How many hours of photography do you think is best?

With my package it includes 8 which I think is enough. For me, I want all the moments including the cake, getting ready and everything else... those are the candid photos that you want, at least for me.

Unless you're doing a send off that you really want pictures of, I think 6 hours is enough. The pictures will just start to get repetitive i think. If pictures are very important to you, go for the 8 hours then. Just offer to pay the difference.

My wedding photography package is nice because it includes up to 8 hours all for one price. I did the math though and realized that it's likely the photographer will only spend about 6 hours with us (maybe a little more). I think it's nice to have the buffer just in case, but your mom is right about not needing a bunch of pictures of people dancing drunk (although they could make for a good laugh down the road).

To be honest, after cake cutting and initial dancing pictures, the photographers do not need to be there unless you have very specific pictures at the end you want taken.

We negotiated for 10 hours even though we will probably need at most 8 hours.

It depends on what you want covered.

Yes, some couples opt for not having the photographer capture shots after cake cutting because it's photos of exactly what you mentioned. And if you're not having an "exit" then 6 hours is probably more than enough. But I've seen some fun pictures of the "drunk dancing" and they look pretty cool. But is it "necessary"? Probably not.

Personally I'm getting all day coverage (10 hours) and 2 photographers. But I'd rather have him there all night than not. It's one day I can't do over again.

It'll honestly be how much you want to splurge on pictures etc. However, I feel like it is normal for photographers to leave before the reception is totally over. You would just want to plan the night so you did all your dances before they left. At some point all they'll have to take pictures of is people dancing and those start to look the same after a while.

@GymRat- Your profile picture cracks me up!

We have 10 hours

It's really up to you. Pictures are really important to me so I splurged for all day coverage (10 hours). Some people don't need that.

We are doing a send off and having 10 hours of photography. There's really only a couple of hours that don't have something planned picture wise for us.

I'm doing 9 hours w/ 2 photographers of coverage, but I don't plan to have them stay all the way to the end of the reception. After awhile, it's the same pictures of people dancing, and I'm not doing any grand exit.

I will say the pictures of the people dancing are some of my favorite -- we had 8 hours, and wished we would have had 1-2 hours more honestly. We brought DH's jeep down, got her all cleaned up for our "exit" and then didn't even have an exit... I wish we would have "staged" one before the photographer left.

We got 9 hours and I wouldn't want any less than that. Here as our timeline:

1 - put dress on and get all pictures (first look, bridal party, parent/family photos)

4 - ceremony

6 - reception starts with cocktail hour

7 - dinner

8 - first dance, dance floor opens -- this is where I would have been fine with the photog leaving if we were in a ballroom, but we were in a museum that had great picture opportunities so I wanted more time.

We have all day coverage (our photographer does this with no extra charge) - I would opt for the 8 hours so that you're not feeling rush to get pictures done.

@Christina! TBH I laugh every time I look at it myself LMAO!!!

We have our photographers for 10 hours, which should take us from getting ready through to dessert and first dances.

@GymRat- That is my face half the time I am doing wedding stuff! LOL

As a photographer, it depends on your timeline, and what you want covered. Many couples want hair and makeup all the way to the dancing at the reception. Others just want the ceremony to the formals of the reception. Because I love to shoot, and I believe a couple should document as much as they can, I give all of my couples all day. They tell me when to show up and where, and i stay until they want. Think of it like this. Your album is the reason you hire a photographer, to document your day for the future, (kids, grandkids, etc). It is the cornerstone and showpiece of your wedding. So what do you want in your album. As a matter of fact, I believe in documenting the entire wedding experience instead of just the wedding day. So I cover any wedding related event such as fittings, tastings, showers, rehearsals, etc. You might ask whoever you go with if they will do the same.

I had 4 hours and it was more than enough. My wedding was from 230-830. My photographer actually stayed 30 mins longer to capture some of the moments that happened beyond our contract time. I plan to recommend Grayce Photography to all my family and friends.

And the the comments everyone is mentioning about the photographer not staying long after the cake, the dance pictures, they are correct. A couple of dance photos are good, but they are hard to capture, and after a while they all look the same.