When a bride is selecting a wedding package, what detail do they usually over look?

That’s and EASY answer…TIME!

I love bride’s and I totally understand the constraints when planning a wedding. Everyone wants their perfect wedding without going broke in the process, that’s a fact regardless of the budget.

I’ve always had the opinion that the photography should hold high priority in the budgeting process. The truth is that if you want to remember all of the details of your extremely important day, that you’ll need help. Photographs are that help.  When the reception comes to a close the flowers, decorations, and every other detail finds its way home with someone else, used up, or the trash more times than not. The images of those details that you put so much effort and passion into will be the only way to relive that, but I digress.

For a bride and groom the wedding day is an all day event. From the moment they wake up until the moment they fall asleep it’s a journey of excitement, nerves, and nearly any other emotion you can name.

With that said, a lot of it is never captured for remembrance. Why? Because they selected a package that didn’t allow any extra time or didn’t allow the photographer to start early enough. Or they may not be able to stay late enough.  While we try to accomodate our couples when time runs tight, we try to stay close. I know a lot of photographers who pack it up immediately the second their time is up.  Really, I can’t blame them. As photographers, a lot of what we sell is time.

A bride’s breakfast with her parents, the guys getting in a round of golf that morning, the girls at a salon getting a mani/pedi, etc.

In my mind, those moments are important. Seeing these pieces of a puzzle interacting in a day that is leading up to the moment those pieces form a beautiful masterpiece is amazing.

Even beyond that, brides and grooms are leaving behind traditions like not seeing each other before the ceremony. Why? I’ll elaborate in another blog, but that single choice and an extra hour or two before the ceremony can lead to breathtaking portraits. They’re not rushed, they’re not keeping guest waiting, and it’s easier to keep everything on track.

In the end, some people simply can’t afford to dedicate enough budget to cover a 12 hour day of coverage. With that said, I would really think that 8 hours should be a minimum.

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