Can we get by with only 3 hours professional photography?

[SweetLe]

I know, my schedule is a little packed- and I know things might not flow exactly the way I plan... So I'm kinda anticipating adding the extra hour if we need to... The pics are important to me I want to be able to look back at all of the big day!

[proti007]

I think an extra hour will definitely give you a lot more breathing room. At my sister's wedding last summer, they had 1.5 hours to get pictures for the two of them, and ended up missing most of their cocktail hour as the schedule did not go as planned (inclement weather); at my BF's wedding, I was dragging her and her husband back into the limo after 1.5 hours as well! Remember, the MOST IMPORTANT pictures you'll take away from the day are of you and your husband-to-be, so make sure to leave ample time to get the photos you want (and deserve!!!).

[canadiangirl]

im not a post bride either, but what were doing is getting pictures of me and my girls in the salon, pics of the guys getting ready, pics of me and my girls getting ready...then some fam pics before the wedding. after that were doing the ceremony it self. Pics of me and the new hubby(that sounds good lol) then were doing reception dinner pics and party pics after to end it.

 

I dont know where everyone is getting married, we are going to jamaica and i was so lucky to find a photographer for a great price and shes giving us from 1pm till 8-9pm plus she is doing a second day thing for just us two to do the TTD

 

hope this helps, if any one needs info on jamaica i can give you her details

have fun ladies

[JBean]

We're only booking for 3 hours too. I found that for our engagement photos, 3 hours was PLENTY and we also did shots with family that day, and were travelling to way more locations than we will be at the wedding.

 

If we decide we need more time, we can decide on the day, but this way we're not over paying for time we won't use (which can ease your mind about the budget).

 

We also have a back-up photog for the reception that comes with our wedding package. I'm hoping they can capture the more "fun" pics of the evening. 

[mochamakes3]

Since I got married last night, I will provided my input. We had full day coverage from getting ready through the reception. There is no way we would have been able to get enough decent pictures in 3 hours. So I will compare what you tentatively scheduled versus what happened at our wedding.

 

12:30 pm Photographers arrived at salon for bride pictures

1:30 pm Photographers arrived at groom's room. They had to fake a lot of pictures because his pants did not get delivered from the laundry service until 2:30 and they were already gone.

2:15 pm Photographers arrived at bride's room.

3:00 pm Wedding Ceremony (This is when your 3 -hour schedule would start)

3:30 pm Group and Family Photos

4:00 pm Cocktail Hour (We just snacked quickly to start pictures)

4:30 pm Bridal Party Pictures (You may require more time for Cocktail Hour if you are doing first dances)

6:45 pm Our Mad Dash across the resort because we realized we were late for our reception even though we still wanted more pictures.

Through dinner and the rest of the night, we had more pictures, including first dances, speeches and cake cutting.

 

So I really think that 3 hours is pushing it. You might want to consider an hour before for first-look pictures of you and groom.

 

But maybe that's just because we got along with our photographers so well, our engagement shoot was supposed to be 45 mins, lasted 2 hours, my BD shoot was supposed to 1 hour, lasted almost 4, and our TTD was scheduled for an hour but turned into 2.5 hours.

 

Remember your pictures are going to be treasured forever, and you can't go back later to take more.

[starrysim]

Thanks for the continued input.  I think I will book 3 hours right now, and will likely add on another hour later.

[canadiangirl]

i agree, we've decided on an extended photo shoot.....i want to make sure we get every inch of the day and night, id rather pay a little more for getting everything we want.

[torilynnsmith]

I am so glad I came across this, we are juggling the photographer debate right now.  Both FI and I have fallen in love with a photog who is about $1000 over our budget.  I always said it was something I would not sacrifice on but now that it is hear and we have to make the choice I am finding it hard to commit the money  Our other option is also a great photographer and offers A LOT more time (dream photog 6-8hrs, realistic photog 12hrs!) he will basically cover the entire day from start to finish.  I considered shortening our time but I think we really want pictures of our guests and family and friends who have made the trip with us at our reception.  I am starting to think that maybe I should wait until we know how many people are coming? What do you think?

[canadiangirl]

TORI:

 

Are you stalking my threads hun lol lol i can always give you the name of ours, but i forget where your getting married, if its in jamaica ive got you covered!

[torilynnsmith]

haha Leigh, no no just OBSESSED with BDW and stalking the most current threads lol... I htink it's my way of procrastinating from starting my next projects!  We're in DR unfortunately, thanks though!!!