In a previous post we showed that photography and video are an important part of your wedding day. They are valuable because they help to curate family histories for the kids and grandchildren. Having these things to look at once in a while help to set the emotional tone for the marriage and give us a beacon for when we go through the troughs and squabbles.

Wedding coverage on a budget

Wedding photography and video haven’t always cost a pretty penny, but the expense has always been worth it.

My mother and father didn’t have a wedding album but they put out some money and now we have the “6 x 4” prints from their wedding. Those pictures have become family heirlooms now that our father is no longer with us. This is even more so considering the challenges we faced together as a family.

My maternal grandparents only got one staged “formal style” portrait done after their wedding. Now we have the chance to look at some history and imagine the lives that went before us to give us the opportunities we enjoy today.

Pay for a photographer, but don’t put yourself out!

These services are important, but they should be pursued within your means. We would love to work with as many clients as possible but we wouldn’t like for anyone to break the bank just to work with us.

While the ideal thing would be to go out and hire the best photographer you can find, there are several things you can do to bring the photography and video tab within your budget.

Crafting the budget

Have a discussion with your spouse and benefactors to come up with a figure that is right for you and then seek out the most skilled photographer you can find within that budget range. Be sure to make sure that he or she is one who shares the same creative vision as you do. Working on a budget doesn’t necessarily mean not being happy with your wedding photos.

Peeling back the onions – What goes into determining how expensive your wedding photographer, and the wedding package will be

There are several factors that affect the cost of what you get. There will always be a way to get value on a budget.

The skill, experience and shooting style of your photographer will always be significant cost elements. Those abilities take years to cultivate and a lot of money and time spent on education and self improvement. It is not unusual to find that this kind of photographer is usually devoted to giving you the best customer experience they can possible.

Features can be mixed within packages so you can have certain sizes or numbers of albums, frames, print outs, etc.

The cost matrix

After coming up with the budget, the difficult step is to run through the shortlisted candidates to weigh them against a few key things.

You should be looking for a photographer with a certain amount of skill and experience and whose shooting style you love. While doing this you want to be sure that they have a healthy mix of features within their packages so that you can pick something affordable.

Packages, features and prints

The features you can customize within the packages will usually be (a) number and sizes of albums (b) number and sizes of frames and prints (c) the paper and binding quality of the albums (d) the number of photographers (e) the number of days the occasion will last (f) discounts on reprints for orders for your parents and in-laws, etc.

Since there are loads of photographers out there with different offerings it would be hard to give you more detailed or practical advice on how to go about it, but if you have this loose frame work in mind, you should do just fine.

For our outfit however we have a flat price with the trade off that you can choose from a menu of items within our offering. Whether the photographer has “packages” or goes with an “a la carte” menu option like we do, you are bound to find something that works for you.

The “last last” option

You could also have your younger brother, cousin or your old friend from university shoot your wedding for you. Since they are friends or family, they will be willing to give you a healthy discount. But this topic will be the subject of another post in the future. This is because if you have to go down this route there are a few things to consider and we would like for you to be reliably informed and properly prepared on this one.

Signing off and signing out

Thanks again for reading and stopping by Iludio. We’ll do our best to bring you the best wedding inspiration we can and make this your definitive online wedding guide. We hope to see you soon again on the blog and please be sure to get in touch if you have any questions and comments.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ayede Film & Photography

I’ve had a good time meeting with brides and grooms at wedding exhibitions for the last two years. We’ve gotten tons of feedback about the quality of our work and some of you have given us useful suggestions about how we can be more valuable to you. An example of this are photo books of pictures from the pre wedding shoot and the bridal shower. These were features we used to provide in the past which we’ll look into reintroducing soon.

House keeping rules

The conversations I have had with couples during wedding exhibitions will serve as the backbone for the series of posts I’m going to write on the subject of how to choose your wedding photographer.

Wedding photography – vanity or important service?

Miss Q was one of my favourite brides from a wedding expo in March 2015. She told me with a hearty laugh:

“Oga photographer una no dey try… Abeg abeg abeg! food and hall décor is more important than photography”

She had a point. Photography is a vanity we could all do without on the wedding day right? Maybe. But then again all we need for a valid marriage is a man and a woman, a licensed officiator in a place allowed by law to conduct marriages, and two witnesses. You don’t really need more than those requirements to have a valid marriage.

There will be an exchange of vows and the law requires consent so we can be sure that no one has been forced into the marriage.

So looking at things that way, I guess even the food and hall décor might not be so important after all. Miss Q had a hall and a wedding planner, and she took my phone number anyway.

Why is wedding photography important?

Photography plays an important role in preserving memories, curating family history and setting the emotional tone and a reference point for the marriage.

Chris and Nene – The story behind the story

In 2014 I photographed a wedding where the unsung heroes were the mothers of the bride and the groom who raised their children through personal tragedy and trying circumstances.

We were all there to celebrate Chris and Nene (not their real names) but somehow we all had this unspoken understanding that we were also celebrating the triumph of the mothers of the day who had seen their offspring safely to a new start.

They let us be a part of the magic and together we were able to weave a story of love and forbearance to leave behind footage that would contribute to the loving myth in their families that their mothers and the children’s grandmothers would become.

Wedding photography – a well placed vanity

We believe wedding photography and video is so important that my brother and I have ordained for ourselves this ministry of witnessing and preserving family legacies for the generations to come.

The way forward

For those of you planning to get married soon, good luck with the planning process.

Guys remember to get involved so that the ladies don’t have to plan everything alone. Picking the wedding colours is the bride’s responsibility so guys please defer to her on this one!

Make sure you discuss well ahead of time whether your wife would like you wearing your favourite Ray Ban glasses during the wedding service and group photos. Also don’t forget to attend your marriage classes or whatever spiritual programmes and support that is available to prepare you for the journey.

If you’ve got the hall, the wedding planner and the caterer, you might as well go out and get the best photographer you can afford because it is important. As my fellow photographers like to say; after we’re done with the hall and the food, the only thing left to savour for years to come will be the photographs and the videos.

Signing off and signing out

Thanks for reading and stopping by Iludio. We’ll do our best to bring you the best wedding inspiration we can and make this your definitive online wedding guide. We hope to see you soon again on the blog and please be sure to get in touch if you have any questions and comments.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ayede Film & Photography

A key subject that pertains to dating or engaged couples is the wedding cost. If you are getting married, you likely want to save and not break your bank account. Given the importance of reducing the wedding cost, we have put together some ideas to help you control cost.

General Logistics

• Have an off peak wedding date. Most weddings occur on Saturdays. A wedding on a Sunday or a week day can reduce the cost. Also choose a date that’s outside the wedding season. Prime wedding months include April – September and December. Furthermore, avoid major event dates such as Easter.
• Find friends who can act as coordinators or help run around on the wedding day.
• Keep to time so you don’t incur additional venue or vendor fees.
• Keep a manageable guest list to reduce the number of invitation cards, amount of food, etc.
• Re-purpose where possible. For example, reusing decorative items and renting a wedding dress.
• Maintain a good number of service staff. Don’t go excessive on security staff, waiters/waitresses, etc. Determine a good ratio of service staff to guests.

Venue

• Avoid or better plan for popular venues. These venues tend to attract uninvited guests. Plan for security to curtail these guests and to check invitations.
• Consider venues with features and facilities. Find a venue that provides chairs, tables and other facilities so you don’t end up renting externally and dealing with the logistics.
• Consider a destination wedding. It can reduce the number of guests and consequently your cost.
• Consider an outdoor wedding. It is usually cheaper than an indoor wedding, however, you have to consider weather, cold and noise factors
• Have locations close to each other. With hotels, ceremony venue and reception venue close to each other, you can significantly reduce transportation and logistics costs.

Photography

• Use talented friends – Contact talented friends to help take pictures.
• Ask your network – Seek friends who are close to your potential vendors to help acquire their services.
• Hire an alternative photographer – If you love a great photographer, find and hire his/her associate.
• Start with a smaller package. You can later upgrade. Negotiate the upgrade so that the price difference is not much.
• Have only one photographer. You can save money with less shooters.
• Hire for multiple events – Find a photographer that can cover multiple events such as traditional wedding and main wedding. You can get great discounts and reduce cost by bundling.

Cake

• Create fake tiers or a large cake effect with decorated non-cake layers (e.g. Styrofoam).
• Use a simple design as it is easier to make and consequently cheaper.
• Have a small cake with a hidden cake sheet. The simple sheet cake can be in the kitchen and already cut to serve your guests.
• Consider a square cake. It is easier to cut and create more slices.
• Use a simple flavor such as vanilla and chocolate. Avoid flavors such as red-velvet and carrot.
• Negotiate and order early. Cake makers will charge you more when the wedding date is close. Generally prices increase over time.
• Consider getting cupcakes. You will be surprised how much you might save.
• Don’t plan to serve everyone cake. Not everyone eats cake so don’t plan to serve everyone cake. You can estimate 70 – 80% might eat the cake. Also when the cake is served, some guests may have left.

Catering

• Use external catering. Hotels usually don’t allow external catering. Try to convince them to allow external catering or use a non-hotel venue.
• Be inventive with food. Don’t be frugal as a result. One thing you don’t want is some guest not getting food or not being satisfied.
• Have family or friends cater some dishes and thereby lower the catering cost.
• Purchase drinks from wholesale channels.
• Have a cocktail hour with snacks or small chops which can help fill stomachs.
• Avoid leaving many bottles on tables. This can encourage guests to take these home or leave a lot of them unfinished.
• Negotiate to return unopened drinks with the wholesale drink store after the wedding.
• Avoid the champagne toast or limit it to just the couple so you don’t serve more wine.

Decoration

• Have less tables which means less table decorations including centerpieces.
• Have larger tables or more seats around tables to still handle your number of guests.
• Keep your decoration simple. Avoid confetti, fog, smoke, etc. which can significantly increase your cost.

Transportation

• Avoid renting cars or limos. They can be costly as you pay per hour/day. You also pay for idle time, like when the chauffeur is waiting.
• Ask friends to donate their luxury or exotic cars. Of course, you have to pay for the cost of fuel/gas.
• Reserve Early. If renting a car, start early to research, negotiate and then book.

Invitations and Stationery

• Use emails when possible particularly for save-the-dates.
• Give one invitation to couples or families.
• Make your own cards.There are many nice and free templates online.
• Reduce number of pages or printouts in an invitation and wedding program.
• Use simple invitations and wedding programs so it is cheaper to produce.

Flowers

• Keep the bouquet simple. Use 1 – 2 flower kinds which are easy to find. Rare flowers or out-of-season flowers are expensive.
• Find good-looking and cheap alternatives to costly flowers.
• Use more fillers & greenery and less flowers.

Music

• Limit the time for a DJ. Have the DJ play during the dance time.
• Use a nice and portable music player.
• Have friends perform during intermissions.

Beauty

• Make use of friends. Have a friend who’s really good at makeup help with your makeup.
• Use a multipurpose vendor. Find a vendor who can handle multiple roles (e.g. hair and makeup) or cover multiple events (i.e. traditional and main weddings). You can get great discounts as a result.

Attire

• Rent wedding gown. Wedding gowns are quite expensive especially as they are worn once, unless you plan to remarry. You can save by renting a wedding gown.
• Use local designers. You might be amazed to find local designers can create similar, if not better, designs to popular brands or designers.
• Collectively order attire. Order all bridesmaids’ dresses or groomsmen outfit together and save.

PHOTO CREDIT: 7th April Photography

You probably know that planning a wedding is a lot of work. As a result, you may choose to hire an expert to help plan and coordinate the process. If you decide to hire a planner, you should find someone who is capable and easy to work with. Ideally, your planner should become your best friend during the planning process. Selecting a planner is about due diligence. There are different kinds of planners:

• A full-time planner who is wholly involved before and on the wedding day
• A part-time consultant/coordinator who provides help when consulted
• A day-of coordinator who coordinates activities on the wedding day and ideally a few days before.

You should plan a phone call or an in-person meeting with your potential planner. You should already have done some research about them, like searching for online reviews. We have put together questions to ask to learn more about your planner as well as test for compatibility.

During your meeting, you should provide the following information so they can best answer your questions.

• Your wedding date, budget, number of guests, and dream location/venue
• Your non-negotiables (i.e. what you must absolutely have) like a vendor, outdoor venue, a theme, etc.
• Your vision, if you already have one

Here are the questions to ask your potential planner:

1. What’s your availability on and before the wedding date? You should first ask this question. If the planner is unavailable then there is no need to ask further questions. You definitely want someone who is readily and easily available.
2. Do you offer full, partial or day-of wedding coordination? Don’t assume that every planner offers the service you desire. Also, you may realize, due to price or availability, that you are better of going with a certain service.
3. How long have you been in business? How many weddings have you planned? When was your last wedding? The planner may not have coordinated a recent wedding, an outdoor wedding, a destination wedding, etc. You should know how much experience he/she has for your type of wedding.
4. What kind of weddings do you like? What don’t you like? You want to see if they agree with your vision and also determine your compatibility.
5. What are your initial concepts or ideas for our wedding? You want someone with ideas. Not someone who just takes your suggestions and agrees to everything. Also, you want someone who has contingency plans.
6. Will you be available to visit venues, meet vendors, schedule a vendor meeting etc? The planner visiting the venue and meeting vendors ahead of time is important to ensure a successful wedding.
7. What’s your cost? Is it directly related to the budget? The planner’s fee could be hourly, flat or a percentage of the budget. You should be careful if it is tied to the budget, as the planner may not help reduce your cost. In addition, you should determine if there are additional fees such as travel.
8. Is there a minimum budget that you work with? Different planners have a range of budget that they can work with. Some established planners will not work with a low budget especially if they have other potential weddings. 
9. Can you help us stay within budget? You should check with the planner so you are not surprised at the end.
10. What vendors do you have in mind? Are you offered any commission from vendors? What resources or discounts can you get with vendors? If you already have some vendors in mind, you can find out if the planner has a relationship with the vendors and can help negotiate their cost. Also, a planner who receives commission from vendors will seek to use those vendors and not worry about lowering your cost.
11. What’s the best way to reach you and what times? You want to ensure the he/she can be reached during emergencies.
12. How many weddings are you coordinating on the day-of? Will you or someone work directly with us? A planner with two or more weddings will assign assistants to different weddings and could assign one to you, especially if there is less money to be made. This may not be a problem if the assistants are great and you are informed ahead of time.
13. Do you have a contract form and what are the terms? Are you licensed? You should have a signed contract which includes all the agreed upon terms. Note that at any point, you can fire a planner.  
14. What are the backup plans for when you can’t make it on the wedding day or are sick? This is very important and can’t be overemphasized. You should have a backup plan well ahead of the wedding day.
15. Do you have any references? Ask for 2-3 references (I.e. previous couples) that you could contact.

CLICK TO FIND YOUR PLANNER

PHOTO CREDIT: Jide Odukoya Photography

Is it that time to search and select a photographer? The selection is very important as memories of your special day are captured in pictures. You cannot repeat this life event. Making the right decision is important so you can book great photographers on time.

Here are our tips for selecting your wedding photographer:

1. Discover Style – Photographers have various styles of shooting and styles could be photojournalism, contemporary, etc. You need to check their portfolio (or website) to discover their style. You have to determine if they have portfolios that match your vision and make sure to share these portfolios with them.
2. Find Reviews – Ask about the photographer to learn about their personality, competence and character. Search online and read reviews. Hopefully you are reading the review on Iludio :).
3. Ask Questions
   1. Find out who will shoot your day. Talk directly to them and obtain their direct phone number(s). You may not get the lead / main photographer depending on your selected package.
   2. Find out your rights e.g. whether your images will be shared publicly.
   3. What comes with the package?
      1. Does it include edited photos, photo CDs, albums, etc.?
      2. Check if there will be a second photographer. You can do without a second photographer especially if trying to reduce cost. However, get one if you want a great selection of photos, say photos from a different viewpoint or to capture more guests. You can have one cover the couple and the other cover wedding guests.
   4. Discuss timeline to receive final photos. You probably don’t want a year to get your wedding photos. Photographers are very busy shooting weddings after weddings. A great photographer should shoot at least 750 photos at your wedding. As a result, it will take a long time to process all the photos. In many cases, your photos will be available in a month.

CLICK HERE TO FIND YOURS

Selecting a wedding reception venue can seem daunting. That’s because it is. However, we are going to simplify the process and provide tips to help discover your wedding venue. That being said, it is paramount that you quickly select a venue as venues quickly become unavailable. Also, your venue information is required to invite guests and to start other wedding plans. Hopefully you have set a budget for your venue and know the number of guests.

Here are our guidelines for selecting a Nigerian wedding reception venue.

1. Availability – Is the venue available for your wedding? How long can you book (a few hours or the entire day)? Are there other events taking place during your event or on the same day?
2. Capacity – Is there capacity for your expected number of guests? You should add a buffer (say 10-20%) to your expected total guests.
3. Costs and Payments – Reception venues can be very expensive. Arguably, venues are the most expensive budget line item and you may have to make a significant deposit to book. As a result, you have to consider the following:
   • How much are you willing to spend?
   • Does the venue provide a lot of amenities and services included in the cost?
   • Are taxes (e.g. VAT) already included in the given price?
   • What’s the required deposit? When do you have to make the payments?
   • Are there any hidden costs e.g. service fees, cleanup fees etc. that can be incurred?
   • Does the venue come with added advantages e.g. decoration is included, security is included, e.t.c.
4. Logistics – There are various logistical factors to consider:
   • Accessibility – Is the venue conveniently located for you and most wedding guests? This would not apply to a destination wedding.
   • Handicap/Wheelchair access – Is the venue accessible to elderly guests or guests in wheelchair?
   • Exits – Are there enough exits in case of a fire or other hazards? We hope and pray nothing goes wrong but exits are something to consider. Ensure a good number of exits.
   • External Vendors – Some venues (particularly hotel venues) may not allow external vendors e.g. caterers. In this case, you can’t bring your own food.
   • Security  – Does the venue provide some level of security? Do you need to provide your own security? In many cases, you will want to bring your own security even if you’re getting security from the venue. Venues typically have very few security personnel who focus on protecting venue property and not controlling crowd or other purposes.
5. Amenities and Services – You may want a venue that provides a significant number of amenities and services such as changing rooms and sound system. Hopefully, they come at little to no additional cost. Some venues provide various packages that include additional amenities and services. Here are important amenities to consider (for a Nigerian wedding):
   • Air-conditioning / Industrial fans – Air circulation is very important. It gets quite hot when a lot of people are in a room.
   • Lighting – This might not seem important but it is. For great photos, lighting is important for photographers to capture great shots. Photographers can also compensate or bring equipment for poor lighting. These might add to their cost or delay the time to receive your pictures. Lighting can also create a special mood.
   • Sound System – Does the venue provide microphone, speakers etc.? Do you have to bring yours?
   • Space – Ensure adequate space for various activities. E.g. a spacious dance floor makes a great difference. Another example is parking spaces. Guest should be able to find ample parking at little to no cost. Happy guests at your wedding will translate to a successful wedding.
6. Reviews – You should ask people or find online reviews. You might be surprised what you learn. We have reviews on Iludio that you’ll find very useful.
7. Visit – Make sure to pay a visit and get all your questions answered. You can send a representative. It is important to visit the venue given the large amount of deposit required, which you likely may not get back.

CLICK TO FIND YOURS

PHOTO CREDIT: Maigaskiya Photography