You’ve heard it all before. “Don’t skimp on your photographer.” “The photos are the only thing, other than your spouse, that you take away from the wedding.” And you’ve also seen the photos comparing the same moment photographed by a professional vs a guest with a point and shoot. And you’ve decided that doesn’t bother you. You don’t mind the difference in resolution/ lighting/ printed quality.

But I’m here to make one more case for the professional. This time, I’m not going to talk about the difference in resolution, or how only a professional knows flattering poses for every body type. I’m not even going to argue that “you’ll want high quality photos to show your kids someday.” Because honestly, my parents’ wedding photos aren’t the best quality, and I treasure those just the same.

Instead, I want you to hire a professional wedding photographer… to photograph your grandpa. And your grandma. And your sweet parents. In fact, think about all the wonderful people you’re going to have at your wedding. For one moment in your life, everyone you love is going to be in the same room, laughing and hugging one another. Laughing and hugging you! And although you may already have 5,000 selfies with your fiancé, my guess is that you probably don’t have many photos of the rest of your guests. Even if you do, how many of those photos are candid? How many of those photos show a glimpse of who that person truly is?

Your wedding is a prime time to have pictures taken of the people you love, being themselves. You don’t get that kind of personality shining through when you shove a phone in someone’s face and tell them to smile. You don’t even get that kind of personality during family photo time.

But when you’re on the dance floor spinning in circles with your dad, a professional photographer will also glance across the room and notice your mom crying on her sister’s shoulder. They will capture that moment for you… and for them. When your best man is making a fool of himself during his speech, your photographer will also grab an amazing shot of your grandpa laughing over a cup of coffee. And when your sister hugs you right after the ceremony, a professional will recognize that as a moment worth capturing.

Yes, of course you want photos of the main events. And those moments would probably be captured (at varying quality) by either a professional or a non-professional. Neither will miss the first kiss or the cake cutting. They announce both of those things, for Pete’s sake.

But a professional goes beyond that. They see the moments in between the moments. They see the pretty white dress, but they also see the great aunt who helped tailor it, beaming with pride when you put it on.

Because those are also photos that matter. Those could be some of the last photos you’ll have of your grandma and grandpa together. They might not be the ones you print onto a canvas to hang above your mantel, but they will be the ones you go digging for when it’s time to make a slideshow.

So maybe you don’t mind the difference in quality between a professional photo and non-professional photo. And that’s perfectly okay. But think about the moments and the emotions that will be happening at your wedding. Are you going to be okay when those moments are missing from your photo album?

And if you still decide to go with a non-professional, at least sit down with them ahead of time… not with a Pinterest board of the poses you like, but with a list of the important people who will be at your wedding. Let them know which table your grandma is sitting at. In fact, go ahead and do that with your professional photographer as well. It always helps to know what’s important to you.