Hi @kingpin, wedding photography can be a large expense in a wedding budget. If you can to save, one alternative would be to forgo professional photographerand instead let family members or close friend take pictures on your behalf.
However, there are other tips to save money on your wedding photos if you still want your weddingto have a professional look.

1. Plan your wedding on any day except Saturday since photographers usually charge a high fee on Saturday because a lot of weddings happen on this day.

2. Look for a photographer that works out of their home, they are more affordable and less expensive because they don't have overhead cost for studio or office.

3.Hire a professional photographer for the ceremony only since most wedding are taken at the church and the least amount of time is spent there. If you can find one that charges by the hour the better. Have your friends and family take candid photos at the reception and these will be more fun like reception should be.

4. If you can find a student photographer, the better since some of them are better than professionals and they don't charge as much. They would be happy to do it since they can add this to their portfolio.

5. Wait until everyone has had a chance to look for proofs before you order your pictures.

6. Buy only proofs or look for photographer that offers "you get the proof" packages. If you have the proofs you can always get reprints done any time you want and avoid having to go to the photographer every time.

Photos are what you’ll refer to the most when looking back on your wedding. Wedding photos can be costly. But you can save money by following the tips shown here —

• Find a family member or a friend who can shoot photos for you.
• Consider using a photography student.
• Provide single-use cameras to some attendants and select different themes for them.
• Compare different photographer’s offers.

Source: http://www.cheap-wedding-solutions.com/cheap-wedding-photographer.html