If you’re planning a wedding, you probably realise over time that you didn’t know what actually goes into a day like that. Every day, there’s a new service or expense that seems vital.
So let’s address the one around photography and documenting your wedding day: Do you actually need a photographer for your micro wedding?
You’re planning something small and intimate – maybe 20 people, maybe just the two of you. The whole point is to strip away the excess, keep it simple, focus on what matters. So why would you spend money on a professional photographer?
I’ve photographed weddings with 200 guests and weddings with just 2. And here’s what I’ve learned: the question isn’t really about need. It’s about what you’ll want to remember, and how.
The honest truth about micro wedding photos
When you’re planning a smaller wedding, hiring a photographer can feel like an unnecessary expense. You’ve got fewer guests, less fuss, maybe you’re keeping costs down deliberately. Why pay for professional photos when your friend has a decent camera?
Here’s why: because wedding photography isn’t just about having a camera.
It’s about knowing how to work in terrible lighting – and registry offices are notorious for it. Fluorescent strips, dark wood panelling, tiny windows. Your mate’s iPhone will give you grainy, yellow-tinted photos that look nothing like what the day felt like.
It’s about not getting distracted. A guest is present, emotional, caught up in the moment. A photographer is watching for the moments – the hand squeeze during vows, the tears, the glances you don’t even know you’re exchanging.
It’s about technical skill. Guest photos are almost always disappointing. Blurry, poorly framed, shot from awkward angles because they’re standing where they’re standing, not where the shot is. 9 times out of 10, people regret relying on phones and friends.
And I’m not saying this to be dramatic – I’m saying it because I’ve seen it happen. Couples who thought they’d be fine without a photographer, who tell me months later they regret it because the ones they got just… aren’t what they hoped.
What people assume vs what actually happens
The assumption: “It’s just us and 15 people. We’ll get plenty of photos on phones. We don’t need a photographer.”
What actually happens: Your guests are busy being in the moment with you. They’re not thinking about angles or lighting or making sure someone got a shot of your vows. They’re watching you, feeling things, being present.
And that’s exactly what you want them to do.
The problem is, when the day’s over, you’ve got 47 nearly-identical iPhone photos of the meal, three blurry shots of the ceremony, and nothing of the two of you actually looking at each other.
The moments that disappear
At smaller weddings, the moments are quieter. There’s no grand entrance, no choreographed first dance, no big performative gestures. It’s subtle – a hand squeeze during vows, the way someone tears up when you walk in, the laugh between courses.
These are the things you forget. Not because they don’t matter, but because you’re living them in real time and your brain doesn’t record everything.
A photographer catches what you miss. And at a micro wedding, that’s almost everything.
“But it feels weird having a photographer there”
I hear this one a lot. People worry that having a professional photographer will make their low-key day feel staged or formal.
Here’s the thing: that depends entirely on the photographer you hire.
If you book someone who needs you to stop mid-conversation for a posed shot every ten minutes, yeah, it’ll feel intrusive. But a good documentary photographer just blends in. You barely notice them. They’re not directing, they’re not interrupting – they’re just there, quietly paying attention.
That’s how I work. I’m not staging moments or asking you to recreate things. I’m watching, waiting, and capturing what’s already happening.
The budget question
Let’s be real: cost matters. If you’re choosing a micro wedding partly to keep expenses down, spending £2000+ on photography might feel impossible.
This is exactly why my base package starts at 2 hours. That’s often enough for an elopement or Town Hall ceremony – you get the key moments without paying for coverage you don’t need. You can find out more about my pricing and approach here.
Town Hall wedding at 11am, then lunch with your closest people? Two hours covers that. Want someone there for getting ready and the meal after? We extend it. You’re not locked into an 8-hour package designed for a 150-person wedding.
The flexibility exists specifically because I know micro weddings work differently.
What you actually regret
I’ve never had someone tell me they regret hiring a photographer for their small wedding.
I have had people tell me they regret not hiring one. Or that they wish they’d hired someone better than their friend’s cousin who offered to do it cheap.
Because here’s what happens: the day flies by. It’s beautiful and emotional and over too fast. And then it’s just a memory. Memories fade. Photos don’t.
You might think you’ll remember everything. You won’t. None of us do.
The micro wedding advantage
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: small weddings are actually better for photography.
There’s less chaos. More space. Real moments instead of performance. I can focus on you instead of managing a timeline with twelve different family groupings and a venue coordinator breathing down my neck.
The photos from micro weddings tend to be more honest, more emotional, and more you. Because there’s less noise to cut through.
So, do you need a photographer for your micro wedding?
No. You don’t need a photographer for your micro wedding any more than you need cake or flowers or a specific outfit.
But if you want to look back in ten years and actually see what your day felt like – not just remember the idea of it, but see the details, the expressions, the reality of it – then yes, you want one.
And if you’re planning something small and meaningful in Sussex, I’d love to be that person for you.
