Wedding photography - what does hour by hour coverage look like?

Did you know I can be booked by the hour and with no minimum hours required. This gives flexibility to couples who do not want a photographer all day. This could be for various reasons: budget, not liking having their photo taken or simply because they are planning the kind of day they cannot see a photographer fitting into.

My advice is ALWAYS have some professional coverage, even if it is only 2 hours to cover the ceremony and some formal group shots afterwards, You will never regret having photos and memories.

So how would shorter coverage work?

I start whenever you want, which in most cases would be from ceremony onwards.

Some examples of how much coverage is needed.

Ceremony and group shots

2 hours

Ceremony, group shots, couple shots

3 hours

Prep [one partner], ceremony and group shots

3 hours

Prep [one partner], ceremony, group shots and couple shots

4 hours

The above is based on a hotel, registrar ceremony. Church wedding services take a lot longer and you must allow an hour just for the ceremony. Prep is based on one partner getting ready on site - otherwise travel needs to be factored in to timings. And group shots based on the list being 10 or less.

Candid photos are very limited when booking this shorter coverage as guest candid photos are usually captured across a whole day and various different times.

Below are some photos from Alyssa and Jacks wedding last year in March.

They opted for 3 hours coverage at their wedding at The Norfolk Mead Hotel in Norfolk.

I arrived before their ceremony in time to catch Alyssa about to get dressed so I was able to capture her details and some lovely moments of her with mum and dad.

I had a second photographer with me this day. A new photographer who was shadowing me so she stayed with Jack, the groom and got some photos of them finishing getting ready.

It was raining on and off in the morning before the ceremony, so we headed straight off to grab some couples photos and we made it back just in time before it rained again.

Alyssa and Jack planned their day really well and opted for speeches first. This meant I was able to capture the speeches within my time slot too, which I was so pleased about as I love the speeches.

Speeches wrapped up and food was about to be served as my time was up.

Thank you Alyssa and Jack for choosing me to be a part of your day.

I absolutely loved spending time with you and your lovely family and friends.

List of suppliers and Instagram handles below:

Venue: @norfolkmead @norfolkmead_events

Hair @lmoralee_hair

MUA @kerriemoraleemua__

Dress @wed2b

Flowers @ramblingwilduk

Suits @ted_baker_menswear

Photography @shell_otoole_photography

Shadowing photographer @charleyhaywood_photography

Things to consider and discuss with your photographer when opting for shorter coverage.

• How long will your ceremony be?
• How many formal group shots are you planning?
• Time of ceremony and time you are sitting down to eat.
• You could feel a little rushed due to a small window to get photos that you want.