A Guide to Navigating Wedding Photography Coverage

Most couples will book their are photographer before they actually create a timeline. This is a good plan, as vendors tend to get booked up pretty quickly.

But it means that it can be hard to know how much coverage you could actually use. This is part of the reason why I base my wedding packages off of events in the day, rather than a specific time. Most couples at the time of booking, either aren’t sure how much coverage they’d like, or if they know they want Prep until 1st dance, they may not know how long that could be.

My goal with these things is to keep it simple, and flexible!

Getting ready?

Often shortened to Prep, the getting ready part of the day is often my number 1 recommendation for couples to consider.

Is it because it’s essential from an album perspective? Maybe? But my main reason for the recommendation is that it allows people to become more comfortable around the camera/me.

If we don’t provide coverage of the getting ready stage of the day, wedding photographers generally don’t get a chance to speak to the guests until we arrange the family photos. I’ve always found it to go smoother for the rest of the day if I’ve had a chance to get to know the wedding party during the prep part of the day. It allows me to interact with guests and lets them get used to me floating around with the camera.

Then from a photography perspective, having your wedding photographer cover the getting ready/prep stage means you’ll get photos that you wouldn’t be able to for the rest of the day. Shots of the dress, the details of the shoes, rings and even the kilts are all the standard shots from that part of the day.

I’ve also had some of my favourite and most emotional shots captured during prep, as a father can see their daughter in their wedding dress for the first time, as groomsmen share a dram and celebrate their friend’s big day or as the same groom’s party watches a youtube video on how to tie the long laces from Scottish Dress shoes (seriously, nobody can ever remember how to do them).

The Ceremony

This one feels pretty obvious…

Although, it’s worth noting that the ceremony doesn’t necessarily need to be covered. I’ve shot a couple of “weddings” now where the couple has already eloped or was married in a small ceremony and they’ve since planned a big wedding-like party! For these events, they’ve mostly been like a normal, if slightly less formal wedding day, just without a ceremony.

There’s no set formula for how to do your wedding day right, it’s down to you to plan the day as you see fit, vendors will always be happy to help!

Family Photos

Most wedding packages will cover at the very least, the ceremony, family photos and some time for couples portraits afterwards. However, it’s up to you to decide how that time is best used.

Everyone has different needs and expectations for family photos, for some, it can be the chance to capture a shot with family they rarely see, whilst others might see it more as a speed bump on the road to the party!

The good bit about it being your wedding though, there are no wrong answers!

To give a rough idea, a well-organised family photo session can be done in around 15 minutes. This will normally cover kids, parents & grandparents, but will take significantly longer if we need to fetch people that have snuck off to the bar. If you’re keen to have Aunties, Uncles, Pets or friends, it may be best to allow around 30 minutes for the extra shots.

Couples Portraits

Gone are the days when a couple would be whisked off for 2 hours by the photographer!

Of course, if there’s a nice spot 5-10 minutes from the venue, then it’s absolutely worth heading out, as it also allows you to take a small break to let your social battery recover and enjoy a quiet moment with your spouse!

I normally advise around 45 minutes for Couples photos, although we can easily get it done in 20 minutes and have you back at the party, allowing a little extra time will help reduce any pressure either of you are feeling at being in front of the camera.

The vast majority of my couples all start their initial email or Zoom chat with “We’re really bad in front of the camera” or “We hate getting photos taken”, so know that if you fit into that group, you’re not alone. The goal of the time with me during couples photos is to help you relax and capture a small collection of photos that you’ll be able to treasure for many years to come.

Speeches

I occasionally get requests for a half day with an extra couple of hours added to capture some shots of the speeches, my recommendation at this point is to move up to the full-day options, they provide a greater value and include some nice-to-have extras thrown in.

My aim during Speeches is to capture the reactions to all the jokes, stories, and those, ultra-special, once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Dinner & Dancing

Dinner time generally isn’t covered from a photography perspective, nobody wants a photo of their Uncle Dave trying to fit the full Salmon starter into his mouth…

This break in the day gives your wedding suppliers a chance to rest, change batteries, transfer cards and grab a bite to eat themselves.

One, slightly biased, tip for you here is to have your supplier’s food arrive just after the top table, this will allow them to finish in time to capture any events planned for right after the meal.

When it comes to dancing, this is the fun bit for photos! I’ll normally capture the couple’s first dance, then another 3-5 songs until I feel I have plenty of party shots for the album. This means it’ll be up to your DJ or your band to help get everyone onto their feet and having a good time.

This part of the day gives a great variety of photos for your album, allowing me to capture even more smiles, laughs and some legendary dance moves (the key is to use your elbows more)!

Hopefully, this gives you an idea of what to expect throughout a standard wedding day, and whilst I’m obviously a little biased, I’d wholeheartedly recommend having your photographer capture the full day, it allows us to get to know your guests, and gives you both a much greater variety of photos, but also more photos overall!

If you’re planning a wedding or yet to decide on the kind of coverage you’d like for your day, don’t hesitate to get in touch and I’m always happy to help!