Pretty simple:
1.Ask a friend that owns a DSLR (everyone has at least 5 friends like that).
2.Pocket what you would have paid for the photographer to do his thing.
3.Profit!
Seriously? In my opinion the photographs are the most important part of the day - it's what you will have 50 years from now to remember your special day. Do you really want your Uncle Bob giving you an awful set of blurry, underexposed photos? I would get a second job to pay for good wedding photos and skimp on alot of other things like flowers, food, etc.
I'm with CopperTex on this. DO NOT have a friend/relative be your photographer. There are a million reasons for this, including:
- If they screw it up (as they are highly likely to do) it will strain your friendship. Conversely, if they actually are semi-professional photographers, they will not appreciate being asked to take your photos for free or near-free. Wedding photographers are typically there for 6-8 hours, on their feet and working 98% of the time--it is NOT a SMALL favor to ask of someone; it is worth a lot more than any other gift anyone's going to give you, so asking a friend to do it for free or near-free is not really a fair request.
- They are HIGHLY LIKELY to screw it up because they're not professional photographers--they don't understand lighting, they're not necessarily good at portraits (i.e. knowing what angle/in what lighting to photograph different people so that everyone looks pretty good), they don't know how to be unobtrusive (especially since they will probably know some of the guests), they don't have the equipment professionals have, they don't have assistants (normally wedding photographers come with an assistant and typically they're either of opposite genders or both women, so that the bride and bridesmaids will feel comfortable having photos taken while they dress), yada yada yada.
- An additional reason that they're likely to screw it up is that it is NOT POSSIBLE to be both a wedding guest and a wedding photographer. Photographers get maybe a 20 minute break to scarf down some food and spend the rest of the day on their feet, taking photos left and right; your friend probably will not be capable of this because as a friend, especially one who knows some of the guests, he will inevitably start talking to people, hanging out, enjoying the party etc. As a result, whole swaths of the event will just not get photographed.
I could go on and on. Suffice to say it is a BAD IDEA.
If you want to save money on a photographer, I can think of at least two ways to do it while still using a professional photographer whose work you like: (1) get married at a somewhat unusual time (wintertime; Friday evening, Sunday afternoon/evening...). If you're getting married on a Saturday afternoon/evening in the summertime, so is everyone else. The photographer can't afford to give you a discount because they could be making full price shooting any of 20 other weddings that day. But get married at a less usual time, and they can afford to give you a discount.
(2) negotiate a shorter time for them to be there. For instance, instead of 8 hours, how about 4 or 6? They could do the hour before the ceremony (couple getting dressed...), the ceremony, and the first two hours of the reception, which is when all the main reception events happen anyway.
(3) DO NOT hire a photographer who's unwilling to give you full-resolution digital images to keep. In other words, don't hire one if they insist on hanging onto the negatives/full-res images and making you pay every time you want a copy.
If you want to be mustachian about your wedding expenses, here are my opinions on where to skimp or not skimp:
SKIMP:
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Clothes. You don't need to spend $2000-$10,000 as some lunatics do to get the bride and groom properly kitted out. Beautiful dresses can be had for under $600.
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Rings. There are several threads on this already. Rings are way overpriced. Avoid normal jewelry stores; try estate jewelry, lab-created gemstones (or no stones, just bands), metals other than platinum, etc.
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Alcohol. You can save massive amounts of money by eliminating hard liquor and cocktails--just do beer, wine and sparkling water, maybe some sparkling cider for the kids. Also, some caterers will let you buy your own drinks for them to serve; this is a lot cheaper than buying drinks through the caterer or the event space. Shop for caterers and event spaces with this in mind. Variants on this Mustachian approach include just doing beer/wine and one signature cocktail; having no alcohol at all; or, most bare-bones of all, having a potluck to which guests bring alcohol.
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Flowers. For weddings they are RADICALLY overpriced. Get creative here--find a source of flowers other than a florist, or get married at a beautiful place that comes with flowers (botanical garden, etc.).
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DJ. Save tons of money by making your own mix, copying it onto at least two iPods (you'll want backup in case one of them has a technical glitch), and bringing or having your caterer bring cords and speakers to play it.
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Cake. Also way overpriced for weddings. How about neat cupcakes or brownies that you make, or your caterer makes? How about a homemade cake? Make sure to ask your caterer (if you have one) if they have a "cutting fee"--a per-slice cost for slicing and serving cake.
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Favors, centerpieces, etc. This goes without saying.
MAYBE SKIMP, MAYBE NOT:
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Food. If the reception is a meal, and especially if many guests are traveling a ways, give them a good meal (do not skimp). If it's a cocktail-hour type wedding, good hors d'oeuvres cost a lot less than a good meal. Most bare-bones approach: I once went to a potluck wedding. It was great.
DO NOT SKIMP:
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A pretty location. You may be able to find a cheap or free pretty location, and if so great, but if not... the views and sounds are what set the mood, and the look of the place lasts forever in your photos.
A place that is naturally pretty can save you a ton on flowers and decorations because it is itself the decoration. *However*, ask the places you're considering if they restrict which caterers you can use (most do) or, if this is something you want to do, if they'd let you partly self-cater (i.e., have some food that your mom or whoever makes). Also, obviously make sure it's appropriate for the likely weather.
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The photographer. Again, THIS IS WHAT LASTS FOREVER--by which I mean, this is what brings your memories of the day flaring back to life, forever. This is what you'll look at again and again for the rest of your lives. This is what your kids will look at.