How long will a wedding photographer stay at our wedding reception?
Question Asked: 27/03/2019
Wedding Date: 9/08/2018
Most Helpful Response
(12) · Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, servicing all of South East Queensland.
Posted: 26/06/2026
Answered by: 20 Experts
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Usually this is all organized before the wedding and with a timeline. If it runs over a bit I dont charge extra as Im there to do a great job.
Most of our wedding photography packages are all day which means we are there right through your full reception right to the end to you walk out the door.
Depends on how long the couple wants me there. Some couples just want up until the end of the formalities while others want right up until the end of the reception. Its all up to you.
(5) · Adelaide, Adeliade Hills, Barossa Valley and Surrounds
Posted: 23/08/2019
It depends on how long you have booked them and what package you went with. Discuss this with your photographer they can advise you the best package to suit your needs.
(1) · Perth and surroundings including country towns of Western Australia
Posted: 8/08/2019
They will stay as long as they are required. This depends on what moments during the reception you want documented by your photographer. Speech, first dance, cake cut etc
(5) · Newcastle/Hunter Valley, Central Coast & Surroundings Areas/Wollongong/South Coast
Posted: 24/05/2019
It all depends on what you require. Most of our brides and grooms are happy with us to cover the preparations, ceremony, formalities up until a pre-cut of the wedding cake. Sometimes it is fun to take the bridal waltz and accompanying party dancing and capture the frivolities of the evening.
I'll stay as long as you would like me to! I love capturing everyone on the dancefloor and late night goodbyes. But that comes down to budget and personal preference. Many couples who I am working with schedule their cake, first dance, speeches and any other formalities early in the evening so that they can just enjoy the rest of the night.
Most photographers will hang around for the most important elements. I would hate to miss these if I am capturing your wedding!
It will depend on each photographer & your agreement with them.
I personally offer different packages to suit the couples budget & the must haves.
For some couples it will be untill the cake is cut, others it will be the garter and bouquet, where some will want all aspects of their wonderful day captured and will have me stay through the party time and up untill the last goodbye. Ensuring all the fun of the evening is able to be experienced over and over.
Hope this helps :)
This is up to personal choice and what moments are most important to you but on average, about 2 hours unless you book full day coverage.
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The honest answer is that it comes down to what you've booked, but let me give you the practical side from someone who shoots these every weekend. Most of the "big ticket" moments happen in the first couple of hours of the reception: your grand entrance, speeches, the cake cutting and your first dance. Once those are done and the dance floor has been going for a while, the photos genuinely start to repeat themselves, so for a lot of couples two to three hours of reception coverage captures everything that matters.
Where I'd push back a little is the idea that you always have to pay for someone to stay until the very last guest leaves. If your formalities are running on time and you're happy to do a staged exit or sparkler shot earlier in the night, we can capture that "farewell" feeling without you paying for an extra hour of dance floor you'll never look back on. The flip side is true too: if you've got a late send off, fireworks, or a band you've spent good money on, that's worth keeping us there for.
My best tip is to build your run sheet backwards from your photographer's finish time, not the other way around. Talk to whoever you book and ask them to help you slot speeches and the cake cutting earlier in the evening so nothing important happens after they pack up. We do this with our couples all the time, and most of us can add an hour on the night if the party's too good to leave.
One last thing worth asking any photographer you're considering: who actually edits your photos. With us, every image is culled and edited in-house by our own team here in Queensland, never outsourced or sent offshore, so the way your reception looks and feels stays consistent with the rest of your day.