How Long Do I Need to Hire A Wedding Photographer?

 

Weddings come in many sizes. From lavish all-day affairs to simple elopements. So how do you work out how long you need to hire your wedding photographer? Every wedding day is different and will vary in guest numbers, bride and groom’s expectations, and scale. To find out more on how to work out the time you will need to hire your wedding photographer read on!

 

How many hours Do you need really need a photographer for?

Rather than think in hours the best way to think about how to work out how long you need a photographer is to think in terms of what you want to be covered during your wedding day and look at your wedding timeline.

Assuming you want the whole day covered from bridal preparations, ceremony, drinks reception, formal group shots, couple portraits, speeches, cutting of the cake, first dance, and evening reception. What time are these events happening? If you want all-day coverage knowing the ceremony time and the first dance time is the most accurate way of working out how long to hire your photographer. Need help in deciding How Much Should You Pay for a Wedding Photographer?

 

 

What parts of the wedding day are most important to you?

Everybody will have different ideas about what things are important to them during their wedding day. If you want photographs of your rings, dress flowers, and gifts then photographing the bridal preparations is essential.

It’s a great way to get comfortable being photographed before the wedding day gets intense, and you also get to capture the father of the bride’s first look in your wedding dress. This can be a very emotional moment. Alternatively, you might not want the wedding preparation photographed.

You are looking forward to the evening celebrations and want more of the evening documented. Finding out what is important to you during your wedding will help you in deciding how long you will need your wedding photographer

 

Big Wedding or Intimate Affair?

Do you want the bridal preparations and the first dance covered? Maybe just the ceremony up to the speeches? If you are having a small family gathering with a quiet meal after it’s pretty simple to work out.

Wedding days can vary from elopements to small family weddings, through to average weddings with 120+ guests, right up to big affairs with 200+ guests. So depending on what type of wedding you are having this will have a large bearing on your decision.

2 factors that will make a big difference in working out the hours needed are whether or not you are having the ceremony and reception in the same place and the location of your bridal preparations.

 

Different wedding packages

To give you an idea of what can be covered with different amounts of coverage, I offer 3 main packages of 6 hours, 10 hours, and 12 hours. Hopefully, you will be able to see what is the best amount of coverage for you!

6-hour Wedding Coverage

This is perfect for elopements and small family weddings. You will need to decide which is more important to you; the bridal preparations or the first dance as 6 hours will not cover both. 6 hours also works better if the ceremony and reception are in the same location.

Bridal Preparations up to Speeches

Assuming you want the bridal preparations, this will give the photographer the opportunity to photograph all of the details including your dress, shoes and flowers. The coverage will usually be able to cover the speeches also if you have the speeches before the first dance.

So you will have coverage of the bridal preparations, ceremony, confetti throw, group shots, portraits, and speeches. Ypu can also cut the cake before/after the speeches.

Ceremony to the first dance

This option works best if you have your ceremony 1 pm – 2 pm so you can also fit in the first dance. The photographer is able to capture all of the main events from the day – ceremony, confetti throw, group photographs, portraits, speeches, cake cutting, and first dance.

 

10-Hour Coverage

This coverage is usually enough for an average-sized wedding when the ceremony and reception are in the same space and the wedding ceremony is after 12pm.

The photographer will be able to cover the last two hours of the bridal preparations and right through to the first dance and a little of the dancing at the evening reception. The majority of my bookings are this package.

 

 

12 Hours Coverage

If you are getting married in a church, you will need to get ready either at the reception venue or another location, so this will add time to the beginning of the day as the photographer will need to travel from bridal preparation to the ceremony and then onto the reception. You might also have a large guest list so adding time at the evening reception will give your photographer time to capture more of your guests having fun!

 

Cutting Hours to Save Money?

Just one last thing to consider, are you are cutting your wedding photography coverage to save money?  You might want to think about what you will miss out on with your final photographs if you cost cut costs on your wedding photography.

Weddings can be expensive and we do need to have a budget, although your photography is one of the only things that you get to keep at the end of the wedding. You might want to consider other places to save rather than regret not covering certain parts of your wedding day!

 

Thanks For Reading!

Your wedding is a very personal event and every wedding is different so this article is meant as a guide and is not the definitive answer! Hopefully, you can use this how-to guide to get a good idea and then speak to your prospective photographer to find the right coverage for you!

Thank you for reading this far and I really hope you have found this guide helpful!