I'm with PipesCJ7 Photography has been good to me. Started shooting pro in 1976 and still love it.100% income from photography.

Please don't be sorry for me. I know what position you are in and it's not fair to you to have your son ask this of you. I have been there and done that and lost some good friends because they wouldn't let me do my job and then were disappointed. Please spare yourself the grief and get someone else to shoot the wedding.

If you haven't taken the excellent advice that has been submitted by now then do what you want. You can not learn the magic formula over night or by reading these posts. If you have to ask then you are not prepared to do the job PERIOD. Hire a Pro and enjoy their day.

I think it's time to end this thread. I believe she has gotten the point by now. We're beating a dead horse at this point. Let her make her own decision and live with the results. I wish her luck which ever way she wants to go with.
Just my opinion.

The best advice is to take 2 photos of every pose. Change the pose slightly so you can tell them apart. If both come out you now have 2 different poses. Chances are that one of the 2 will be faulty. Of course take 2 of everything for equipment. Murphy's law " if it can break or go wrong it will." That is cheap insurance for completing the job that you will be proud of.

Shooting the pictures is only 1/3 of the job of a wedding photographer. Consider that a professional photographer will spend 10-12 hours shooting on the day of the wedding alone. That's the easy part. Then the photographer does all the post processing and burning the DVD before anyone sees the pictures. Once that's done he has to show the pictures to the bride and groom and design their final 8 x 10 album. Then the photographer has to sort the chosen photos to be printed. Send the photos to a professional lab for printing and then put the photos into mats and then the album. This all takes time and money......lots of money. So if you think the pros charge an arm and leg for what they do you better think again. Good luck with what ever you choose to do.

As a professional Wedding Photographer of 40 years and some 3,000 weddings under my belt. I say if you value your relationship be it friends or family DON'T do it. Hire a pro to do it as a wedding gift. You will not get the cooperation that is needed to get the job done. The couple will push back because you are too close to them. When you deliver the end product they will be disappointed because you didn't capture all that was needed to be done. They will cooperate with a professional because they are not close to him or her and show respect because he or she is a pro and is charging big $$ to do the job.

As been said before you will not be able to enjoy yourself because you will be up and down all the time and have to be aware of what is going on at all times. The party won't wait for you because you're not ready. I love shooting weddings but I'm there to capture the moment not to enjoy the party.