Wedding photographer under £500?

Depends how important professional photos are to your day.

Some people on small budgets will be happy to let friends and family take informal photos of their day without needing any professional ones.

Or put an advert on Facebook or similar asking for students studying photography who may be willing to do a few hours to help build their own portfolio.

I have done a few for family friends for a fee (a few hundred). Did my dad's for free. Not a subject I enjoy photographing really and you aren't just paying for their time on the day, it is all the work afterwards to help you put together an album etc.

Do lots of research, speak to the photographer's you have found they may have packages suitable for a smaller wedding etc within your budget, have an idea of what you want and ask to see examples.

If it is a small wedding and you don't need professional looking photos to complete your day then think about having all your guests pool their photos of the day onto an online hosting site of some kind and then you can choose your favourites to print and make your own album

I'm not in your area but our photographer is someone who works another job in media and photography as a sideline. We know her work is good but it does mean she's been a little cheaper (we're near London so still fairly pricey).

Are there any local colleges who maybe have students? Or apprentice photographers that will be cheaper? It's a toughy, we didn't want to scrimp too much on such an important part, but some of our quotes for a basic package and limited number of photos were over a grand!

The costs to the photographer are not much less for a smaller wedding, getting to and from the venue is the same, there is unlikely to be another option for the rest of the day and the only cost saving will be editing time if there are fewer images. You could go down the disposable cameras route and hope that there are enough reportage style shots to make and nice album, or rope in a relative with a decent camera before they get drunk!

You will be able to get a photographer for this cost, the reliability and quality of the work will need thorough checking before you book them. Some people may be starting out and need work for their portfolio, or be a student. It doesn't mean you can't get good quality at that price but you will likely need to search abit harder for it. Make sure you ask to see a full gallery of a wedding they have shot so you can see exactly what you will be getting. I am on wedding groups on facebook and there are lots of photographers advertising packages for around £500 or under so it can be done, maybe try joining them and asking.

oh btw, i'm afraid they only cover London now... not sure if they will do other cities, worth checking it out!!