I often get the question from brides about how many hours of wedding photography they really need. Many brides who are just starting out in their planning process and who haven't been through the same process with a friend or a relative, assume they only need a photographer for the same number of hours that they have the wedding venue, or, in other words, for the ceremony and the reception. This can be the case, but should not be necessarily so. If budget is the dictating factor, then the couple needs to determine what kinds of pictures, or, to be more precise, pictures covering what parts of the day, are going to be most important to them and hire a photographer for those parts only. However, for couples who are able to fit it in their budget, wedding photography, like the wedding day itself, is a day-long affair.

As you are planning your wedding and starting to talk to various wedding vendors, including wedding photographers, you will be hearing the same terms used by wedding professionals over and over again to refer to your wedding day schedule, to these "parts" of your wedding day that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. If you are well-versed in this wedding day terminology, it makes the dialogue proceed so much smoother and you leave your appointments with vendors without your head spinning (or maybe spinning just a little less that it would be otherwise). :) So what does your wedding day consist of?

Getting Ready. At some point before the wedding the bride and groom are going to be getting groomed (no pun intended) for the wedding. A hair stylist and a make-up artist will probably come to work with the bride. And the groom may resort to his own resources and perhaps the help of his friends. This part of the day is called, a little predictably, "Getting Ready" and many brides opt to have a photographer present to capture this somewhat hectic but exciting part of the day. It is during the Getting Ready Session that the photographer will most likely capture the rings, the wedding gown, the shoes, the bride's other accessories, the bouquet & boutonnieres, and any other special details that the bride has set out in her getting ready space. If you can afford it, the Getting Ready Session makes a beautiful addition to your wedding album and is a wonderful reminder of the entirety of your wedding day.

Bridal Session. The Bridal Session, not to be confused with the Engagement Session, is a time when the bride and groom and the bridal party have their photos taken. You can set aside as much or as little time for the Bridal Session as you like, but if you are trying to have photos taken in more than one location (think, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Embarcadero, etc.) or have a large bridal party or a long list of relatives that you would like to be included in the pictures, you should allow more time. Generally, between one and three hours is pretty standard.

If you have to limit the number of hours that you have a photographer present due to budgetary reasons, consider that the photos from the Bridal Session, taken outdoors in a picturesque location, may be a lot more vibrant, interesting, and fun than photos from the reception, especially if you don't have a lot planned for the reception other than eating and dancing. In other words, if you cannot afford to hire a photographer for the entire day of your wedding, you may decide that it is money better spent to hire the photographer for the ceremony, the bridal session, and only for the beginning of or even none of the reception. There is no right answer--this is just another possibility for the budget-conscious bride.

The Bridal Session comes either before or after the Ceremony in the wedding day timeline, and always before the Reception. The pros of doing the Bridal Session before the Ceremony are: