How many hours do I need my photographer?

Re: How many hours do I need my photographer?

• vegasgroom mod

  

  May 2016

  Fortunately the 1st is a Wednesday so you can probably still find a good photographer.  The good ones tend to book up as far as a week out for weekends during wedding season.
  
  I'd book an all day photographer and have him/her present for the whole day.  Bellagio will of course not allow them to photo during the ceremony, but they can be present in a guest seat and start snapping at the conclusion; what are they going to do, kick him out?  Ceremony is over so who cares. :-)
  
  We had photography from about 9a to 9p on our wedding day; 4p ceremony.  The photographer had two people so one could take a lunch break while the other covered, but that mostly occurred during the getting ready time anyway so it didn't really matter if there was an hour gap of the boys or the girls hanging out in the suites.

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  Married in Vegas - June 2011

  
  

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• KatCtoKatA member

  

  May 2016

  We've got 3 hours booked.  They'll show up as we are getting ready, be there for the ceremony, and then be there for about 1.5 hours afterwards to get some photos of our guests and shots around the property. (We've booked Gin & Sake through Cosmo, so no worries about the property not permitting it.) I've got only about 30 people coming, so I can't imagine it will take super long to get at least a few of everyone.  We're doing a dinner after, and I don't really want pictures while everyone is eating, so that made the most sense for us. We aren't huge photography people, so this will get us plenty of formal and portrait shots, a handful of more "fun" shots, and for all the candids during dinner/festivities we will just have to rely on friends and family -- same as any other party.

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• lauradean89 member

  

  May 2016

  We are the same we have 3 hours booked with Bentley and Wilson and only have about 11 people coming with us so it didn't make sense to have a photographer for whilst we are eating and it's intimate enough that I know we will get some good pictures of the reception from our guests rather then them all being formal pictures. 
  Luckily when I was working out what to do with our photography Aria made a mistake with the booking and I managed to use that to my advantage and allow them to let Todd do the photography of the ceremony as recompense (I kicked off quiet a bit). Initially before the mistake was made Todd was just going to wait the 15 minute ceremony out and then take back over with photography anyway. I would book the total block of time that you want and do as @vegasgroom suggests I still can't believe we are now 98 days away from our wedding. Time seems to be accelerating! 

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• Garnet113 member

  

  May 2016

  I booked 4 hours. The photographer showed up at the end of me getting ready and stayed through the first 30 minutes or so of the reception. This got us some getting ready pics, first look, ceremony, family, extra pics of us in different locations on the strip nearby, our entrance to the reception, and the beginning of the reception. I felt like it worked out perfectly and got some of everything I wanted. 

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• xoeden member

  

  May 2016

  I'm guessing you booked with Bentley & Wilson. Todd wouldn't let me split anything at all, even if I booked two packages and wanted to do 3 and 5 or 1 and 5, etc., which is why ultimately, I didn't book with him.
  
  We're doing our photos (bride + groom portraits) the day before in the AM, and then having some coverage day of, but we're also not working with a chapel, which definitely throws a loop in it.
  
  Honestly, it depends on what you want. I think if you're not photo people to begin with, having the time over the ceremony would not be the end of the world, but an hour and a half is a lot of time to waste when you're paying for it. If you're not happy using the chapel's photographers for the before shots, it might be worth hiring a separate photographer for just an hour or two to do the before shots. Check out Petunia Bloom Photography. Patricia's super affordable, super flexible, and would probably have no problem working with you just to do the before shots! If you do, mention my name, too.
  

  

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