Pictures are very important to me especially for special occasions... I have a NIKON D80 digital camera and I use it almost everyday !!!! Picture freak!!!! I like to put the theme of day or week on a cd so I know I have acces to many, many many pictures when I need some. I must say that I love to take pictures of my kids, my 2 cats , my dog and my flowers...not to forget my 125 grade 10 + 11 students ! ! !
So on my wedding, I had to convince my FH to have a good photographer. It wasn't that hard since he knows I just love to look at pictures and I take so many of them For me, this is a long term investment
I will have Elizabeth Medina for 2 sessions (yes, it's alot of $$$ - but like I said before, pictures are very important to me and she takes amazing pictures )
I will have pictures taken before the wedding (me + me and my kids)
The ceremony
Group beach pictures
Me + futur husband on beach + resort
Toast time
The next day, pictures of TTD
I have so little pictures of me when I was a kid; that is probably the reason why I have a habit of taking pictures... lots of them !
The time with your photographer depends on what you want and need. If you are a big group, some family members might also take pictures of your wedding... but they will probably not be as nice as pictures taken by a professional