She Said YES Wedding Film & Photography

She Said YES Wedding Film & Photography

There's no single right number, and honestly any photographer who insists you need a set minimum without asking about your day first is doing it backwards. The real question is what you actually want to remember. If it's just the ceremony and a few portraits, one to two hours can be plenty. If you want the story to flow from getting ready through to the dance floor, that's usually where six to eight hours lands.

The thing most couples underestimate is how much time the in-between moments eat up: travel between locations, family group shots, and the natural lulls while guests move from ceremony to reception. Here in South East Queensland the light is also a big factor. In summer the harsh midday sun is unflattering, so we often time the couple portraits for late afternoon when it softens, which can stretch your coverage longer than you'd expect just to catch the best of the day.

My honest advice is to map out your rough run sheet first, even loosely, then work backwards. Tell us your ceremony time and the moments that genuinely matter to you, and we'll tell you the hours you actually need rather than the hours that pad a package. We'd much rather you book the right amount than pay for coverage sitting around waiting, or worse, have us pack up right before the speeches you'll want to watch back for years.

She Said YES Wedding Film & Photography

You are not alone in feeling this way, honestly most of the couples we shoot tell us the same thing in their first chat. The good news is that yes, I would still grab some couple shots, and no, it does not have to feel like stiff posing at all. The trick is that we never just stand you in front of the lens and tell you to smile. We give you something to do, walking slowly together, having a quiet word to each other, a slow dance with no music, and then we shoot the real reaction in between. The result still looks candid because it genuinely is, we are just creating the little moment for it to happen.

The reason I would not skip these completely is light and time. On the day everything else is happening around you, but your couple shots are usually the only ten or fifteen minutes where it is just the two of you, away from the crowd. That quiet breather is something so many couples tell us afterwards was their favourite part of the whole day. It is also when we can chase the best light, that soft golden hour glow in the half hour before sunset here in South East Queensland, which is when even camera shy people relax and look their absolute best.

My honest advice is to be upfront with whoever you book and say exactly what you told us here, that posing makes you awkward and you want it to feel real. A good photographer will adjust the whole approach to suit you, leaning into prompts and movement rather than static poses. Because we edit every photo and video in house ourselves, we also get a real feel for which moments land for each couple, and we carry that into how we shoot the next ones. You can absolutely have a gallery that is ninety per cent candid with just a handful of relaxed couple shots you will want on the wall, you do not have to choose one or the other.

She Said YES Wedding Film & Photography

Great to hear you're already thinking about this. For us, you'll have a sneak peek of around 20 to 30 fully edited images within about 48 hours, so you've got something to share while the day is still fresh and everyone's still buzzing. Your full gallery then lands within 4 to 6 weeks.

It's worth knowing why that window exists, because turnaround can feel slow when you're itching to see everything. A single wedding day is often 600 to 800 finished images, and every one of those is hand edited by us in-house here in Queensland, never sent offshore or batch processed by someone who wasn't there. That means the soft afternoon light at your ceremony and the warmer tones once the dancing kicks in all get treated properly, so the gallery actually looks like your day felt.

One thing I'd gently flag: be a little wary of anyone promising the full lot in a few days. Fast can be lovely, but it usually means lighter editing, and your wedding photos are something you'll be looking at for decades. A few extra weeks for work that's done with real care is worth it.

My honest tip when comparing photographers is to ask each one for their exact turnaround in writing, plus whether sneak peeks are included, so it's all in your contract and there are no surprises later. Most of us land in that 4 to 6 week range for very good reason.