How Many Hours of Wedding Photography Do You Need?

How many hours of wedding photography you need depends on how much of the day you want to remember. For a full wedding day with a ceremony, cocktail, dinner and party, most couples need eight to ten hours, from the first preparations to the first dance. A shorter day, or shorter coverage, works well when you choose it on purpose. Below is the day moment by moment, what each part takes and what you lose if it is not covered.

How many hours of wedding photography most weddings need

The ranges below are general guidance from weddings in Catalonia, not the hours of any package. Photographers sell coverage by hours, by moments or as a full wedding day, so the same words can mean different things. Ask for the start and end time in writing.

The number that matters is not the hours but the moments you want to see in the gallery. Start from those moments, then add up the time.

“Count the hours from your timeline, not the other way round.”

The day moment by moment

Getting ready. This is where the quiet moments are: the dress, the rings, the parents, the first look. One photographer can cover one partner in about an hour. If both of you prepare in different places at the same time, you need a second photographer or double the time.

Ceremony and group photos. Count the arrivals, which are part of the story, the ceremony itself and the congratulations. A written list of the groups you want keeps the group photos to 20 or 30 minutes. At Emma and Sergi’s wedding we photographed the whole day, from the preparations to the party.

Cocktail and couple portraits. The cocktail is when guests relax and the candid photographs happen. Your portraits fit around it, but they need their own 20 to 40 minutes, ideally in the last light of the day. Our wedding day timeline guide shows how to place them.

Dinner and speeches. The entrance, the toasts and the speeches are the emotional centre of the evening, and they are the first thing lost when coverage ends after the main course. A wedding dinner in Spain often lasts two to three hours, so the cut-off matters.

First dance and party. The first dance is short, but the party is where the photographs change: dancing, friends, the energy of the room. An hour of party after the first dance is usually enough to capture it.

What you lose with shorter coverage

Each hour you remove takes away a specific part of the story. This is what usually disappears:

• Coverage that starts at the ceremony: the getting ready, the details, the reactions of parents and friends, the quiet minutes before you see each other.
• Coverage that ends after the portraits: the dinner, the speeches, the cake and the dance floor.
• Coverage that ends after dinner: the first dance and the party, the part guests remember as fun.
• Coverage with no time for portraits: the calm half hour for the two of you, which is often what you frame at home.

A shorter day is not a worse day. If you plan a ceremony and a long lunch, four hours may cover everything. The problem starts when the coverage is shorter than the plan and the cut-off falls in the middle of an important moment. Write your timeline first, then count the hours. Some photographers can also cover separate blocks of the day, for example the ceremony and the first dance with a break in between. Ask if that is possible.

Small weddings and elopements

A wedding with 20 guests or fewer has no queue for group photos, no long cocktail and often a single location. Many small weddings need four to six hours, from the preparations to the end of dinner. An elopement, with only the couple and a few witnesses, can need two to three hours for the ceremony and a portrait session, and it is worth placing that session in the golden hour. Book by the plan of the day, not by a standard number. Sílvia and Robert’s wedding in Llagostera was an intimate family celebration at home, and we photographed the whole day, from the preparations to the party. For ideas on small celebrations, read our guide to Mediterranean elopements.

Two-day celebrations

Many weddings in Spain stretch over a weekend: a welcome dinner the night before, the wedding day, and a brunch or a pool party the next morning. Do not ask for “two days” as one number. Ask for each event separately, each with its own start and end time. The wedding day carries most of the hours. A welcome dinner usually needs two or three hours, and a brunch one or two. Some couples also add a pre-wedding session on another day. Two collections on our investment page include one.

Travel time between locations

Coverage includes the time the photographer spends moving between places. If you get ready at a hotel in Barcelona, marry in a church and have dinner at a country estate, add the drives and the waiting. Venues around Barcelona are often 30 to 60 minutes from the centre, and those in the north of the Costa Brava can be farther. Can Borrell, for example, is 40 minutes from the centre of Barcelona.

• Check the real driving time for the day and hour of your wedding. Traffic changes it.
• Remember that the photographer leaves before you, to be ready when you arrive.
• Leave 15 to 30 minutes at each change of place.
• If you want the transfer photographed, the car and the guests arriving, count it in the hours.

A second photographer: when it earns its place

A second photographer does not add hours to the day. It adds a second pair of eyes at the same time. It helps in these cases:

• Both partners getting ready at the same time, in different rooms or places.
• The ceremony from two angles: the couple at the front and the faces of the guests.
• The cocktail, while one photographer takes the couple’s portraits and the other stays with the guests.
• Large weddings, or days with two places close together.

We are two photographers, Martí and Paula, and we shoot film and digital. Two of the collections on our investment page include full wedding-day coverage by two photographers, analog and digital.

What our collections include

The investment page describes five collections, all with full wedding-day coverage. Pack 01 is covered by one photographer, with at least 700 edited photographs. Packs 02 and 03 are covered by two photographers, with at least 1,000 edited photographs. Packs 04 and 05 add video, with three and four professionals. Collections start at €1,250, and each one can be adapted to your needs, including the hours we spend with you. The page does not fix a number of hours: tell us about your day and we will prepare a proposal for it.

How to work out your own number

1. Write down the moments you want to remember, in order.
2. Put a time next to each one, using the table above and your venue’s timetable.
3. Add the travel between places, and 15 minutes at each change.
4. Start the coverage 15 to 30 minutes before the first moment, and end it after the last moment you would be sorry to miss.
5. Send the list to your photographer and ask which hours it needs.

In the sample timelines of our guide, a June wedding and an October wedding both run for nine hours, from the first preparations to the party. Your day may be shorter or longer, and that is fine. Tell us about your day and we will suggest the hours that cover it, or look at more full days in our real weddings.