How To Find An Affordable Wedding Photographer

Three Ways To Find An Affordable Wedding Photographer

So you are engaged, excited, and ready to start planning your dream wedding – but what comes next? Typically, you will want to figure out the time of year you’d want to have your wedding; narrow down some venues for the wedding; and then find a Photographer to cover your wedding. If you have never hired a Photographer, this may seem like a really tough task – especially if you are working with a tight budget. To see statistics on the average cost of a wedding in your area, Cost of Wedding is a really good resource. Generally, wedding photography accounts for 10-15% of your overall wedding budget. Cost should not be the main factor, when hiring a wedding photographer – but it is often what couples focus on. Here are three useful tips to make sure that you are getting a great and affordable wedding Photographer that fits within your budget.

1. Create A Wedding Photography Timeline

One of the most important ways to find an affordable wedding photographer is to have a wedding photography timeline in mind. Sitting down with your partner and going over all of the things that you want to take place, and have photographed, at your wedding is a good place to start. When I photograph a wedding, they generally will follow the same chronological order starting with your getting ready photos to the exit at the end of the night. Every wedding is different, in one way or another – so your wedding timeline may not include all of these segments or may include additional segments. Knowing what will take place and need to be photographed will give you a clear understanding of how many hours you will need. Generally, 6 hours is a really fast wedding; 8 hours is average; and 10 is on the longer side. Adding in extra time to account for people running behind schedule, is always recommended. Most weddings fall behind schedule because of the events before the ceremony. Once the ceremony has concluded, things tend to run on time 🙂

Getting Ready (1-2 hours): Getting ready photos are a really fun moment of your wedding to have photographed. During this time, your photographer looks to capture details shots of your wedding dress and jewelry, and the fun candid moments with your bridal party. While these are great moments to capture, some couples may not have a bridal party and may choose not to include this in the photography timeline.

First Look (15 minutes): I would say that one out of four couples choose to have a first look. This is a moment where the couple see each other for the first time. It is great to be able to have this moment to calm some of your nerves before the day really gets going. Outside of these few moments, there may not be a lot more time to spend one-on-one time together… first looks are also great for your wedding timeline. Since you will be able to see each other, you can end up taking all or most of your posed portraits. This makes the hour after your ceremony a lot more stressful because you will not have to use the entire 60 minutes of cocktail hour cramming in bridal party, family, and couples portraits. Couples who choose to have a first end up being less stressed for time on their wedding day. I highly recommend first looks 🙂

Family Portraits (2-3 minutes/group): Family portraits typically take 2-3 minutes per group. When I meet with couples before the wedding, we list out all of the groups that will be photographed – so that this portion of the day is as organized as possible. If you are able to get most or all of these groups taken before the ceremony, it will save you a lot of time for the segments after the ceremony. If you and your partner do not plan on seeing each other before the ceremony, getting all of the poses that do not include both of you in them is a good idea.

Bridal Party Photos (30-45 minutes): Like family portraits, a good chunk of these can be taken before the ceremony. If you have a first look, all of your bridal party photos can be taken directly after this segment. This will enable your wedding party to be able to hang out and enjoy cocktail hour. Once they see everyone ordering drinks and having a good time, they will want to take part in this 🙂 That is why you will often see Photographers trying to chase down some of the bridal party! They are usually at the bar trying to order a drink 🙂

Couples Portraits (20-45 minutes): Photographs of the wedding couple can be a quick 20 minutes or we can spend up to about 45 minutes. Keep in mind that if you choose not to see each other before the wedding, all of these photos will need to be taken after the ceremony. If your wedding timeline is able to coordinate taking these photos around 30 minutes before the sun is set to go down, this will be the best time of the entire day for portraits. If couples are up to it, I also like to grab some images of them towards the end of the night – typically when there is just dancing going on.

Ceremony (15-60 minutes): Most ceremonies only take around 15 minutes; however, not all ceremonies will be the same. If you plan on incorporating various singers, speeches, etc. your ceremony might last around 30 minutes. Ceremonies that take place in the church may last around 60 minutes.

Cocktail Hour (60 minutes): Cocktail hour is useful in your timeline for a lot of reasons :). In regards to photography, this is when most of the “posed” photos take place. If there are a lot of groups that need to be photographed, this will be VERY fast paced. It can actually be stressful on the couple – if certain people cannot be found for pictures. Like I mentioned before, once the bar is “open” it can be difficult to locate people. Margaritas sometimes seem to take priority over posing for photos – with your family!

Reception Entrance (5 minutes): The entrance into the start of your reception is usually pretty quick. Especially if you have a small wedding party. Getting everyone seated is what holds this up a little bit. Keep in mind that your Photographer will need a heads up before all of this begins. If they plan on using specific lighting, they need a little time to set up.

First Dance (5 minutes): I recommend going from your reception entrance directly into your first dance. Everyone will be at their seats and will have their attention on you.

Parent Dances (5-10 minutes): Parent dances can take all kinds of different forms. For example, many couples choose to have both sets of dances at the same time. This can save a little time. Other couples choose to have 4 or 5 dancing variations of the parent dances. It is your wedding day and making sure that this is tailored to your specific family is important.

Speeches (15-30 minutes): Speeches can be really quick or they can drag on longer than expected! In my experience, making it clear on who is going to give speeches is important. Opening the mic up to whoever wants to speak can cause this segment to go longer than you may want.

Open Dancing (1-2 hours): Placing a priority on how much open dancing time you want photographed is important. This is a really fun time of the wedding. However, it may not be something you want a lot of pictures of. I recommend putting this towards the end of the night. Adding an hour here and an hour there can add more time to your timeline than you may want.

Bouquet/Garter Tosses (10-15 minutes). There are a lot of ways that the bouquet and garter can be tossed. Getting people out of their seats can take up most of the time! Make sure your DJ and Photographer are on the same page during this time. Inexperienced DJ’s will do the garter and bouquet toss when the Photographer is in the restroom or not set up. Having all of your vendors on the same page is important!

Cake Cutting (5-10 minutes): By the time it is time to cut the cake, most of the segments of your wedding will be over. Depending on the demographics of your crowd, I recommend moving this up on your timeline. For example, an older crowd may not stick around until 10pm on a Sunday! You will want to make sure the cake is cut before people start leaving. Cutting the cake with only 10 people is not too much fun 🙂

Reception Exit (5-10 minutes): About 9 out of 10 couples that I photograph have an “exit.” Depending on the type of exit you have, your venue may not even allow it. Things tend to get a little rowdy once everyone has been drinking and giving guests fire sparklers may not go well!

2. Find A Venue Where Everything Can Take Place

One of my biggest recommendations on finding an affordable wedding photographer is to find a wedding venue where everything can take place. Traveling from one place to the next, to the next, can be VERY stressful and it can eat up a lot of time that your Photographer is essentially not taking pictures. When the Photographer goes from one place to the next, they have to pack up, drive, set back up, etc. If you are able to find a location where you can get ready at and also have the ceremony and reception – this will easily save you 60-90 minutes on the cost of wedding photography.

3. Cut Out The Extras

Lastly, another way to find an affordable wedding photographer is to cut out any extras. The main thing that you are paying your wedding photographer for is their time. When you look at the overall cost of the wedding, your Photographer may only be shooting your wedding for 8 hours – but there is a lot of work that goes on before and after your wedding. If I shoot an 8 hour wedding, I typically spend at least 2-3 hours with the couple before the wedding, 9 hours the day of, and around 15 hours working on the images afterwards. So what may seem like only 8 hours of work is closer to actually 25-30 hours in total.

If you are able to cut out some of the extras that Photographers add to their packages, this will save you some money. In my experience, most couples want the digital files and are not concerned with albums, prints, etc. So if this is included in your Photographers package, see if they are willing to exclude it for a discount in pricing. Keep in mind that wedding albums and prints are things that can always be ordered down the road.

Hopefully these are some really useful tips on finding an affordable wedding photographer! If you are planning a wedding, lets connect 🙂 The best way to reach me is through email: [email protected]. You can also use the contact form to get in touch. Thanks!