Hiring Non-Professionals to be Your Wedding Professionals often leads to Amateur results or Worse.
In this day of limited budgets, couples often consider hiring Friends & Family to be their “Wedding Professionals”. While it can be tempting to hire Friends & Family to perform important roles, this often leads to a sub-par experience. It can lead to problems because these people are not Experienced Wedding Professionals. They also may not have the Professional-Objectivity to give Good Advice & Guidance leading up to the wedding. (Note: we are not referring to Friends/Family who may be True Experienced Professionals. We are only referring to Friends & Family who are Amateurs & who are Inexperienced at Weddings.)
Example #1: Hiring a friend to be the DJ/Emcee may have an initial appeal. But, while they may have some of the right equipment, if they aren’t Experienced at Weddings things will usually go wrong. Weddings require a Sense of Timing and Professionalism Under Stress that is much different from DJing a Backyard party for friends or kids.
Example #2: While anyone can pick-up a camera and shoot a 6-year-old’s birthday party, Professional Wedding Photography requires a level of Specialized Experience that most amateurs don’t possess. Amateur photographers usually Miss Critical Shots & Angles and Don’t Necessarily have Professional Cameras, Flashes, or Lenses. Also, 1/3 - 1/2 of Wedding Photography is about shooting in the “RAW” Format & taking Hours in Professional Software to Crop & “Tweak” all your Photos to Bring out the Highest Quality. ALL Professional Wedding Photographers do this!
Example #3: Hiring a friend or family member to be the Ceremony Musician is a nice idea, but if it’s their first Wedding Ceremony, they could be Very Nervous and Mess-up some of the important music, like when the Bride Walks Down the Aisle! In a situation like this, it might be a good to hire a Professional to perform Alongside the friend. The Professional could fill-in or substitute if/when the friend is extra nervous performing in front of family & friends.
Don’t get us wrong. Friends & Family have an important emotional role to play in weddings and can provide support in many different ways. But, the crucial roles of DJ/Emcee, Photographer, Ceremony Musician, Catering Director, & Coordinator/Planner are usually Best Fulfilled by Experienced Wedding Professionals.
SOLUTION: Avoid hiring Friends & Family for the Crucial Roles in a Wedding. Instead, have them contribute to other less-critical areas of the wedding and Let Them Relax & Enjoy themselves (rather than Working) at your wedding!
