XOXO

That is just nuts.

It makes me so mad when I see vendors try to squeeze every last dollar out of their clients. I don't mind paying for services rendered - particularily when we are talking about an art like photography but charging such a premium merely because they can turns my stomach. There is no art in sending the photo off to a cardmaker.

Thanks for the support.

Hmmm...I'm a bit confused by what Patken said about the higher cost of producing a photo. My grandfather was a photographer for many, many years and he still has some friends in the business. Those thank you cards - both the card stock and the small photos that go in them, don't cost the photographer much at all. That is why most studios include thank you's in their standard bridal packages.

As a suggestion, you could do what I did. I used informal notecards with our monogram on them as our thank you cards (Michele31 is doing the same thing, since she liked mine so much). I slipped a small B&W photo into some of them (mostly just close friends and family), but I didn't send photos to everyone who received a thank you (specifically those that did not attend the wedding, or those we didn't know very well).

But, I think you are right for not wanting to pay extra for thank you's. You are already paying a premium amount for your photographer.
Good luck...

Claud - I did something similiar. For our friends I simply used pretty note cards (some with pictures, some without). For the more traditional family (and guests that couldn't attend), I sent the picture insert card Patken provided.

Is this about the pictures for the thank you cards? I thought most photgraphers included them in their packages?
I don't even know how much my place would charge - it's all included.

Just a suggested alternative...

For my wedding I went overboard on some things & cheap on thers --> my 'Thank Yous' are one of the cheap ones...

I'm planning to scan a photo from the wedding and send it to www.cardstore.com. They can convert it into a 5x7 folded card (for 100 - 499 it's $1.39 each) or 5x7 or 4 1/2 x 6 postcard ($.99 / $.79).

Dora...the reason why this whole post got started was because I posted the same suggestion after some of the Patken brides were discussing the cost to have it done through the photographer.

Patken posted (and he is 100% correct) that a photographers photos (even if you are in them) are his copyrighted property and a bride is not allowed to reproduce them without his consent.

I agreed with him but asked how he feels it is right to charge such a mark up on a bride who has already spent so much.

Why am I explaing this in such great detail? Just read the vendor boards. Duh!