Honest opinion time: wedding days are usually long ones. Fun, crazy, and glowingly happy days for sure, just long! This is as true for your wedding photographers as it is for the bride, groom, and the wedding party. So at what point should a wedding photographer clock out? Here’s some advice from a couple professional wedding photographers about why you shouldn’t keep your photographer around for the whole reception: 

Here’s a reality, it’s typically a waste of time for a wedding photographer to stay for the whole reception. After the major events, like cutting the cakes, the speeches, and the special dances, not much is happening beyond your guests socializing. We try our best to capture the smiles of the guests and the fun of the party, but there’s only so many good photos we can get before it starts turning into nothing but duplicates!

After all the social stuff, it’s usually just eating and drinking. Not too many album-worthy photos come from the very end of the reception. We honestly don’t know too many brides who want to remember what their uncles and aunts look like digging into the cake and punch!

After the major dances, the dance floor can be a bit chaotic, crowded, and not all that great for pictures. The same people will be dancing at the start of the party as they will be at the end, just a bit more drunk. We’re there to capture sweet moments and wedding magic, not your relatives or friends embarrassing themselves! While moments like that can be fun memories, they don’t often make great pictures, unfortunately.

So what can you do so your wedding photographer doesn’t overstay?

What about the formal exit of the bride and groom? You’d want your wedding photographers to stick around for that right? Instead of us staying to the end of the reception to capture your exit, stage a faux exit! A faux exit can take the pressure off of that final exit, getting the pictures you want earlier without keeping us too late. After we get all of the pictures you can return to the party!

Now, if you schedule a private dance at the end of the reception, then we will stay for that! This dance is just you and your bride or groom dancing together. This dance is just the two of you, in love and full of smiles, something well worth staying to capture!

Finally, to be honest, as the reception progresses, we’re usually bone tired! As wedding photographers, we go strong all day to make sure that we capture as many shining moments as we can. We go strong the whole day, and by the end, we want what you probably want—to sleep!

We want to capture the best moments of your wedding day, it’s our commitment to you! We hope these wedding photographers’ tips give you some perspective and help you plan ahead. If you need someone to capture your wedding moments, then why not contact us!

Happy Planning!

Nicole & Ryan

If you liked this post please check out:
The Benefits of a Private Dinner
Why You Need a Wedding Album
Why Don’t I Get All the Photos?
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Intimate Spring Wedding (Abby + Ross)