pearaholic's Black wedding


10/03/2008
wedding photographer
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Photos- how long are you planning?
I'm trying to decide how long we want to book our photographer for, how much time between the ceremony and reception and cost-wise where to draw the line at total insanity.

How long are you planning your photo session between ceremony and reception? I'm actually very used to going to weddings with a minimum two or three hour gap between ceremony and cocktails, but since I've started planning I've realized that a lot of brides try to avoid that long a delay. There are a lot of really cool pictures that people have posted as examples. How long would these all take? How much time do you need to get your pictures the way you want?

How long are you having your photographer onsite? The difference between a 4 and a 6 hour package with the photographer that I like so far is about $300, not huge but if I don't need him hanging around... And how much is your photographer charging for their time (are you getting prints out of the deal too?)? I know its kind of hard to compare photographers in different areas since the price spread is usually massive, but I'd just like to know what people are considering reasonable.
photographer, schedule, pictures
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amcs76
 |  Whitby, ON, Canada  |  10/03/2008
Our photographer is charging us $1000 for unlimited time, all photos on DVD un-watermarked, and a DVD of 20 edited photos with effects. We opted not to buy prints from them because it's expensive...I'm going to have them printed myself. I know what you mean about a gap in between the ceremony and reception...it's very common here, and I don't believe in my FI seeing me before the ceremony, so we're doing pics in between the ceremony and reception. The ceremony will be over by 4pm...then the reception is at 6pm. By the time we get to the park where we're taking photos it will be 4:30pm, so we'll have 1 1/2 hours to do photos...I'm hoping thats enough time. My photographer said he will work with whatever timeline I give him, so I'm hoping to get some nice pictures.
scheri
 |  Edmonton, AB, Canada  |  10/03/2008
If you have pictures after ceremony and before reception it's a very long wait for guests.  If you are having a lot of out  - of - town guests it will be expensive and a hassle for the parents of the bride & groom to entertain these guests.  You also loose the energy of the guests from the long wait.  Pictures really do take about 2 hours minimum depending on the size of the wedding party.

Packages well the price can be all over the board.  Guess it depends on just how important pictures are to you.  They are the most important thing to me now and it's only been two months.
ladybugg
 |  (null), United states  |  10/03/2008
Our ceremony starts at 3 and should take about 45 mins and cocktail hour starts at 4ish (haven't quite decided on a time as yet). So, I'm thinking pics would be from 3:45 to about 5:30 ish. Our have a 6 hour photo and video package. But, we have an option to extend the coverage for $100 for every extra hour.
im2babyblue4u
 |  Mobile, AL, United states  |  10/03/2008
We have an extremely tight budget, so our package is somewhat limited...but the price was amazing and I was actually able to get my top pick for the photographer...and he ended up being cheaper than anyone else I had contacted and more willing to work with our budget.  We'll be paying $650 (including taxes and everything) for 4 hrs. of his time, a CD of all images that you can take anywhere to get prints made up, a 20 page coffee table photo album, and a $50 print credit for 8x10s or larger made up by the photographer himself.  Our ceremony and reception are in the same location, so 4 hrs. might turn out to be plenty, but if we end up needing more time, then it's $100 for each extra hour.  Maybe you could ask them could they customize a package for you somewhere in between the 4 hr. and 6 hr. packages and tell them what you're budget is and see if they would be willing to come up with something just for you!!
cincybride09
 |  Cincinnati, OH, United states  |  10/03/2008
I think at the least you will want the photographer there for at least 2 hours before the ceremony the hour in between (that's pretty standard) and up until you've done the dance together and the cake cutting...
mrsbaxter2be
 |  Winnipeg, MB, Canada  |  10/03/2008
I have been told by the photographers that I have met with that most of your value for the day is in the couple of hours between ceremony and reception - you and your new husband are together, as well as your bridal party and special family members. They said the best way to maximize this is to choose one location that works well both for indoor and outdoor photos, so not so much time is spent travelling and getting everyone together.
We are planning 2 hours between ceremony and reception, but I have yet to confirm if I actually want the "getting ready" photos, or what time in the eveining photography finishes.
Think about what will matter to you - posed photos? candids? do you need every second of the day captured?
With our photographer, we are considering ordering "finished product" items like albums and DVD's 6 months after the wedding to lessen the burden at that exact date.
jackeepatko
 |  Georgetown, ON, Canada  |  10/08/2008
We hired our photographer for 12 hours 11am-11pm
They were there for bridal prep and groom prep, church, formals and reception.   We paid $5000 and it was worth every penny
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