As a wedding photographer, one of the questions we often hear from couples is, “How many hours of coverage do we need for their wedding day?” Since this is probably your first time planning a wedding, you may not know what you will need or even where to start. You want to make sure you get all the important parts of your day covered, but you also don’t want to spend your wedding budget on hours of photography that you don’t need.
We want to make things easier for you, so here is our guide on how many hours of wedding photography coverage you really need.
If your wedding ceremony and reception are at the same location, you might only need six hours of wedding photography coverage.
Six hours of wedding photography coverage
We recommend at least six hours of wedding day photography coverage unless you are eloping or having an intimate dinner instead of a reception. Here are a few situations when 6 hours of wedding photography coverage will work great:
Your ceremony and reception are in the same location.
You don’t want to take photos of yourself getting ready.
You don’t have a special reception exit planned, and you don’t need a lot of dancing photos.
Sample 6-Hour Wedding Photography Timeline (limited dancing photos/no special exit): 2:00Bride and bridesmaids Prepare
3:00 Groom and Groomsmen Prepare
3:30 Ceremony Details/Guests Arriving
4:00 Wedding Ceremony
4:30 Family and Couple Portraits
5:30 Reception Grand Entrance
5:35 Toasts
6:00 Dinner
7:00 First Dance and Parent Dances
7:10 Open Dancing
7:45 cake cutting
7:55 Bouquet and Garter Toss
The photographer departs at 8:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Reception ends
Sample 6-Hour Wedding Photography Timeline (no getting-ready photos): 3:30 Ceremony Details/Guests Arriving
4:00 Wedding Ceremony
4:30 Family and Couple Portraits
5:30 Reception Grand Entrance
5:35 Toasts
6:00 Dinner
7:00 First Dance and Parent Dances
7:10 Open Dancing
8 a.m. cake cutting
8:10: Bouquet and Garter Toss
8:20 Open Dancing
The photographer departs at 9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Reception ends
Eight hours of wedding photography coverage
Eight hours of wedding photography coverage is the most popular amount and will cover most weddings from start to finish. Here are a few situations when eight hours of wedding photography coverage will probably be needed:
Your ceremony and reception are in different locations.
You want to take a first look.
You want both getting-ready photos and a lot of dancing photos.
Sample 8-Hour Traditional Wedding Photography Timeline: 2:00The bride and bridesmaids prepare
3:00 Groom and Groomsmen Prepare
Ceremony Details/Guest Arrival: 3:30 p.m.
4:00 Wedding Ceremony
4:30 Family and Couple Portraits
5:30 Reception Grand Entrance
5:35 Toasts
6:00 Dinner
7:00 First Dance and Parent Dances
7:10 Open Dancing
8 a.m. cake cutting
8:10: Bouquet and Garter Toss
8:20 Open Dancing
9:50 Special Exit
10:00 The reception concludes, and the photographer departs.
Sample 8-Hour First Look Wedding Photography Timeline: 1:00: Bride and Bridesmaids Getting Ready
2:00 Groom and Groomsmen Prepare
2:30: First Look and Couple Portraits
Ceremony Details/Guest Arrival: 3:30 p.m.
4:00 Wedding Ceremony
4:30 Family and Wedding Party Portraits
5:15 Participate in cocktail hour or take a break for the bride and groom.
5:30 Reception Grand Entrance
5:35 Toasts
6:00 Dinner
7:00 First Dance and Parent Dances
7:10 Open Dancing
7:45 cake cutting
7:55 Bouquet and Garter Toss
The photographer departs at 9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Reception ends
If you are planning a special exit, like a sparkler exit, you might need 10 hours of photography coverage for your wedding day. See these example wedding photography timelines.
Ten hours of wedding photography coverage
In some situations, 8 hours of wedding photography just won’t be enough to capture your whole wedding day. Here are a few situations when you might need 10 hours of wedding photography coverage, or even more:
You have a time gap between the end of your ceremony and the start of your reception (common with church weddings).
You are having two ceremonies (such as a morning tea ceremony and a traditional afternoon or evening ceremony).
You are having a large number of guests and wish to do a receiving line or table visit (these typically take 30-45 minutes each).
Sample 10-Hour Traditional Church Ceremony Wedding Photography Timeline: 10:30: Bride and Bridesmaids Prepare
11:30 Groom and Groomsmen Prepare
12:00 Wedding Ceremony
1:00 Family and Couple Portraits
2:00 Optional Break or Extended Couple Portraits at another location
3:00 Cocktail Hour
4:00 Reception: Grand Entrance
4:05 Toasts
4:30 Dinner
5:30: First Dance and Parent Dances
5:40 Open Dancing
6:00 p.m. Cake Cutting
6:40 Bouquet and Garter Toss
The photographer departs at 8:30 a.m.
Reception concludes at 9:00 p.m.
Sample 10-Hour Two-Ceremony Wedding Photography Timeline: 10:00 Morning Tea Ceremony
12:00 Break
3:00 Getting Ready Photos for the Second Ceremony
4:00 Wedding Ceremony
4:30 Family and Couple Portraits
5:30 Reception Grand Entrance
5:35 Toasts
6:00 Dinner
7:00 First Dance and Parent Dances
7:10 Open Dancing
7:45 cake cutting
7:55 Bouquet and Garter Toss
The photographer departs at 8:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Reception ends
