As a keepsake to be cherished for generations, wedding photography often comes with a steep price tag.  With this in mind we have gathered tips and information to help you keep the costs manageable.  Armed with these strategies you can win the battle with an item that often proves to be a true budget buster.

As with most other budget items, knowledge is power!  Calculating your bottom line in advance can help to keep your budget on track.  First, you need to do an overview of your entire wedding budget.  To make it easy we have devised a printable spread sheet  that can assist you in this task.  After deciding your overall expenditures, concentrate on keeping each item within the anticipated price range.

As there can be wide variances in wedding package prices, comparative shopping is an essential key to lowering costs.  Visit at least three studios and ask the costs associated with the packages that they offer.  Insist on viewing the photographers portfolio to ensure that you won't be sacrificing quality for cost.  After finding out what they have available tell them your bottom line price and ask if they can accommodate your requests in your desired price range.  As is often the case, photographers will usually initially quote high to see if you are willing to take the bait.  Make it clear that you don't plan on varying from your budget and if they say that they can accommodate your requests get it in writing.  Remaining rigid will put the onus on the studio to conform to your wishes or lose the sale, giving you the all important upper hand in your negotiations.

To maintain momentum to your negotiating you need to start your pricing and planning as far in advance as possible.  Leaving yourself abundant time to comparative shop could prove to be an important factor in minimizing your costs.  Let the studios know that you are fact finding and that you are also considering others before making your final selection. This has been known to be a good enticement for the photographer to quote you their "special rate" or best possible price. 

Do as much networking (especially at wedding shows) as you can.  Ask for recommendations from family and friends to get a feel for which photographers may be persuaded to accommodate your budget.

In advance of your trip to the photographer purchase or if you're really crafty, make your own wedding keepsake album.  The mark-up when purchased from the studio is almost always hyper inflated, so let them know in advance that you  will be providing your own.

Consider selecting one of the smaller packages that the studios offer and augment with candid shots taken by family and friends.  As an incitement you could place disposable cameras as favors on your wedding reception tables.  You may choose to enlarge them later at a significantly lower price than the photographer would charge.

It's a routine practice for photography studios to try to encourage you to purchase outside of the package.  Usually, no matter which wedding package you have chosen, the photographer will take countless shots in the hopes that you won't be able to resist buying them.  Armed with this knowledge, it is recommended that you take someone as impartial as possible to help you make your selection of the final photo's that will make it to your wedding album.