How long does a wedding photographer stay?
This is one question we get asked a lot! And it’s not an easy answer. Read our advice on what’s going to work for your wedding day.
“How long is a piece of string?”
There’s that old saying, “How long is a piece of string?” and in answering how long you want your wedding photographer at your wedding, we often think it’s a bit like a length of string. The simple answer is, “it depends”. Here are some rough guidelines to help you out.
Time is money
Generally, for a wedding photographer, time is money. And it’s not just time at your wedding. We have to download and sort through the images afterwards, edit them, upload and deliver them to you. The post-wedding work can often take as long as the wedding day itself.
Locations
If you want some pre-ceremony photos (first looks or bride and groom preparations), you’ll need to allow anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. You might need a second photographer if the bride and groom are getting ready at the same time but in different locations.
How many hours?
If you want family and friends’ photos, you’ll need to allow 1 to 2 hours. You’ll need to consider whether you want these taken before or after the ceremony. Then if you want your photographer to capture the fun of the reception, with all the dancing, speeches and flower tosses, then you’ll need to allow 2 to 4 hours for that. And of course, there’s the ceremony itself.
Our suggestion
Typically, for the day, we suggest around 5 to 10 hours. If your ceremony and reception are in the same location, it might be nearer 5 hours, but if you do want getting-ready and first-look photos and lots of dancing photos, then it might be nearer 10 hours. Eight hours of wedding photography is our most popular amount of coverage and will cover most wedding days from start to finish.
What lasts
We do recommend you give yourself the gift of time with the photographer. It’s the images that will last the longest, so you need to make sure all your essential parts of the day are covered.