Wedding photographer regrets

[Wilt]

I'd like to take a poll of photographers on POTN who were satisfied with their choice of wedding photographer or not, or who had the 'bait and switch' (e.g. studio hiring someone whose work you had not seen)

A. Saw studio's work/my photographer's work before hand, liked the result
B. Saw my photographer's work before hand, ended up disatisfied
C. Saw the studio's work before hand, someone else shot it, ended up disatisfied
D. Hired someone totally unqualified, out of naivete, ended up disatistifed
E. Had someone with little experience, out of naivete, ended up satisfied anyway.

[picturecrazy]

I have to say A. I liked the shots, they were rock solid and great. I just wish we had purchased more coverage.

[JaertX]

A for me as well. We received work that was equal quality to what we were shown...something I always try my best to do. If I had it to redo, I would spend more...but there's always hindsight and I am probably only saying that because I shoot weddings now.

[Solaria]

My brother did mine for free.. many many years ago. They were okay-ish. I never, ever look at them, saving them for the kids.
(I'm actually, divorced now.. )
Word to the wise..
Watch for nose rings on the bride.. not a great focal point.. Learned that one the hard way. :)

[BaliHai]

Saw my photographer's portfolio and never regreted hiring her I got what I paid for and more. The more is why you hire the professional.

[Bobster]

B for us :( ended up getting a refund!

[Mark_Cohran]

Well, none of you categories fit my experience (from nearly 30 years ago) - we hired a photographer dirt cheap based on the recommendations of a friend of the family. He did a decent job, and we were generally satisfied. This was back in the days on film only and he shot with a Hassie, so I was impressed (but young and naive).

Mark

[Curtis N]

My wedding was 16 years ago. Here's how much I remember about the photographer and the pictures:
He was a young man, short, with dark hair. He seemed nice and relaxed.
His camera was black. It had a flash unit on it. 35mm I'm pretty sure.
He took pictures of me and the groomsmen on the front steps of the church. We were looking into the sun and I couldn't keep my eyes open 'cuz I was hungover from the previous night's bachelor party. I was a little PO'ed that he chose that location but the groomsmen told me to suck it up and be a man.
I had no complaints with the pictures. Of course I wasn't a nit-picking photographer at the time.
He delivered prints as promised in a reasonable length of time.
A couple shots we really liked, and they are framed.
I do not remember his name, or how we found him. A referral from a friend, I think. I don't remember looking at any pictures before booking him. I think we made the decision on referral alone.
We didn't have a lot of money. He didn't charge much. Probably less than $500, not including prints.