Hooray! You’re engaged. The venue is booked, maybe a bridal gown made you fall in love all over again. Perhaps, you’ve even found the perfect photographer.
But…
As you begin looking at packages and pricing, your eyes glaze over. Ugh. This is not the fun part of marrying your man.
How do you know what you want in a wedding photography collection?
Early in the planning process it’s tricky making large price-point decisions with little knowledge and experience. There are four areas of investment when booking a wedding photographer.
1. Images
2. Time
3. Services
4. Products
Images
Before anything else, consider how you would like to receive your actual images. That may seem obvious, but every wedding photographer is different. Some photographers require you to purchase the digital files (especially high resolution files) in addition to a package or their time. Make sure you check what is included in the most basic coverage.
I highly recommend investing in this, as a top priority. Then, you have your images, digitally, and can use them in creative ways.
All Debra Eby Photography Co. brides receive digital files. These files are web resolution images (for online sharing) and high resolution images (for personal printing).
Time
This is one of the biggest areas of question for inquiring couples. How many hours of wedding photography do you need on the wedding day?
The answer is completely different for each couple. For most couples, eight hours is enough for all of the essentials. But, if you want complete coverage, and have a special send-off, you may need to invest in more.
Let’s walk through a few wedding day samplings to get an idea of your coverage needs.
Wedding coverage typically begins towards the end of hair and make-up. It then lasts until the final important event of the evening. This could be a first dance or a sparkler send-off.
6 Hours
This is for a wedding requiring simple coverage. These weddings tend to be shorter, or couples who are on a tighter budget. It’s worth hiring an amazing photographer, even if it’s only for six hours. Remember, when on a tighter wedding budget you want quality over quantity.
Sample 6 Hour Schedule
- 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
- 2:00 pm - In Gown
- 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
- 4:30 pm - Ceremony
- 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
- 6:30 pm - Reception begins
- Announcing in bridal party
- First Dance
- 7:00 pm - Photographer Departs
8 Hours
This is the ideal amount of time for most wedding coverage. It is my most popular booking since it covers most of the essentials, telling your wedding story.
Depending on how late your celebration lasts, 8 hours may not see you to a send-off. Consider what you want to do at your reception and what you need captured by a professional. For dancing pictures, the first hour will always be your best images of the night. As time passes - speaking as the sober girl at the party - it gets a little sloppy.
Sample 8 Hour Schedule
- 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
- 2:00 pm - In Gown
- 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
- 4:30 pm - Ceremony
- 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
- 6:30 pm - Reception begins
- Announcing in bridal party
- First Dance
- Dinner Service, Toasts
- Dancing
- Cake Cutting
- 9:00 pm - Photographer Departs
10 Hours
Ten hours of wedding photography allows for full coverage, for most couples. This sees you from those final hair and make-up moments to your send-off.
Sample 10 Hour Schedule
- 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
- 2:00 pm - In Gown
- 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
- 4:30 pm - Ceremony
- 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
- 6:30 pm - Reception begins
- Announcing in bridal party
- First Dance
- Dinner Service, Toasts
- Dancing
- Cake Cutting
- Bouquet and Garter Toss
- Bride & Groom Exit
- 11:00 pm - Photographer Departs
Services
Each photographer is different with the services they provide their clients. This part of the experience is based on what a professional does for you vs. a tangible product.
My services include: engagement portraits, bridal portraits, and a second shooter.
Engagement Portraits
Engagement sessions are the rehearsal of the wedding day portraits. It is an opportunity for your photographer to get to know your couple personality and how that translates on camera. The photographer learns your best angles and what makes you light up. Plus, it's a really fun date experience - life in front of the camera.
Consider how you would use engagement portraits. You could have a guestbook make from the images of your engagement session. Framing portraits for décor, creating save-the-dates, your wedding website, so many options.
Bridal Portrait
This one is for my southern girls out there. You know what this is.
For those of you unfamiliar, a bridal portrait is a photo session with just the bride on a separate day, prior to the wedding usually.
This is a time for you to have that hair and make-up trial and put on that designer gown. We get gorgeous you in front of that camera for some serious fun modeling playtime.
While this may not be for everyone, it’s secretly one of my favorite things in the world to do. Time alone with a bride, no timeline crunch, we get to play with posing, angles, and Cinderella twirls. It also saves time on the wedding day.
One of my brides wrote a sweet message on a chalkboard, “Always Daddy’s Little Girl”, then purchased a print, framed it and gifted it to her father on the wedding day. Tears everywhere.
Another bride purchased a massive print, framed and displayed it at the entrance to the reception. The guests completely gushed over it.
Second Shooter
A second shooter offers a rich wedding photography experience. This service adds more images as well as different images when we divide and conquer.
A second shooter:
- Captures the guys getting ready
- Offers alternative angles to things like a first look
- Captures candids at the cocktail hour
- If you do not have a first look, this is not something I am able to do without a second shooter.
- Ensures abundant wedding detail coverage
- Overall more images of your day
If any of these things are really important to you, then investing in a second shooter is the way to go. Any large and detail-intensive weddings should invest in a second shooter.
Products
Many photographers bundle products into their packages. You choose what you want based on a combination of services and products.
Products vary from photographer to photographer. If they offer an album, it can look totally different than another album a different photographer offers. Make sure you see a picture or hold an album in person to view the quality.
My products are very high end. I'm super picky about quality when it comes to wedding products.
My approach to products is a little different. Everything is a la carte in the marketplace for all Debra Eby Photography Co. couples. The marketplace is an online marketplace for all wedding photography products.
The convenient part about a marketplace is that you can invest in heirloom-quality products at any time in this process. Even after the wedding day.
You may not know what products are going to be right for you until closer to the wedding day. That’s okay, because you have time for all that shopping after the planning is further along.
The guide below helps you understand the product function so that you see if it is the right fit for your wedding experience.
Luxury Fine Art Album
The Luxury Fine Art Album is the most gorgeous wedding album I have ever seen. The album has thick, lay-flat pages with rich color and elegant sheen. This is a 12 x 12 album that functions as the art gallery of your wedding day.
Couples select the images, cover textiles, and lettering or image cut-out through the album design form. Then, I design the album, create a digital proof, finally, you approve the proof for printing.
This is my favorite product – by far. Most of my couples choose to add this to their collection. This album is built to last for generations to come, truly an investment piece.
Engagement Guestbook
This is another popular product since it serves such a useful function. Not only is it a lay-flat album, it can also serve a guestbook on the wedding day. You can also have it designed as a coffee table book, with no space for writing.
Parent Album
The Parent Album is a duplicate of the Luxury Fine Art Album. It is 6 x 6, so convenient for parental bragging on the go. This product is only available upon purchase of a Luxury Fine Art Album. It is an add-on product.
Luxury Fine Art Prints
These are images from your wedding day printed through my high-quality lab. The colors and texture of these pieces of art make them into beautiful wall art. These can be ordered any time after receiving your online gallery. Friends and family are also welcome to purchase these through the marketplace.
Couples often order prints through me for the actual wedding day décor. Engagement and bridal portrait prints are very popular.
If you're still unsure, talk with any girlfriends who recently were married. They can tell you things they wish they would have done and will have other tips for you as well.
The best thing you can do is meeting up with your photographer. Explain your vision and they can help you customize your dream collection.
xoxo Lovelies
