Choosing the perfect wedding day coverage

Cute photos of the kids at the wedding… check!

There is no one-size-fits all for either wedding dresses or photography coverage. Both depend on your unique vision and values for your wedding day. By values I mean that each person or couple chooses what is important to them for their wedding day. For example, a couple choosing to elope might value private time together on their wedding day, wheres a couple planning a big ballroom wedding might value their siblings, relatives and little ones all coming together in one place.

Some people want photos alone together under the stars, and others want photos of their friends busting moves on the dance floor. There is no right or wrong thing to value, it’s a simple matter of individual preference, but you’ve gotta know what you value most in your wedding before you can know how to choose the right wedding photography coverage.

Some people want photos alone together under the stars, and others want photos of their friends busting moves on the dance floor.

What story do you want to tell with your wedding photos?

Think of how you want to look back on your wedding day; both what you want right now, and what you’ll want when the memories are beginning to fade. What parts do you want to keep fresh for ever? What little parts of your story are the ones that might speak to you, when you are reminiscing decades from now, maybe even with your grandchildren playing around you.

Like we said before, everyone is different. For some people a single photo will hold all of their memories, a symbol that recalls the feel of the day, the love you shared, the commitments you made. Others want to look back through the whole thing, like reading a book from start to finish. They want every piece of the story.

So, what story do you want your wedding photography to tell?

Let’s start with the basics

If you strip it down to the basics, the most minimal wedding photography coverage is simply the ceremony, and a couple of photos of the two of you (and your family/wedding party if you have those present) nearby afterwards. The ceremony and bridal portraits are kind of the core piece of any wedding day coverage. Nobody really hires a photographer and doesn’t get those covered. The actual legal ceremony in Alberta only takes about 10-15 minutes, so there really isn’t any reason to skip those few moments that will symbolize the commitment you have made to each other.

The smallest wedding package that would cover only these basics would probably be 3 hours of coverage. For micro-weddings and elopements you could get by with less than that, but for an actual wedding it would make sense to budget around an hour of coverage for the ceremony and family portraits, a half hour with the wedding party, and about an hour and a half with just the wedding couple. This is the minimum time that we have found gets the best results, because we are able to get a bit of variety which is especially helpful when conditions are challenging and/or changing throughout the day.

To stray just a little bit from ‘the basics’, some people choose to get the last little bits of getting ready photographed as well. If you have two photographers you can usually get some nice, very simple getting ready photos in only about a half an hour, although we recommend an hour for best results - especially with only one photographer, as sometimes it can take a bit of time to get from one partner’s getting ready location to the other’s.

Another variety of straying from the basics might be a couple who is more design oriented, and would want their basic ceremony and portrait coverage to also include photos of the reception set up and decor, even without having actual reception coverage. But this is definitely straying from the basics now!

Beautiful royal blue table settings from Jasper Event Management and fantastic flowers from Elysion Florals at Pyramid Lake Resort.

Establish your general wedding day itinerary

Here is a general run down of how much time we recommend for covering different parts of the day. Keep in mind this is very generalized, and only you will know best what works for you!

• Getting Ready - .5-2 hours for simple coverage, 2-4 hours for full coverage (aka all the girls at the salon and at the hotel)

• Ceremony - 0.5- 1 hour, plus whatever time it takes to get there. (0.5 for standard ceremonies, and 1 for more complex ceremonies, such as Catholic or Hindu)

• Portraits - 10-30 minutes for family photos (Depending on the size of the families and how well they listen. The worst I’ve ever seen was an hour, but I’m sure you know already if that is your family or not), 1 hour for photos of just the couple, near to the ceremony spot, or 1-3 hours for photos of the couple and wedding party, heading off to scenic locations.

• Reception - 3-4 hours for cocktails through speeches, 1-3 hours for the dancing and late night shenanigans.

So that is just to give you a broad idea of what we commonly see at weddings, but here is a little more information if you don’t quite feel ready to make a decision on your coverage.

The real first look.

Getting Ready

There is simple getting ready coverage and then there is more comprehensive coverage. Many clients only really want photographs of the finishing touches being put in place, putting on the dresses and tying the ties sort of thing, and so they will only bring a photographer for an hour or two before the ceremony. When there are two photographers, then one can be present with each of the wedding couple and make best use of time, but somentimes when we photograph solo we simply hop back and forth between the couple as they get ready. An hour or two of coverage is usually enough for the finishing touches of getting ready, but some people prefer more coverage so as to get the full story.

For more comprehensive getting ready coverage, we have seen 3 or 4 hours being dedicated to this part of the day. For example, we’ve had some brides who wanted photographs of their bridal party getting their hair and make-up done while the groom has photos taken out golfing with his groomsmen at the Fairmont before getting into their suits. In other cases we’ve seen couples who wanted coverage of just the two of them getting ready together alone in their room. Another example was a recent wedding that had 8 or 9 children under the age of 10 in the wedding party - they wanted coverage of everything to document four generations of family all preparing for the big day together. It was a wild morning! But there were so many precious moments captured in photos.

Ceremony

The legal Alberta ceremony only runs about 15 minutes from start to finish. When couples add in their own vows, or different additions to the ceremony then it can take a little longer, but generally 15-30 minutes is the maximum for a ceremony, unless it is a traditional church wedding or something like that. Keep in mind when planning your timeline whether or not driving time needs to be included, for example if you are having your ceremony at Pyramid Island or the Athabasca Day Use area. This can add an extra bit of time on each direction. Another thing to consider (especially for weddings with a lot of guests) is the time it takes for people to arrive and settle at the ceremony, whether or not you will be late (lol, jk), and of course how the ceremony will end (for example if there will be a receiving line, champagne and a moment to talk with the bride and groom, or if they will head straight off and see their guests later at the reception). Consider how your ceremony will flow into portraits by taking into account how many people will be wanting to give you hugs and well wishes.

Portraits

There is a wide range in the amount of time people set aside for portraits. We usually recommend 1-3 hours. We recommend that one hour for photos of the wedding couple is the absolute minimum. This is why both our most basic elopement coverage and our portrait sessions are each an hour and a half. For clients who want to have time to go get photos at some beautiful spots around Jasper, we recommend adding on more time to give space to do so. Some popular examples of this would be Medicine Lake or Jasper Lake. As well if you are bringing a wedding party with you, then that adds another factor for consideration. If you stay in the valley (close to the townsite or Jasper Park Lodge) then two hours is enough time for photos near your ceremony site and at another location. Think Pyramid Lake, Old Fort Point, Lake Edith, and that type of distance. If you wanted to go somewhere further, such as Medicine Lake, Jasper Lake, or on the Icefields Parkway, then you’ll be leaning towards 3 or 4 hours.

Reception

People looking for reception coverage can break it down into three parts. There is the cocktail hour and dinner setting - for those who want photos of their guests mingling as well as photos of all of the decorations and set up in the dining hall, then there is the dinner, speeches and first dances, and the third and final part would be the dance floor. For a medium to large sized wedding, usually the cocktail hour through to the end of speeches runs between 3-4 hours, an hour for cocktails, an hour for dinner, and 1-2 hours for the speeches (think 4:30-7:30 or 8:30 sort of thing). Then if a couple wanted photos of the dancing afterwards, then another 1-2 hours is generally plenty. We’ve found that in most cases, right after the first dances finish the dance floor gets busy, and it doesn’t take long to get a good variety of shots. However, if you like the wild side of the dance floor to come out in your photos, lean towards the longer coverage. Sometimes people want to end out the night with a photo under the stars, or with sparklers or something like that as well.

3 common examples of wedding coverage timelines

J + J don’t want getting ready or party photos, but they do want speeches and the first dance. They want their wedding ceremony to take place later in the afternoon to take advantage of the good light, while still saving enough time and good light for portraits afterwards. They hire a second photographer for three hours to make the most of their ceremony and portraits coverage, and to photograph their guests at the cocktail hour.

• Ceremony @ 3 PM

• Portraits with family @ 3:30 PM

• Wedding party and couple portraits from @3:50-5:50

• Cocktail Hour at 5:30

• Dinner @ 6:30

• Speeches start @7:30 while dinner service finishes

• First Dance @ 8:30PM

  • 6 Hours of coverage - 3PM-9PM, plus 3 hours of second photographer

C+S want every little detail of their big wedding; from the hair, makeup, and jewelery to the drinks spilled on the dancefloor after the late night snack. They also want some casual family photos taken at their rehearsal dinner the night before.

• 9AM partner 1 getting ready starts

• 12PM partner 2 getting ready

• 1PM ceremony

• 2PM family photos

• 3-6PM couple and wedding party

• 6-9 dinner and speeches

• 9-10 first dances, cake cutting

• 10-12 dancing and garter toss

  • 12 hours with two photographers (one photographer 9AM-9PM, the other photographer 12PM-12AM)

  • Additional discounted portrait session (for rehearsal dinner)

Beautiful Medicine Lake

L+L are having a small wedding with their closest friends and family. They want just the finishing touches of getting ready (after the make up is done), and they are both getting ready close to eachother and close to their ceremony site. They want photos of their intimate ceremony, photos with their guests, and then photos of the two of them. They really want some of their wedding photos at Medicine Lake, despite the 15-20 minute drive.

• 1PM getting ready with partner 1

• 1:30 getting ready with partner 2

• 2 PM ceremony

• 2:20 PM family and guest photos

• 3-5 PM - photos at Medicine Lake and along the way

  • 4 hours of wedding coverage - 1-5PM

Things to keep in mind for Jasper wedding timelines

• Consider how much time it takes to drive from one location to the next, and make sure that your guests know these details too!

• Don’t expect to get anywhere faster than posted speed limits, between the wildlife and the RV’s traffic moves a little slower if anything.

• Hiring a wedding planner can help simplify planning difficulties.

• Try to keep schedules loose and comfortable. Tight schedules often don’t work out well for weddings, especially in the mountains, and you don’t want delays to cause you any stress.

Getting Creative with the Timeline

A lot of the finer decisions really come down to your individual timeline. Keep in mind while planning your timeline how long it will take to get between different locations throughout the day and add a little buffer space if necessary. You don’t want to be stressed about timing everything just perfectly on the day of. Also keep in mind which things you’ve decided are most important to you, and what you value the most on your wedding day.

There are also many weddings that don’t follow a traditional framework like we’ve gone through here. Whatever makes your wedding day the one you want it to be, plan it around that. We’ve seen picnics on Pyramid Island, helicopter rides, boat tours, limo rides, even wedding party hikes in the mountains! We’ve also taken couples out under the stars or into the local pubs. We are happy to collaborate with you to achieve whatever your dream wedding coverage is.

So let’s chat!