How hard is it to photograph a wedding?

After reading all over the news about a couple who have successfully sued their wedding photographer for his poor coverage of their wedding i thought i would post some of the comments that followed.
I think everyone knows someone who has average photographs and someone who had a disaster but the greats always get well known. Word of mouth is the best advertisement for a photographer and if it is someone’s wedding a good album always gets shown off!
Besides true professional are insured for types of disasters which is something potential clients shouls be finding out while searching through numerous portfolios!!!

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Many people are not using professionals because they think that the images shot by their guests will suffice and see it as a way of cutting costs. But a good wedding photographer can make the day run so much more smoothly. As well as taking pictures, the photographer is the one person prior to the reception who can organise and stage-manage the event ensuring that everyone is in the right place and guiding things along. It is an immensely stressful job with a huge amount of responsibility and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Yes, pros can be expensive but it’s a three day job when all of the pre-organisation, editing, and post production is taken into consideration and so costs need to be covered.Andy Newbold, Leatherhead, Surrey

the real professionals earn every penny. It’s exhausting, stressful work. You only get one chance at taking these photos, and the pressure and responsibility doesn’t really hit you until the big day. Best left to the pros.
Roy Stoliday, Southampton

As a professional photographer I can categorically state that wedding photography is a very special skill, a skill which I do not have. There is no second chance, no room for any error and no room for a small mistake. The ONLY way to learn wedding photography is to work as an assistant to a wedding photographer – not an easy job to get, either, as you are a potential threat to their business.
Chris Young, Caheragh, West Cork, Ireland

I’ve only started in this industry and shot my first wedding recently. It’s an incredibly daunting task. The timing, the constant awareness needed to capture moments, the technical difficulties in low light, people herding, research, and the time consuming post-processing all make this a lot more difficult than imagined. People just dive in, thinking a £500 camera with a built-in flash will cut the mustard. Not a chance. I’ve spent over 4k on gear, and need more lenses and light tools, six months of deep research and practice, 12 years using Photoshop professionally as a graphic artist. I’m still nervous about every shoot.
Emmett McLaughlin, Liverpool

I used to provide tech support to a number of clients including a wedding photographer. Every time he wandered in with his latest video editing disaster I cried a little on the inside for the poor victims. It wasn’t my place to tell him he was destroying dreams but I think anyone looking for a photographer should ask to see some kind of portfolio. There really are some muppets out there who see an easy few hundred quid in the making.
Bob, Derby

I worked as a wedding host at a country house hotel and saw all kinds of photographers come and go. The digital era appears to have promoted a scatter gun effect in which the man behind the lens takes thousands of shots and hopes to get a good one. The best we worked with – and the ones who had the best rapport with guests – were the old school ones. We would support them and herd guests into the right places at the right times, but high cost doesn’t mean high quality. Our recommended photographer was about mid-price and did Hasselblad work for the main photos and his daughter caught people in unguarded moments with a digital camera. A great pairing with an old school camera and new fangled digital one.
Gavin, Manchester, England