Three Hours Or Six?

[LissaSou]

I tried searching to see if someone had asked this before, so I'm sorry if it's a repeat. We are currently trying to nail down a photographer for our wedding, but I'm unsure how much time I should book them for. Three hours doesn't sound like a long time (even with a short ceremony) but I'm wondering if most brides thought it was enough?

[JaxBchKay]

I had this same question and found this on the Dean Sanderson Photography website.  I think it's really helpful when you think about what exactly you are looking to get from your photos:

 

 

 

"In this example I am using a 4pm ceremony time, a 6 pm reception time and a 6pm sunset….

2:30 Wedding photographer arrives at the resort and comes and finds you and introduces themselves.

3:00 Photographer shoots the guys getting ready photos and grooms portraits leaving them ready to have a quiet drink in an air conditioned room once they have finished.

3:25 Photographer shoots the end of girls getting ready (putting on the dress) and bridal portraits.

3:50 Bridal party with photographer head to the ceremony location.

4:00-4:30 Ceremony

4:30-5:00 Group photograph of everyone at the wedding and family photos

5:00- 5:20 Photographer takes Bride, Groom and wedding party onto the beach for group shots

5:20-6:00 Photographer takes beach shots of the bride and groom

6:15 Bride and Groom head to the reception to make an entrance once the guests are already seated and have a drink

As you can see, this is three hours of photography time used really smartly…. but this is just the start of the reception… so now the questions are what is your budget? And do you really want/need a lot of photos of your friends partying? If you are on a tight budget I would suggest starting the reception with the first dance… and if you really want to father daughter dance etc- it really adds to the dramatic entrance and it means you can pretty much get away with a three hour photography package… as after that the photographer can leave, also if you just have half an hour of getting ready photos you should be able to squeeze in the cake cutting too….

If you do have your heart set on having photos of the speeches and the dance with your father, I would still suggest starting with the first dance, and then interspersing the speeches and toasts throughout the meal… Not only does it keep the wedding party together as one large group, but it also keeps peoples attention and stops the meal from running over…. Then if you have the cake cutting before desert is served, it effectively means that at the end of the meal the photographers work is done. In this instance you are looking at 4-5 hours of photography as an absolute maximum…"

 

Here is the link if you want the entire article.

http://deansandersonweddings.com/wedding-photographer-advice-2/gp/choosing-the-best-timeline/

[LissaSou]

Yeah, when you break it down like that three hours doesn't really sound like a lot of time - even with us not doing speeches or dances.

[acw271011]

I had this same question and found this on the Dean Sanderson Photography website.  I think it's really helpful when you think about what exactly you are looking to get from your photos:

 

 

 

"In this example I am using a 4pm ceremony time, a 6 pm reception time and a 6pm sunset….

2:30 Wedding photographer arrives at the resort and comes and finds you and introduces themselves.

3:00 Photographer shoots the guys getting ready photos and grooms portraits leaving them ready to have a quiet drink in an air conditioned room once they have finished.

3:25 Photographer shoots the end of girls getting ready (putting on the dress) and bridal portraits.

3:50 Bridal party with photographer head to the ceremony location.

4:00-4:30 Ceremony

4:30-5:00 Group photograph of everyone at the wedding and family photos

5:00- 5:20 Photographer takes Bride, Groom and wedding party onto the beach for group shots

5:20-6:00 Photographer takes beach shots of the bride and groom

6:15 Bride and Groom head to the reception to make an entrance once the guests are already seated and have a drink

As you can see, this is three hours of photography time used really smartly…. but this is just the start of the reception… so now the questions are what is your budget? And do you really want/need a lot of photos of your friends partying? If you are on a tight budget I would suggest starting the reception with the first dance… and if you really want to father daughter dance etc- it really adds to the dramatic entrance and it means you can pretty much get away with a three hour photography package… as after that the photographer can leave, also if you just have half an hour of getting ready photos you should be able to squeeze in the cake cutting too….

If you do have your heart set on having photos of the speeches and the dance with your father, I would still suggest starting with the first dance, and then interspersing the speeches and toasts throughout the meal… Not only does it keep the wedding party together as one large group, but it also keeps peoples attention and stops the meal from running over…. Then if you have the cake cutting before desert is served, it effectively means that at the end of the meal the photographers work is done. In this instance you are looking at 4-5 hours of photography as an absolute maximum…"

 

Here is the link if you want the entire article.

http://deansandersonweddings.com/wedding-photographer-advice-2/gp/choosing-the-best-timeline/

 

Well said @@JaxBchKay! I have a similar timeline from another photographer, and was just looking for it to post it! This one has the timeline just a little tighter than the one I have. This one doesn't leave much margin for error, or extra time at all. I would say work with this one and give yourself a cushion of at least 10 or 15 minutes each way.

 

Having said that, I've heard great things about Dean Sanderson!

 

Good luck and happy planning!

[Linds1204]

@@LissaSou

 

I would def go with longer! Myself and the girls were running behind getting ready, so even though our photographer arrived at 2 and our ceremony was at 4, we barely got any bridal party or bridal portrait pics before the wedding.

 

Once you select your photographer, I am sure they can work with you to do a shorter package duration to work within your budget. They may be able to put together a 4 1/2 or 5 hour package that would suit your needs. 

 

Good luck!

[Lindsay30]

I think we have our photographer for 8 hours. I don't know the set schedule yet but we figured since we are shortening the length of time that we are using a videographer (3 hours), the photographer will get pictures of me and my bridesmaids getting ready and we can shoot the separate bridal party photos before the ceremony so we don't miss the entire cocktail hour. I don't think you'll get out of it what you want with only 3 hours of photos. Good luck

[mark82]

i think it depends on what type of wedding your are having and the plans you have made for the numbers coming.

 

we are having a fairly small wedding 20 guests and we are not having a reception as such so no need to have a photographer waiting around taking pictures of us eating our dinner.

 

we have booked 3 hours so 1 photographer will be taking pictures of the bride etc getting ready while another will be doing the same with the guys that will be from about 1 hours before the wedding.

 

the wedding cerimony itself only takes 20-30 mins so obviously they will be continually shooting during this.

 

then there will be group/couple pictures with the both of us before we go away with photographer for pictures together.

 

this should easily take us up to the time we have our dinner booked and like i say i dont want to be getting my pictures taken with a face full of food!! lol

 

if needs be we can add time on the day with the photographer so shouldnt really be an issue.

[bicoastalimages]

@LissaSou Greetings from sunny Cancun!

 

I'm Canadian (originally from TO) living here in the Mayan Riviera with my hubby shooting awesome beach nuptials. To be honest it really does depend on the couple and what moments/elements from their day are most important to them and that they couldn't live without having captured. The very first thing we do is always chat with our potential beach brides and grooms over the phone or even Skype to get a better idea how they see their day unfolding, what they'd like included and help go from there. Our minimum package already includes 5 hours of coverage as we believe that is truly the minimum amount of time to properly cover even basic elements from a wedding.

 

Often we end up creating a first rough timeline for the bride & groom. There's a lot to think about and this is where you will completely lean on having an experienced photographer taking care of your wedding day images (and sometimes even helping to guide you through the day).

 

Here are some images from a recent wedding we shot at Grand Palladium...

***(View the entire album of Jason & Colleen's destination wedding at Grand Palladium here)***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View the entire album of Jason & Colleen's destination wedding at Grand Palladium here

[marinah84]

Thanks for posting this!

[omontes]

Hello BD brides!

 

Our job is to give them the best service at the best price, We work in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Riviera Maya, etc; we have different packages to suit your budget!

 

We always take pictures of getting ready, family, dating and pictures they want to do, we seek to make them feel comfortable and always have fun at your wedding!

 

Please take a look at our photography work:

http://www.OctavioMontes.com

 

 

 

if you have doubts or questions gladly attend you your doubts.

 

Have a nice day, Greetings!