How long Will pictures before the wedding take?

We planned about 1.5 hours. Our photographer said that was plenty of time for us to do our first look (35 minutes), bride/bridesmaids (15 minutes), groom/groomsmen (15 minutes), and whole wedding party (15 minutes). I did leave us with an extra hour of down time before the ceremony in case pictures run over.

Our photographer said 1 - 1.5hrs is good... I'm thinking of telling him to start 1st look at 4pm, ceremony starts at 6pm .. I rather have some extra time then rush .. plus the Cocktail hour I want to spend with friends & family instead of taking pics

It really depends on what you want from the photos. My daughters pre-wedding photo session was about and hour and a half, perhaps a bit less. It seemed just right.

Back when I got married, our photographer (my ex's brother-in-law) took three, yes THREE hours of photos. By the end of the session, I was in a crabby mood and would rather have exited stage left and gone straight to the hotel for the reception. LOL!

We blocked out 2 hours but it only took maybe 1 or a little over. The more you can take before hand keeps your reception on time. Definitely worth it.

Will lit still take that long if the ceremony and reception are in the same place

I'm assuming pictures before the ceremony? Or portrait photos in general?

Mrs. C. has the best breakdown of what generally happens in a typical wedding. If you happen to plan on doing family photos as well, add an extra 15-20m.