photographer. I''m sure that was a load off your mind. You are lucky Thanks a lot for your post. I appreciate it

Hi Dani!

We DIDN''T have a good friend that is a professional photographer...but the resort didn''t have to know that.

Like I said previously, we hired a photographer (well, paid for their trip to our destination wedding) and TOLD the resort they were our very good friends and to please not interfere! hahaha! You don''t have to tell them that they are professional photographers or even if you do, how do they know it''s NOT a family friend if they stay there and participate in your wedding activities?