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Detailed Comparison of Spotlight Images' Features vs. Prices

Feature  Spotlight's "Wedding Storybook" Price Price at Another quality Cedar Rapids area studio

Cost of hourly coverage at ceremony site?

NO EXTRA COST for photographer’s time. (5 hours max)

Typical is $300 (5 hours max)

Cost of bridal album?

NO EXTRA COST for world class leather, flush-mount bridal album.  Virtually all the images taken will be in the album (75-100).

Typical is $980 for traditional matted album and is limited to a mix of 30 8x10s and 5x7s. Flush-mount, if it is available,  may cost $500 more.  

What is cost to purchase all the wedding prints from the proof album?

NO EXTRA COST since virtually all the images taken will be in the bridal album anyway. We don’t use a proof album.

Typical is $600 to purchase all the proofs.

What is the cost to put all the wedding prints into the bridal album so that only one album is needed to tell the story?

NO EXTRA COST since virtually all the images taken will be in the album.

Typical is $115 to add enough empty pages to the matted album to hold the proofs.

What is the cost to create a CD slide show with original, synchronized music?

NO EXTRA COST.  The CD slide show is created and loaned to you (we ask for a deposit).

“Priceless”. Very difficult to find no matter what you are willing to pay.

When do I get my proof album?

The finished CD slide show will be ready in about 4 weeks. 

About 3 to 4 weeks is typical for the proof album.

How much time will bride & groom spend selecting their bridal album choices from the proof album?

Zero!  Since virtually all the images taken will be in the bridal album, there is no need to narrow down the choices.

This could take several weeks to a few months because newly weds are so extremely busy.

When do I get my bridal album?

About 4 to 6 weeks after the CD slide show is given to you, the bridal album should be ready.

A few weeks after the proof album order is given back to the studio, the bridal album should be ready.  Typical elapsed time since ceremony is usually several months to a year.

What is cost of an engagement sitting?

NO EXTRA COST.  A complimentary indoor sitting is included as is 2 free proofs.

Typical is $55 including 2 proofs.

Total Cost for all the above

$2165 at Spotlight Images

$2050 to $2550 typical at another quality studio depending whether flush mount album selected.

How Much Does Wedding Photography Cost?

It's difficult to pay too much for something you really like. Yet, price is usually the one obstacle that prevents many wedding clients from selecting the photographer who undoubtedly could give them the best value for the money. Quite often the difference between the price of the photographer you really like and one who you feel is "within the budget" is miscalculated. Understandably, of course! When wedding plans come down to dollars and cents, it's hard to keep spending "a little more here...and a little more there. Somewhere along the line, you feel, "you have to give a little! There's only so-much money available!" Yet, within the framework of the entire wedding day, it makes good sense to evaluate the money spent on photographs in relation to what's being spent on flowers, food and music. Although everyone knows that the pictures are the only things you have after the moment has passed, some people still feel that they have to put the money "where it shows", i.e. flowers, food and music.

Later, in the privacy of their own hearts, many of these people are often disappointed with photographic memories that give them nothing but heartaches...and there's no remedy! Let's face it! You're going to remember the wedding day through the eyes, heart and talent of your photographer. When making the decision as to who that photographer is going to be, realize that oftentimes you're talking a relative difference of pennies! On the other hand, if you're unhappy, regardless of the "good deal" you're getting, you could lose everything!

What's the "going rate" among wedding photographers nowadays? The price difference is as great as the time, talent and technique of the studios being considered. Certainly, among competent photographers in their formative years, a good wedding coverage can be found around the thousand-dollar category, although the album may be of lesser quality. Spending less than that would probably be risky. Other photographers may begin somewhere above a thousand dollars and go upward from there. A true specialist, one who has a reputation for consistently delivering the best, might begin at two or three times that amount and go upwards to five thousand and more.

Why risk your memories of an once-in-a-lifetime event on a gamble? Besides, if you should spend $1000 more for your wedding pictures with a professional wedding specialist instead of budget photographer who does weddings on the side, that's an investment difference of only a nickel a day by the time you reach your 50th Anniversary!