How long should i book my photographer for??

I’d come up with a vague timeline of what you’d want photos of then go from there. We have ours for 8 hours $1400 for two photographers

I only have my photographer booked for 5 hours. Mostly because I only have my venue for 6 hrs and I'm not doing "getting ready" photos. If I had it in my budget, I would have booked her all day.

Hmmmm if you are strapped on time maybe look at your schedule of events and see from what point to what other point is it important for you to get pics for because it features which events

Mine is booked for 9 hours (1pm-10pm). Photography was something I specifically built my budget around and made compromises to accommodate.

I would recommend that you have your photographer for a majority of the event, but not all the way to the end of the party. When we met with the photographer, he told us he would actually like to come an hour early in order to take pictures of table settings, decorations, etc. while they are untouched and pristine. Our party at the venue ends at 11:00 and our photographer said he will likely leave about 9:30 or 10:00. He said that at the end of the night people are not looking their best because they are sweaty from dancing and drunk- not something we necessarily want to show off in our album. He said that after he takes pictures of the dessert and a few more shots he's going to head out, unless we really want him there for something else. I think this is fair. So we are essentially paying him for the entire time of event (7 hours), but we are having him come early and leave early. Some photographers charge by event while others charge by the hour. Figure out how your photographer charges...that may dictate how many hours you feel you actually need...

We've got two shooters for eight hours. This will include the end of getting ready, first look and all the photos before the ceremony, through to after speeches and dances. They won't be all the way until the end but I didn't need the extra hour

We are doing ours for 4 to 5 hours because we feel everything willl be about done by then... I’ve asked out photographer to please get all of our guests and pics of us etc I think 4 hours will be great.

It depends on what you want. Here is a rough timeline I had for pictures only. I should mention I had 2 photographers and 1 assistant which also did some shooting and we had 7 hour coverage.

2-3:30 getting ready / last touches / decor / details / ring / dress / bridal party matching robes / fun shots
3-3:30 groom getting ready
3:30-3:45 bridal photos / all dress up / groom shooting simultaneously
3:45-4 family photos
4-4:30 cushion time (in case running behind or time to retouch)
4:30-5 ceremony
5-5:20 immediate family photos
5:20-5:40 bridal party all together
5:40-6:50 bride and groom photos
7 grand entrance
7-8 dinner
7:50 speeches
8 cake cutting
8:05-8:15 first dances
8:15-8:50 dance
8:50 bouquet toss
8:55 garter toss

So here is my intake:
The more details you have the more time it takes. My photographer loves details and she knew me well so she went half an hour before just for this and to set up. She didn’t charge me extra for this as this is something she wanted to do. What took longer was actual shoots. For getting ready I was fully really and we did like 5 minutes of mock up pictures.
Make sure your MOH knows the list for family photos and have a bridesmaids help her with this. I had all my family line up and photos took no time as they look for them and had them ready. For dancing pictures 20 to 30 minutes is more than enough. Make sure you have everyone in the dance floor for that time and there’s good music to keep the party going and guarantee great shots.
And cushions time is a must! We were behind schedule and this help a ton!

Typically I'd suggest about 8-9hrs which is based on a typical timeline.
The end of the reception isn't really necessary unless you're doing a send off.
And you can shave off about a hour or so if you don't do getting ready photos.
If you create a basic timeline outline and are sure to include everything, you can get a basic idea.

Wow you guys are great!! A lot of good insight for me to gather ideas for and plan for. Thanks so much!!!

What events on your day are most important to you? You may end paying for an entire day because so many events are spread out throughout the day.. but that depends on what you want. It also depends on how the photographer charges you.. some only charge for time spent taking photos and others charge flat rate per hour or package.

My photographer actually helped us come up with a timeline! See if the photographer has suggestions for your budget. When planning our timeline, I planned way too much time for pictures compared to our photographer's. Of course she is WAY more experienced so I trusted her.

My FH and I are not doing a first look so we are booking photographers for the whole day. I want to see pictures of him getting ready and vice versa. We also are going to take pictures with our families and bridal party separately before and then during cocktail hour all together. I'd consider if you're doing a first look or not in your decision making.

I’m planning on five hours all together. I only wanted her there for the beginning photos before the ceremony where my FH and I do our first look and get the wedding party. Then, she’d be there for the ceremony and the first hour of the reception. I was going to have my mom and sister take the get-ready-photos (they’re both photographers). It’ll be about 500-700 all together for me!

6-8 hours is what I have been thinking. That way they can cover you getting ready, all the way up to your first dance.

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Hey Rachel! Have you decided how long you will book your photographer for?

Well, it's hard to say, honestly. I think they photographer will make the best call for us. I want to get in shots of the wedding in the church, family pictures, some of my fiance and I doing poses, and, since we're having fireworks, night photos. That's probably 8 hours, but what will the photographer do during the dinner, speeches and dancing??? And how does this work into pricing??? I scheduled a call with my photographer, so I'll have to figure it out with her. The price is a concern for us, but... I dunno... at the end of the day we're probably going to be in debt, unfortunately. This is a once is a lifetime event. (Exactly why millennials aren't getting married as often these days, in my guess, what with college debt and everything else.)

We booked 2 photographers for 9 hours each a year ago. Now I am thinking I may have gone a little overboard lol. I think 6 hours would have probably been enough...especially with two shooters.

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During dinner your photographer should be offered a vendor meal. She will take pictures of the toasts, and probably some reaction shots of people. Skip the getting ready photos.

Best wishes!

We have 2 photographers for 10 hours. I booked 8 & then was thinking that I wanted two more. But my wedding is at 1pm. If you have a later wedding you could start later & not have the photographer for as long.