Question for those brides that used Juan Carlos for photos

I have booked Juan Carlos as my photographer but I have no idea how many hours I need him for. I'm calling him tomorrow to talk about it but any advice I can get will be helpful.

I think I want to have him come to the Welcome Dinner the night before. What do you think?

My wedding day is going to be a little different. I plan to do the cocktail party first, then the ceremony and then the reception. All together, that's a little over 6 hours not including getting ready. I'm sure he doesn't have to stay for the entire party and the bonfire afterwards but what do you think is a good amount of time?

I also want to do a TTD shoot the next day. How long is that usually?

Sorry for all the questions. Any words of wisdom from those of you that used him would be great. I'm curious to know if you would have hired him for a longer or shorter amount of time.

Thanks!

I only had Juan for 4 hours and that was way too short. My husband had him with his GM for 30 minutes, then I had him for 30 minutes before the ceremony. He stayed through the ceremony, cocktail hour & first dance.

If I could do it all over again, I would have booked him for 2 hours before the ceremony and thru dinner, dances, fires dancers and some of the wild and crazy dancing. So for wedding day, I say 6 hours minimum.

For the TTD session, I have no clue.

I have him for 8 hours. Not married yet so I don't know if that's the right amount!

if you have a big day planned then a minimum of 6 hours...i think we booked him for 5 but he stayed longer and that was not enought time...i only gave him 1/2 hour with the boys and 1/2 and hour with me and in hindsight wished he had more time to do the before pics...

i also wish i had him for my welcome dinner but i am so unphotogenic i didnt want to pay alot of $$ to yucky pics of me but he worked his magic and made me look alot better than i normally do

as a photographer, I can say that at least 8 hours is what you're going to need to capture getting ready & all those special moments.

Welcome Dinner: Honestly, we got so many great snapshots from other guests at the Welcome Dinner that I really don't think it's necessary to have him there, especially if you're trying to stay within a budget. If you have unlimited funds, then a couple of hours would be more than enough.

Wedding Day: We hired Juan for 4 hours, which wasn't quite enough and we kept him over an extra 1/2 hour. He was with the guys for only about 15 min. before the wedding, me about 30ish min., then the ceremony; then between group pics on the beach, and the photos of Jeff & I we spent about 2 hours. By the time we got to the reception, it was almost 8:00 (and his time over) so we extended him so he could shoot the first dances and cake cutting. We did both of these right after arriving at the reception, then he left and dinner started. I would think 6 hours on the wedding day would be more realistic.

TTD: We had Juan for 2 hours, which I think was a perfect amount of time. We spent about 30 min riding the horses at Dreams, then drove to our TTD spot and finished the time there. I think we got some great shots in that amount of time.

As a photographer and videographer I have found that sometimes you can't put a limit on the destination weddings because there is so much the bride and groom want to get and don't want to miss any moment

umm Jen your not allowed to call Juan because he's suppose to be working on my pictures.. lol (kidding)

I only hired Juan for 3 hours. Now remember I had a very small wedding of only 6 guests, but with that said, I wish I hired him for two more hours. The reason, we didn't do "getting ready" shots, we took allot of pics of just Cain and I and just a few of our group. And we didn't have any shots of our dinner/dance. The full three hours flew by, and I felt we just didn't have enough time.

IMO, I would just ask him what he thinks. He gives you a really good idea of what he thinks would be best.

Thanks Ladies - when I chat with Juan later today (sorry Tammy, I'll make it quick) I'll ask him what he thinks. My guess is somewhere in the 6 to 7 hour range. And then maybe skip the Welcome Dinner and just do the TTD session after (or maybe skip that one as well.) Honestly I can't see Brendan and I doing the TTD. We're soooo not a lovey dovey couple. There's no way we could pull off the pics like Nurse Sarah had.

I think Juan has a 5 hour minimum these days anyway.

Thanks for your help.