02/27/2024
Are you getting married or know someone who is but can’t afford the cost of photography? You may want to read or share this post.
If you don’t know me, I’m Amber, a professional photographer of over twenty years. I’ve been shooting/editing photos almost daily but I have not advertised my services or taken on any new clients in 3 years. I’m ready to change that and while I know this post may frustrate my fellow photographers, I hope they see the value of what I am trying to do rather than fostering any ideas of undercutting their worth. Let me explain…
I recently stumbled upon a post where a bride was talking about the cost of weddings and how unreachable they seemed to be in this economy. She spoke about how all she had ever wanted to be was a wife and how she had been dreaming of her wedding day since she was a child. She was over the moon when her college sweetheart proposed and couldn’t wait to start planning their big day. Unfortunately, as soon as she started making calls, she found herself completely deflated. She wanted beautiful flowers but couldn’t imagine paying $6,000 when she could no longer afford to even buy her favorite candle. She wanted catering but how could she justify spending $200 a plate when she and her fiancé could barely afford groceries? She fell in love with several venues but how could she pay $2500 for 8 hours when they were struggling to pay rent? She wanted so desperately to document her wedding day but she could not justify the $5000+ it would cost her when her cell phone bill was late.
My eyes welled up with tears reading her words. She continued on to speak about how everyone she knew was struggling to survive this economy. She mentioned that after exhausting all other options, they made the difficult decision to elope. Even still, the only photos of her most important day, were poorly lit and blurry cell phone shots taken by their parents.
Life is so hard right now for so many. I’d like to be able to help in a small way. In a perfect world, I would have the means to donate my services completely but unfortunately, it’s just not possible. The time involved in wedding photography and editing is quite extensive and time is not a commodity that I have an abundance of. After brainstorming with my partner, we came to the conclusion that I could, however, offer a limited amount of weddings at a high discount and perhaps make professional services more reachable to a few people in 2024.
I am able to commit to FIVE weddings and TEN elopements at this discounted price.
👰🏽Weddings will be $1950 and include up to 6 hours of photography. Elopments will be $950 and include 3 hours.
👰🏻First come, first serve.
👰🏼Open to couples marrying in the Roanoke Valley or New River Valley of Virginia.
👰🏾Honor system application. Simply message me to book. If you reach out, I’ll trust that you would otherwise be unable to afford professional photography services for your wedding.
👰🏻Deposit required upon booking to secure your date.
I realize that these prices will still be unreachable to many, like I said, I truly wish I had the ability to donate my time for free. I’m sorry that’s not possible for my family at this time. That said, I sincerely hope this post finds the people that will benefit from it most. Everyone deserves to have beautiful photos to look back on of their most important day.
I love you all and I’m sorry life is hard right now.
