Day 102/263 Left
St. Lucia Photographer Shares A Photo A Day
With The World For A Year!
Another Stunning St. Lucia Wedding!
Jeannette & Michael were not your typical Bride & Groom, commencing with the fact that Michael threatened to take the hotel apart brick by brick when he was told by management that as an independent photographer I was not allowed to come on their property to shoot his wedding.
Well Michael simply said "Houston, We Have A Problem" and proceeded to go ballistic. Jeannette called me up in tears, and the hotel lobby was not a pretty sight.
Long story short, the hotel capitulated, Jeannette smiled again, and we proceeded to have an absolute bundle of fun, resulting in some of my all time favorite wedding photos. In fact after the wedding we went exploring St. Lucia, as Jeannette had signed up for a Whole Island Wedding Photography Package.
Interestingly enough, in the end the hotel waived their special nearly U$500 "outside photographer fee"…I guess they must have felt that this was cheaper than replacing bricks!
I’d love to get some comments on this, especially since another hotel recently wrote a fellow photographer advising him that he is no longer welcome on their property to produce wedding photography unless he informs them of all the wedding bookings he currently has…
So it now appears official that in St. Lucia hotels appear to care nothing for their brides’ rights to chose her own wedding photographer, and in fact, hotels may just be charging brides huge sums of money to ruin their weddings…AMAZING, BUT TRUE, because inquiring minds want to know what happens when a hotel ruins a brides irreplaceable Wedding Photography!
Please join the debate and tell me what you think…I look forward to your feedback
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on Jun 5th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Well, you already know my opinion on this. Reading this story just makes me more angry. First of all the hotels gain nothing but a bad rap if this continues. In my eyes, they are already raking in the benefits of having people pay to stay at their hotel, so taking the brides choice of photographer makes no sense at all.
I say ‘out’ these hotels, tell us which ones they are and maybe people will boycot them and choose another one in St. Lucia. Please don’t say Coconut Bay, I would be sooooooooooo disappointed.
I love your pictures, keep sharing them.
Thanks,
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I am one of the photographers affected by the hotel’s decision to ban outside photographers here in St. Lucia. I have great difficulty understanding why, on that most important day of a bride’s life, she is denied the privilege of choosing the photographer she feels most comfortable with to document the event.
I am also concerned that my rights as a Professional Wedding Photographer who has prepared himself for this very function, is being trampled on, in the country of my birth!
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hey Bill,
Thanks for that post. Please encourage others to respond as it is important for people to know this silent injustice that more and more hotels are orchestrating against photographers, and in the process, insulting brides with the great dis-service to them. As I keep on asking: What happens when a bride’s precious wedding photography is ruined? And why should a bride be denied her inalienable rights to her wedding photographer of choice?
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Hi Lisa,
Well you’re rather fired up this morning…Thank you for that! Truth is you’d be amazed to discover which hotels are doing what!
I am hoping that brides who have been refused their photographer of choice will find this post and comment too.
Anyhow, as always, I’m so happy that you are enjoying my photos, and that I can help you keep your St. Lucia memories alive thru my posts.
Have a Great wknd and Thanks for the FollowFriday over on Twitter!
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
[...] Day 102/263 Left St. Lucia Photographer Shares A Photo A Day With The World For A Year! Another Stunning St. Lucia Wedding! Jeannette & Michael were not your typical Bride & Groom, commencing with the fact that Michael threatened to take the hotel apart brick by brick when he was told by management that as an independent photographer I was not allowed to come on their property to shoot his wedding. Well David simply said Source: http://stluciaweddingguru.com/st-lucia-weddings-nightmare/ [...]
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
If you think it might help if tourists /customers like us visiting St-Lucia write something to support as:
When we decide to go on vacation, celebrate an anniversary, honeymoon, weddingmoon or get married . We do select the location , island where we go as: St-Lucia, Barbados, Jamaica , Dominican Republic, Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Cuba, ….So we have the choices and select. We don’t get an island / location assigned.
When we have selected the location, we then select the premise, resort, hotel, etc. We don’t get assigned an island and the resort. We pick and select. We select our airline.
It is the same for the services that we want to get at the location, as tours,… and photographers.
Where ever we will be at home (Montreal, Toronto, NYC, Miami, LA, ….) when we are getting married and we want a photographer during the ceremony and celebration ( local premises, local hotels / inns, resorts in our own town) , even at hotel chains ( Hilton, Marriott, Westin, Fairmount….etc in our own local town in our own respective country.) we will pick and select our photographers.
So why it is different in St-Lucia. Local St-Lucian resorts and hotel chains ( Sandals, Almond,…) can still have and offer their own photo services, however people like us, clients/ tourists that are spending $ on the island can have the choice of selecting our photographer, vs. getting one assigned by the resort that we can even not check his/her experience , quality of work , etc.
Regards
yves
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Thank you Yves for your comments. They were very much appreciated.
It is, to my mind, unconscionable that hotels would treat you, their paying guests, with such disdain and contempt…Take your money, then take away your rights. One other poster suggested that maybe it’s time for guests to start choosing hotels that respect their clients’ rights
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
The comments that you have already received, said all that I feel. It’s really all about choice – on a woman’s most special day – (and any other time) the choice should be hers (and her partner’s) who she wants to take her photos and capture her memories. Not to mention spend her money on. I think any bride and groom that are choosing St Lucia should ask the question about photographers as part on their research into the hotel or resort that they may choose for their wedding stay. I hope more people comment and also more hotels start to do as this one did – waive the “special fee”. The rates at most hotels are high enough to make a decent profit without the “extra” fee and the publicity that is gained by having beautiful wedding photos taken at their place of business and the good will that is generated should more than compensate for the waiving of the fee. Enough for now. Keep up the good work and thanks again for sharing your lovely photos and thoughts. The comments will bring good results.
Grandma Margaret from California.
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Whilst I have not run into this problem personally, the weddings I cover are mostly in the Smaller Boutique properties, I am aware of it happening.
It is very disappointing that couples are being deprived of their right to choose their own photographer. Will these same hotels be telling their guests where they can and cannot eat, which beach they may or may not visit, next? It seems that the all inclusive hotels in particular would like this level of control over their guests.
I can only hope that couples facing this situation express their feeling to the properties concerned.
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thank you Grandma Margaret for your usual insightful take. Ah, The Elegant Wisdom of Maturity!
These comments are all so welcome, and important, for disenfranchised providers of goods and services everywhere, and I am certain will help both the hotels and our government to heed the writing on the wall…Actually, no it’s worse, because it’s The Writing on the Net…For All The World To See!
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hey Kirk
You know that I’m pro choice for anything in life esp. what’s supposed to be a once in a lifetime moment like a wedding. It’s all about the revenue baby and it’s sad that all these couples get is generic, mediocre memorabilia.
You look at the twenty wedding albums that come from some hotels and all poses and locations are the same. Shame. The saying “to be fore warned is to be fore armed” rings loud and clear in my mind, if the couples know what their options are and demand to exercise those options then hotels will have no choice but to lax on this decision to prevent independent photographers.
It’s all about dissemination information, couples have a right to know exactly what they’re into when they booked resort weddings.
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Hey Chris,
Great to see you here and to hear from another St. Lucian Photographer…and might I add this for the benefit of my friends who mightn’t know Chris…He is a photographer par excellence, producing some of the most stunning landscape photography you’ll ever see…and his underwater shots are simply amazing!
Chris good to know that you’re not affected by this weddings nonsense and the added dimension that you have brought to the debate is just wonderful!
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Hey John,
Good to see you, and Many Thanks for your comments. Truth is you would know, as you have seen this from both sides of the fence!
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
For years I have been saying that unless things reach crisis levels, then persons will not take heed. The hotels are not into sharing the financial cake, and to them, the outside photographers are making more money than they should.
Another scenario I am aware of is that there are photographers who make deals with the hotels management, and the only way those deals will bear fruit is to kick out the outside photographers.
Persons have a right to choose who, they want to do their photography and where, and as long as the fees are paid then there should not be any problem.
I would like to see all those hotels be banned and action taken against them, but at the end of the day, those who are prepared to take action are those who are usually left holding the short and nasty end fo the stick.
Let us all come together and expose those persons for who and what they are, and if they insist that is the way they are going to treat Saint Lucians, then we do all in our power to make them suffer.
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Ah, it’s good to see yet another point of view.
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
If I was a bride there is no way that a hotel would determine who I chose. So I guess this is going to be about a bride becoming a “Bridezilla” and getting what “she” wants for her day! It is the couple’s day not the hotel’s. If more people complain and expose these properties and I am sure eventually the rules may change.
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Hey Lady,
Thank you so much for that reply…I hadn’t even thought of the Bridezilla aspect…WOW,WOW,WOW!!!
How do you suggest we get brides on board?
BTW St. Lucia Photographers met yesterday to discuss the issue and will be taking a petition to the government shortly so it is most timely for us to get Brides Everywhere on board because the power belongs to them!
So on behalf of All St. Lucia Photographers, and photographers everywhere that hotels are perpetrating this Horrible and Disgusting Dis-Service and Victimization of Brides, I say a Reall BIG THANK YOU for your imput and continued support.
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
It’s saddening that on the most important day of a couple’s life, they are often left with no choice as to who gives them, what amount to, the only tangible memories they get to take away from such a special day.
As a wedding planner, I’ve recommended St. Lucia and it’s hotels for many years, encouraging couples to not only marry here, but to bring their families and friends too. Because of these policies by the hotels, I’ve had many couples choose other islands for their weddings, depriving St. Lucia of valuable occupancy and revenue. At a wedding I planned recently, we worked out that over 60 St. Lucians directly benefitted from that wedding, quite asides from the hotel and it’s 30 guests.
Many hotels here are struggling, and it’s no wonder when management have the foresight only to see short term greed, rather than long term profit. Worse is the complete moral disregard for the happiness of their own clients. Hotel wedding co-ordinators “chit-chat” their way through ceremonies, and amateur photographers with poor experience and equipment fail to live up to the promise of the brochure and web-site images.
Certainly Kirk and I have met more than our fair share of heartbroken clients from some of these hotels.
The best advertising this island has is often in the work that photographers of quality provide where couples with great images go home and show so many of their friends and family. The vast majority of my clients come here as a result of seeing my work elsewhere. Social networking sites increase this joy and pride that a couple have in the memories provided of their day, with 100s + seeing those images, and this island.
Now, that same social network will sadly bring disrepute to this island and many of it’s hotels unless a revision of this rediculous policy is made very soon. For the last couple of years, I have already witnessed too many clients and their loved ones go to other islands instead.
St. Lucia, you may be Simply Beautiful…but integrity and a good sense of morals goes a long way too.
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Thank You Ray for yet another interesting angle on St. Lucia Destination Wedding Photography and hotels’ trampling on their brides’ right to their wedding photographer of choice.
The sad truth is this: We the independent photographers in St. Lucia care for our brides and what is best for them, confident in the knowledge that we offer them the best of choice and the best of St. Lucia, unlike the hotels.
Thus it is that you have sent brides to me and I have placed a link to your website, as well as contact information for other photographers whose work I can vouch for, on my website.
Truth is, collectively as photographers, we have always shared the view that if we show brides that there is great Wedding Photography to be had from a number of competent, professional St. Lucian Wedding Photographers there will be more work than we all, collectively, could handle.
Funny as well how foreign photographers who brides bring in with them from abroad are never stopped. Makes you wonder if this would change if the photographer stayed at a different resort.
It’s about time that this practice by hotels of denying brides their right to chose a photographer come to an end, and more so since theeir action may actually fall on the wrong side of legality.
on Jun 9th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I don’t think that the hotels have understood the adage, “The wedding day is all about the bride” It is disappointing that hotels have taken this route to this situation. On her wedding day a bride should be free to choose what flowers she wants, what colors they should be, who she will marry, and definitely who will record that special day.
Efforts to force out local independent photographers is also a loss for the bride and her family. The in-house service is not necessarily the best photography that the bride could get for her day or her money. And this places the bride at a grave disadvantage. I am surprised that you guys have not mentioned this as yet. In addition to that the bride may have a specific photographic style that she likes. This is usually the reason behind the bride’s choice of photographer.
How could anyone take this right from the bride? This is unfair. There are very few brides who say, “Prepare everything, I will be there to get married” and this seems to be what the hotel is asking the bride to do. This takes away from how special the day is an turns it into just another “canned” wedding. I can’t imagine a bride in the world who would treat her wedding like this.
The thing is local photographers need to be given the respect that they are worth. St Lucia has some pretty talented photographers who can produce work of the same or higher quality than photographers from larger countries. I dare anyone to say that the quality of work produced by the independent local photographers is lower to any degree than those produced by the in-house hotel service. I believe that in most cases the opposite is true when you consider quality, creativity, skill and experience.
on Jun 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Hey Alvinus,
Many Thanks for your comments. Great thoughts as always
on Jun 26th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Ppl should be able to choose whom they want as photographer for their wedding or events no matter where. What happen? mogabe rule sandals?! Sandals is one hotel that is in need of a few lessons, first them ugly columns they put on the PUBLIC beach to intimidate locals (so they stay away) now photographers not allowed it is time we get something done. This is ridiculous.
And to repeat what Alvinus already said we have some super talent here in Saint Lucia and they are mostly working independently (not under hotel control eh). Some of our local photographers do equal, well actually better work than those from the bigger countries.
Ladies and Gents use the power of the social networks FB twitter etc etc to put some real pressure on them hotels