This is not just a frequently asked question about wedding photography but probably the most asked one. A good wedding photographer not only takes photos but also makes 100% sure that those photos will be taken and will be safely delivered to you. That means backup equipment in case anything breaks on the wedding day and backing up the images immediately so none can get lost or damaged. A good wedding photographer will take time to postprocess and optimize the images he took to get you the best result possible. So he does not only charge for his time on the wedding day but has to consider for many hours that go into preparing your wedding, making sure you are on the same page and in postprocessing your images. He will also use only the best and most expensive equipment and has to cover those costs as well as pay taxes, insurances etc. All of this is important for high quality, worry-free wedding photography. So if you find an offer to good to be true, that is most likely because the photographer saves time or money on one or several of those points. That may not necessary (though probably) lower the quality of the images but definitely increases the risk to run into problems along the way or even end up without wedding photos.

So if you want to hire a professional that will not let you down you should expect rates starting at least around USD 2000 for a full day coverage without a book.