One of the questions you may have when planning your wedding is how many hours should I commission a wedding photographer for?
Urban Bridesmaid Photography can offer some advice below on thinking about how many hours you may need.
The most popular choice for full wedding day photography coverage is usually around 8-12 hours, maybe even more.
However, the hours needed for wedding photography on the day will vary depending on type of wedding ceremony and number of locations, whether the speeches are immediately before dinner and whether photographing of the bridal preparations is required.
Pre – wedding ceremony
Bridal Preparations – 1 hr
Groom Preparations – 30 mins
Wedding Ceremony
Wedding Ceremony – can range from 30mins (civil ceremony) to 2 hours (Catholic ceremony with full mass/Pentecostal church)
After ceremony
Formal family portraits/Bride and Groom portraits – 30 mins
Wedding Reception
Reception – mock cutting of cake/speeches before dinner (1-2 hrs)
Full reception with first dance– 3-4 hrs+
Giving couples a realistic understanding of timings is key to a smooth-running day. People always seem to underestimate how long the dinner and speeches will take. Do you manage to squeeze the formals and bride and groom portraits into 30 minutes?
Great blog Louisa. Have a very successful 2011!
Thanks David!
Usually most of my clients don’t want to be standing around for hours, and they don’t have many different group set ups. Usually the hardest thing is getting the bride and groom alone together as the day flies by!
A pleasure Louisa. I’ve started to encourage couples to limit themselves to 6 group shots in order to try and get the formals done in 20 mins. I then whisk the bride and groom off for a portrait session which typically lasts 20-30 mins. I get all this agreed in advance so that I get some time with them alone. Unsurprisingly couples seem to enjoy a bit of quiet time!
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