How many hours of (Las Vegas) wedding photography do I really need?
Ah yes, the age old question of every bride – maybe ever?! How many hours of wedding coverage do I need? Vegas weddings are very different than the weddings I grew up around as a kid. Southern weddings were long and humid, and involved lots (and lots) of hours of photography coverage. Oftentimes, “bridals” (portraits of the bride alone) were taken weeks before the wedding. This is because the wedding day would be too busy and chaotic to have time for portraits of her alone. I can’t imagine what that would be like for one of my wedding clients.
What are Las Vegas weddings like?
Las Vegas weddings, however – those are something else! We like our weddings short and sweet around here! Many of my clients elope and it’s just the two of them (plus me!) during the ceremony and photo session. Elvis may or may not be there. We may be out in the middle of the desert, or at the Neon Museum, or in an alley downtown. For the clients that bring guests along, the list is usually intimate and intentionally curated. There may or may not be a reception. We may travel to two or three locations – and we always have a good time (that is one thing that is required when booking with me). ❤️
How many hours of photography do I need?
So, what does that mean for photography coverage? Well, that’s a great question! And it’s exactly why I wanted to write this post. It can be confusing and overwhelming – and hard to decide! When I first started shooting weddings in Las Vegas many years ago, I offered a baseline Two Hour Collection, and then offered to customize the coverage from there – all the way up to eight hours. What I found was that most of my clients book for two hours (after a chat with me, of course!) and it’s exactly what they need. I’ve booked the occasional eight hour days – but it’s typically more suited for a traditional wedding day of getting ready, portraits, ceremony and long reception.
Most of my clients fall more under the “elopement” umbrella with smaller, more intimate events. I do believe that it’s important to have a completely custom timeline based on your day – and your vision! None of my clients fit exactly into the same mold, even when we are visiting the same spaces for the same amount of time.
The Elopement Collection
When it comes to booking a wedding photographer, many Las Vegas wedding pros will only book 6+ hour days – and that leaves clients with fewer choices for who to hire, or it leaves them stuck with many more hours than they truly need. For 2019, I have decided to offer a one hour Elopement Collection on weekdays to accommodate clients that may not actually need two full hours of coverage. I want beautiful wedding photography to be accessible to anyone that wants it!
This Collection is best for small events with four or fewer guests, going to one or possibly two locations if they are close together. I would love to help you navigate the timeline planning and provide you with my professional guidance on exactly what you might need. This is, in fact, a huge part of my job! I want my clients to feel like they have everything covered that they want, but not that you booked me for too long. I oftentimes have someone email me, requesting 6-8 hours of coverage (because that’s super normal everywhere else!). But, when we talk about the timeline and their ideas, they may need much, much less than that!
What does one hour of coverage look like?
What exactly can we accomplish in 60 minutes, you ask? Well, I’ve been shooting a long time, and I’ve shot a lot of weddings. This means that I know my gear, I shoot fast, and I shoot heavily – with a fantastic deliverable image ratio, if I may say so myself. 😉 Elopement Collections tend to yield 100+ beautiful images regularly. So, see below for five examples of clients that booked an hour of coverage with me. You can click on the link under their image to go directly to their full gallery. This will allow you to see all of the images that were delivered to the clients!
Now it’s your turn!
So, let’s chat! Ultimately I want to make sure that you have just the right amount of coverage. I average about 150 events a year, so I can definitely let you know what has worked for clients in the past with similar sessions. Planning a wedding in Vegas can easily become overwhelming, especially if you don’t live here, and I would be happy to help you. I can’t wait to hear from you and come up with the perfect timeline for your Vegas wedding!
‘Tis the season!
‘Tis the season to let you in on what actually happens behind the scenes around here. So – let’s talk seasons! 🍂 Fall wedding season in Las Vegas this year was the craziest I have ever seen – and I’ve been a Las Vegas wedding photographer full-time since 2011. October nearly killed me (I’m only half joking) and November was about the same if I’m honest. Now that it’s December, the dust has settled a bit and I can FINALLY focus on 2019 and checking a few tasks off the giant to-do list that has been on my desk staring at me since early 2017.
2017, y’all. Update my website. Shoot videos for my website. Edit those videos. Update portfolios. Schedule blog posts from now through eternity because the people want to read those blogs and look at those updated photos. Oh! And don’t forget about SEO for those videos – and that website! Catch up on laundry. Ha.
If only I were joking. But alas, I’m serious. 2017 is the year I had my second baby and everything went straight to 🔥 in some sort of basket. Probably a basket full of laundry. This littlest boy still doesn’t sleep through the night (at 19 months – seriously, send help 🆘 because sleep deprivation has reached a new low for me). And if I am in the house – anywhere in the house – the baby will come and find me and make me sit down and hold him. “No mama, you don’t need to do those dishes right now. Let’s cuddle and I can drive my cars in your hair.” Since he’s probably my last, I am trying to remind myself that he won’t be little forever, and to enjoy those little “mama” noises coming out his mouth, and all of those sweet snuggles. Also the tantrums and yelling coming out of his mouth. I’m trying to enjoy those, too. I’m all about balance.
And then recently I read a quote by Amy Westervelt that says we expect women to raise children like they don’t work, and work like they don’t have children. And I literally sat down and had a nice, long, ugly cry about that. With the baby in my lap. Because I LOVE my job. I love my job and I love my clients. I love how I feel when I’m out there killing it with those clients and crying at their wedding and laughing with them afterwards and just soaking up all the wonderful love and joy that I am so grateful to be able to capture for them. It makes me feel alive and electric and truly fulfilled. It makes me happy.
And then I drive home, with inappropriate loud music blasting (because kid-free time in the car must be capitalized on). And I arrive at home where…plot twist…I also love my family. My key hits the lock and the baby always says “MAMA!” and the big kid chirps “MAMA!!” and I see that they’ve missed me and thought about me while I was gone. And I love how much they all want to spend time with me. I’m the luckiest girl in the world! I told that to my kindergartner and he actually laughed at me and said that no, I wasn’t because he’s six and worldly and he now realizes that there’s probably someone out there luckier than I am. And they all need me. Everyone needs something from me. And because I love them dearly and to the depths of my soul, I do my best to give them all what they need.
But, it is difficult to shoot videos, or edit photos, or fold laundry with a wiggle-worm in my lap and a six-year-old that needs homework help and wants to make a craft project using scotch tape at this very moment. This season of life has been a trying one, and I am truly ready for 2019 if only for the fact that it will be different. Maybe worse? But different nonetheless – and that I can handle. I’m ready.
P.S. Speaking of seasons – it’s ENGAGEMENT SEASON!! This is a real holiday (not actually a real holiday) – celebrated all around the world from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day and photographers everywhere are receiving lots of elated emails inquiring about dates for 2019. So if you guys are ready for a new calendar year 🙋🏼♀️ and a celebration of your love in Las Vegas and you want to join me in being silly and laughing and creating images that will sing to your hearts for eternity – please oh please call me. I would jump at the chance to be there with you guys. Click below and let’s do this! ❤️
