I am not a wedding photog but....

[4mykids]

I went my salon today and there were a bunch of girls there with the bride getting their hair done...and NO ONE took pictures. It was killing me. I so wished I had my camera with me. I just love seeing those "getting ready" pics.

[ozziepuppy]

Yes, those would have been fun for the bride to have had also. They might not have gone into the formal album, but they could have brought back happy memories all the same.

[jonwhite]

Yes, those would have been fun for the bride to have had also. They might not have gone into the formal album, but they could have brought back happy memories all the same.

Maybe years ago the prep shots wouldn't have made it to the formal album but these days I don't think that's generally going to be the case.

For my business we always shoot the prep shots and our couples always include some of them in the finished album, that's been the case for the 50 weddings we have shot so far anyway, I am sure one day someone wont include some but it hasn't happened yet.

Maybe its the way we have positioned ourselves in the market and if we offered shorter time packages we probably wouldn't always shoot the prep but generally the couples that book us want a complete record of the day and that includes the prep.

[tim]

I don't go to the salon as no-one ever put the photos in their album, and with time limited packages it's more important to get the cake cutting and first dance.

[PeaceFire]

This is why I don't put a time limit on someone's most important day. I HAVE to get the getting ready. Why? Because as a bride myself I wanted them. And they take up about 10 pages of my wedding album. The getting ready should be a norm, IMO.

[tim]

10 pages of someone having their hair styled and getting dressed?!

I cover the preparation, guys and girls if logistically possible. It's anywhere between 4 and 8 pages, usually 4, sometimes a page or two for details. That's why I include 8 hours in all my packages. I stopped doing unlimited packages after my first 14 hour wedding. If people want me there 14 hours, no problem, it's $150/hr after the first 8 hours.

[ChrisRabior]

So that covers bride, brisemaids, maid/matron of honor, mother, mother-in-law, sisters, etc.. 10 pages could very well only be 10-30 images. Doesn't seem overkill to me one bit.

[PeaceFire]

Yup, it was everyone, including the guys. My Mom and I got our hair done together and that's a page, the guys getting dress and watch cricket is another couple of pages, the bridemaids setting up the decorations is another, then all of the girls getting dressed is about two, the exchange of the gifts and the hubsters writing his vows is another. Then the photographer got a bunch of guests milling around before the ceremony, something I never got to see so that was fun for me. It fills up a lot. It's a big part of our wedding album I would miss if it wasn't there.

But I should add that my wedding album is 92 pages long. Length wasn't an issue with my book and I wanted everything! And I mean everything... my wedding lasted 72 days. No, not hours, days.

And in my other business a 16 hour day is very common. So a 14 hour day is a breeze for me. I guess it just depends on what you're used to. If I had a regular 9-5 I'd probably be going nuts by the 7th hour, too. Legally in California it can't go over 16 if I have an assistant so I do make that known.

[tim]

Ah ok, a 72 day wedding is a bit different.

[geo1976]

72 days?!?!?!? You put that photographers kids thru college...I'm sure he thanks you.lol

[PeaceFire]

72 days?!?!?!? You put that photographers kids thru college...I'm sure he thanks you.lol

Yeah, I didn't pay my photographer. Well, I mean, I guess I sort of did... I hired my own company and by my own company I mean when I'm not in a picture I took it. When my husbands not in a picture- he took it. When we're both in a picture it was either staged on a tripod with a remote (cleverly hidden in my bouquet) or a few times I had my assistant with me and she took them.

[JasonBr]

How exactly does a 72 day wedding work?

[PeaceFire]

We had a "wedding getaway" from April 22nd to May 2rd, with a ceremony on the 26th (which is our official wedding day). This was with our immediate family in Jamaica. On May 3rd we had another ceremony and reception in Minnesota where most of my family lives now. Two weeks after that we had a dinner party with our friends in San Diego. Then in June we went to northern California where the rest of my husband's family is and went on a 3-day camping trip with his family and had a reception there. We just couldn't decide what we wanted to do as far as a wedding went (on the beach in Jamaica, where my family is in Minnesota, or at his favorite camp ground in NoCal where his family is) so we just did everything we wanted to do. All for under $7,500, too. And from start to end we spent 72 days celebrating our marriage. Now I kind of feel sad for everyone who has a one-day event. MONTHS of planning for just 8-10 hours that goes by WAY too fast.

To add: It's not done yet, either. When we first got married my husband was not a practicing Catholic and didn't want a Catholic ceremony. But now that we're talking kids and future and he's going to church regularly again, we want to have a receive the Sacrament of Marriage. So we're going to have a church ceremony (very small, no guests or anything, probably won't even bother having it photographed) back in Jamaica next year.