For every couple, the wedding planning process is so unique and special - full of details and decisions, excitement and anticipation! As a wedding photographer, I love helping my couples curate their wedding day plan and offer any insight from my experience that might be helpful! In my role, one of the first things I often get asked is how much wedding photography coverage the couple will need for their unique day. Some couples envision a short and simple ceremony/reception, while others have moments from the beginning of the day well into the post-party evening that they hope to capture. In this blog I’ll share some information (along with sample timelines) to help you decide how many hours of wedding photography coverage you will ideally need to book. My goal is to help you best use your financial resources, minimize stress, and make sure that you have the right amount of photography coverage you need to capture all of the special moments you will treasure forever!

WHY IS BOOKING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY COVERAGE IMPORTANT?

Whether you hope to have a short and simple ceremony and reception, or an extended wedding celebration, knowing how much wedding photography coverage you will need can save you financially and help minimize day-of stress! I will go into more specific timing details in the next section, but here are a few examples of how proper booking can set you up for success!

Money: For a couple who knows they do not want to have a dance party after their reception dinner, they would probably only need to book their wedding photographer for approx 4-6 hours instead of a full 8-10 hour day! As you well know if you’re already deep in the wedding planning process, everything starts to add up very quickly financially. Saving where you can and where services are not needed is so helpful!

Stress: On the other hand, I have observed couples book wedding photography coverage for a shorter amount of time than they actually needed, not anticipating how many moments they actually did want to have photographed throughout their day. This can lead to increased stress and rushed photo moments – not the ideal wedding photography experience! You definitely don’t want to be rushing through any moments of your day, and booking the correct amount of wedding photography hours truly is key. Let’s take a look at some specifics around timing to figure out how much photography time is best for you!

HOW MUCH TIME IS NEEDED FOR KEY ASPECTS OF A WEDDING DAY

As you’re creating your perfect wedding day timeline and deciding which moments and events are most important to you, here are some helpful time frames from a photography perspective:

GETTING READY: 1 ½ - 2 HRS

This is honestly one of my favorite parts of a wedding day and one that holds so many special and meaningful photo opportunities! It can feel like a very low-key and somewhat unimportant aspect of the day to photograph, but time and again I’ve seen my clients so delighted by the effortless joy, playfulness, and sweet intimacy with the wedding party and family members that is captured in these moments.

FIRST LOOK: 15 MIN - ½ HR

If you’re hoping to sneak away and capture some meaningful moments with your partner prior to your ceremony, a first look takes a relatively short amount of time to photograph!

CEREMONY: 30 MIN - 1 HR

The main event! A few factors that can influence the length of time of your ceremony include the size of your wedding party and any special moments you hope to include in addition to your vows.

PORTRAITS: 1 ½ - 2 HRS

The length of time that this takes will have to do mostly with the size of your wedding party and family, but 1 ½ - 2 hours is typically a good amount of time to allow for portraits! It’s also so special during this time to take some photos of just you and your partner in that post-ceremony glow!

RECEPTION: 2 ½ - 3 HRS

This is a portion of the wedding day where photography hours can easily be cut back if you’re hoping to book a shorter amount of time. For example, if you know you aren’t going to have a big photographed send-off at the end of your reception, or you only want your photographer present through your first dance and cake-cutting, you can definitely minimize the number of hours you need to book.

BUFFER TIME: 1-2 HRS

It’s always important to remember that events on a wedding day often require buffer time for changes of location or transition between events. When you book your photographer you are booking them for a start and end time, not just for the specific times that photos are being taken. If you’d like some more insight into planning your wedding day timeline including buffer time for all of your events, I've written more about that here!

WEDDING DAY TIMELINE EXAMPLES

Now that we’ve laid out the approximate amount of wedding photography coverage that is needed for each part of a wedding, here are a few examples of actual timelines to help you see how it all comes together! For a full-size wedding, I have a 4-hour booking minimum, so here I’ve included examples of 4-hour, 6-hour, and 8-hour wedding day photography coverage.

4 HOURS (8am – 12pm)

8am – Meet at the first location and drive to the ceremony site

8:30-9:30am – Couple photos

9:30-10am – Cushion time before the ceremony

10-10:30am – Ceremony

10:30-11:30am – Family Photos

11:30-12pm – Detail photos and license signing

6 HOURS

2:00 - Getting ready

2:30 - First look

3:00 - Family photos

3:30 - Reception and ceremony details

4:00 - Ceremony

4:30 - Couple photos

5:00 - Grand entrance

5:15 - Dinner

6:30 - First dance

7:00 - Open dancing

8:00 - Photography coverage ends

8 HOURS (1:30 — 9:30pm)

1:30pm – Getting ready

3:45pm – Take a moment to calm before wedding

4pm – Ceremony

4:30pm – Portrait photos and cocktail hour

Grand entrance into dinner

5:30pm – MOH & BM toasts/speeches

6:30pm – Cake cutting

6:45pm – First dance

7pm – Parent dances

7:30pm – Open dancing

9:30pm – Sendoff!

I hope this post has been beneficial in helping you understand how many hours of wedding photography coverage you’ll need for your special day! If you have any questions at all regarding timing/booking please don’t hesitate to reach out. I would love to help you curate the perfect booking package to make your wedding photography dreams a reality!

Start Planning!

Are you looking to plan your very own wedding? I’d love to be a part of it and photograph your day for you! Get in touch now to check availability and for more information.

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