Sunset Wedding Photo | 3M Curve Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography Do We Really Need?

There are a lot of decisions you need to make when determining which wedding photographer to use for your wedding, not the least of which is how many hours of wedding photography do you really need. Should you hire your wedding photographer for the full wedding day or just a part of it?

For starters, let’s define what “full-day” means exactly. It’s different for every photographer. A lot of photographers would quantify it as being around eight hours. We here at J. La Plante Photo tend to average somewhere in the ballpark of 12-14 hours for our weddings.

Without further ado, let’s look at six reasons to have full-day wedding photo coverage. There are actually far more than six, but for the brevity’s sake, we’ll keep it short!

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography? | Breathe & Relax

These days, we only do full-day weddings, but we used to offer shorter wedding packages in the range of four, six and eight hours. What we realized in only shooting for a few was that our couples felt like they had to cram an entire day’s worth of activities into a much shorter time frame.

This meant they were running themselves ragged trying to get all of their couple’s portraits, family photos and plenty of candids without taking the time to relax and enjoy the day. If you book your photographer for a full day, there’s no rush. You can sit back and relax because your photographer will be there for as long as it takes to get the job done.

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Manor House Wedding | Denver Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Wedding Detail Photos | Lodge at Cathedral Pines Wedding | Colorado Springs Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Bride Reading Letter | Ironworks Wedding | Denver Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Bride Getting Ready | Stanley Hotel Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Dao House Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography? | Pre-Wedding Moments

Another thing we noticed when shooting shorter wedding days was that we weren’t arriving at the venue until just a little before the ceremony.

The problem with this was that we were missing all sorts of wonderful and emotional candid moments between the couple and their closest friends and family. Nowadays, we arrive at the beginning of the getting ready process (or sometimes earlier) to capture all of the pre-wedding magic.

Mother of the Groom First Look | Lodge at Cathedral Pines Wedding | Colorado Springs Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Groomsmen Hanging Out | Sanctuary Golf Course Wedding | Denver Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Bridesmaids Getting Ready | Lionsgate Wedding | Boulder Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Spruce Mountain Ranch Wedding | Colorado Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Groom Praying with Groomsmen | Lionsgate Wedding | Boulder Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography? | Pre-Ceremony Portraits

When your photographer arrives early in the morning, this means you have plenty of time to do a first look with your bride- or groom-to-be. After your first look, you can do most (if not all) of your couple’s portraits before the ceremony even begins. You’ll be able to enjoy your cocktail hour with friends and family instead of trying to cram the entire session into that small window of time between the ceremony and the grand entrance.

Cool Photo of Bride and Groom | Stanley Hotel Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Sunset Wedding Photo | Black Canyon Inn Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Pine Creek Cookhouse Wedding | Aspen Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Unique Portrait of Bride and Groom | Denver Art Museum Wedding | Denver Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Wedding Photo Inspiration | Lodge at Cathedral Pines Wedding | Colorado Springs Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography? | Finding the Flow

Like artists working in many mediums, photographers take time to find their groove. It’s extremely difficult to enter a situation and start creating amazing images immediately. It takes time to get a feel for the situation and also for everyone involved to start feeling comfortable in front of the camera.

As a photographer, if you’re simply thrown into the deep end shortly before the ceremony, you haven’t quite hit your stride yet by the time the most important part of the day rolls around. When you have a few hours to work and get creative ahead of time, you’re in a state of flow before the ceremony even starts.

Bride Walking Down Aisle | Ironworks Wedding | Denver Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Mountain Wedding Ceremony | Pine Creek Cookhouse Wedding | Aspen Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Funny Kids at Weddings | Lily Lake Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Aspen Meadows Resort Wedding | Aspen Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Beach Wedding Ceremony | St. Lucia Wedding | Destination Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Time for Dance Party Photos!

 I’ve been to weddings as a guest where I’ve seen the photographers leaving for the day immediately after the toasts or cake cutting. The dance party hasn’t even started yet and the photographers are peeling out of the parking lot.

The dance party makes for some of the best all-time candid wedding photos and it tends to get better and better as the night wears on. Believe me, you want your photographer around to capture all of these crazy moments!

Cute Kids at Weddings | Sonnenalp Hotel Wedding | Vail Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Grandmother Dancing During Wedding Reception | TenMile Station Wedding | Breckenridge Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Weddings Guests Dancing | Dao House Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Lionsgate Wedding | Boulder Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Camp Hale Wedding | Vail Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Nighttime Wedding Photos

Nighttime is the best time for couple’s portraits because there’s so much more you can do creatively with lighting at night that just isn’t possible during the day. And when you book a full-day wedding photographer, it doesn’t have to cut into your party time. You can wait until you’ve done your grand exit and then take your nighttime photos after your guests have started heading home.

Or, if you want to jump straight into your getaway vehicle after the reception, you can always duck out of the party for a few minutes to take the nighttime photos then. Either way, it’s your choice, which is a luxury you have when your photographer is in attendance for the full day.

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Pine Creek Cookhouse Wedding | Aspen Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Nighttime Wedding Portrait | Stanley Hotel Wedding | Estes Park Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Winter Wonderland Wedding | TenMile Station Wedding | Breckenridge Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Tapestry House Wedding | Fort Collins Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography | Aspen Meadows Resort Wedding | Aspen Wedding Photographer | J. La Plante Photo

Interested in getting some cool photos of your own?
Reach out and we’ll brainstorm ideas together.

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