No they aren't really your wedding photos-Copyrights and rules

You paid a fortune for your big day and far more than you expected for the Photographer the wedding is all over and your ready to show the world how pretty it all was, when you get your photos you probably expect to post them to facebook, or myspace maybe the local paper, but guess what that not your right to do so, that's not your call and you could be paying anywhere between 20 to 100 dollars per a digital picture and the right to distribute (publish)them even after that expense there maybe more limitations on the pics. Copyright is distributed at the discretion of the photographer, once a person takes an image paints and original image or creates it in any way shape or form that image belongs to the creator, not to say they have the right to distribute your image in anyway they choose, but most photographers with hold the right to show your pictures as part of their portfolio this may be very public like showing them on the web or just in person in a photo album to prospective clients, and you the model, the subject of the art, sign your right away in the contract if you are worried about strangers seeing you image you can talk to the photograher and change the contract to your liking. If you don't want to pay those extra fees for copyright check out the photographers copyright policies before signing any contracts and read carefully through the contracts, they want your business and probably are willing to change policy. As I see it the photographer is only in need of your weddings pictures as a way to show their previous work in their portfolios, I wouldn't suggest a photographer that won't include the copyright for at least minimal distribution for the price of
taking the photos, the photographers that do give you copy rights usually include a CD in the package this makes it easy to upload anywhere online, the photographers that don't give you rights keep you from printing anywhere you like, think about this a photographer goes though a photo site and gets a cut of the print charges that means they get 2 or 3 dollars for every extra photo you print and maybe more depending on the size for you that can mean $10 per a picture and 10 pictures that's a hundred dollars, at walmart or snapfish 9 cents a photo will get you any photo you upload that means 10 photos for under a dollar. I think it's your wedding and your photos you should have the right to use them as you like and any photographer that isn't happy with what you pay for taking the pictures is probably more concerned with the money than the art form or respecting your day and making it great. The only upside of the copyright greedy photographer is that they have all the photos posted with easy access for all your friends family and guests on a site, so even your great aunt Bertha can order a print or two even if she's too old to navigate around the web, and we all have these people in our families.