If you’re engaged and beginning to get through your wedding planning checklist, selecting a vendor to partner with you for photography and videography will be one of the most important decisions!
One of the key questions that we receive from engaged couples often sounds something like this: “How should I know how much time to book with our wedding videographer and photographer?” Here’s everything you need to know!
There are a few different factors to consider before you decide on the number of hours needed to make sure your videography needs are covered. Keep in mind that the hours which you purchase will be the amount of coverage that you receive for the wedding day (start to finish.) Popular wedding videography packages typically range from 6 to 8 consecutive hours.
Wedding Videography Timeline
As you aim to get the answer to the question “How many hours of videography do I need for my wedding?”, we recommend beginning with the basic framework of a timeline. Whether it’s videography, photography, or both, here’s how much time you should plan for with each of these portions of the agenda for your big day:
Getting ready: 1-1.5 hours (30-45 minutes per person)
Portraits: 1-2 hours
Ceremony: 30 minutes up to 1.5 hours
Note: this will be longer if you have a large wedding party or plan to include cultural or religious traditions.
Cocktail hour: 30 minutes - 1 hour
Reception: 2-4 hours
Note: plan to have enough time for toasts, cake cutting, and dancing.
Details shots (decor, venue, accessories, cake, tables, guest books, etc.): 1 hour
Send off: 30 minutes
While logistics can vary, here are some general guidelines for the total length of time required. If you’re hosting a backyard, smaller, or shorter wedding, then you should plan for 4-6 hours of consecutive coverage. However, if you’re planning on having multiple locations then it will be closer to 8 consecutive hours. In addition to a standard event flow, adding any of these scenarios will require more time for coverage:
1. First Look, First Touch, or Other Alternative: Add an additional 30 minutes to the Getting Ready portion of the day.
2. Drone Footage: If you want aerial views to add to your wedding video, add an extra hour.
3. Multiple Locations: If you’re both getting ready in different places and then traveling to different sites for the reception and the ceremony, this will require more time.
4. Grand Exit: If you want video footage of you leaving the reception venue together to capture the send off then you will need the videographer to stay for the full length of your event.
Pro tip: Plan for your send off to take place after the ceremony instead of after the reception. You could also do a mock send off for your grand exit. This means that before your reception officially ends, you and your new spouse will act like you’re leaving the event and position your guests to help ‘send you off.’ This will allow your videographer to wrap things up sooner (so that they don’t have to stay until the very end). Other upsides? Your hair and makeup will still be intact, and more of your guests will be there since it will be earlier in the day.
In addition to these key areas, don’t forget to build in transition time! You will want to make sure that there’s time allotted for time periods between events, like the time it takes for you to travel from one area to the next, or any desired downtime. (This is the main reason that couples usually book coverage for a shorter time than they actually need!)
Wedding Videography Coverage
Now that we’ve helped to answer your question “How many hours of videography do I need for my wedding?”, here are the details for the packages which we offer. At Joy Photo and Video, we have multiple options which can be customized to help bring your dream to life.
The packages available for wedding coverage range from 6 consecutive hours to 8. (We also offer photography services so that you can bundle both with the same company!) If you’re interested in booking with us, here's what we offer:
6-Hours of Wedding Videography
1 Certified Videographer for 6 Hours
3-4 Min. Edited HD Highlight Video
60 Sec. Teaser Video
Audio of Vows & Speeches
Digital Download & Delivery
Private Online Gallery
No Watermarks
Copyright Release
8-Hours of Wedding Videography
1 Certified Videographer for 8 Hours
4-5 Min. Edited HD Highlight Video
60 Sec. Teaser Video
Audio of Vows & Speeches
Digital Download & Delivery
Private Online Gallery
No Watermarks
Copyright Release
If you purchase one of the video packages, you can also add-on optional video services like documentary video or drone footage.
Documentary Video (Add-on to video package)
30 Min. Edited HD Video
Emphasizes the Ceremony
Audio of Vows and Speeches
Digital Download & Delivery
Private Online Gallery
No Watermarks
Copyright Release
Drone (Add-on to video package)
Up to 10 Seconds of Edited HD Aerial Drone Video added to the 60 Sec. Teaser and Highlight Video
If you’re interested in combining wedding photography, we also have combo packages available which provide both photo and video. We hope this helped give you clarity for your question “How many hours of videography do I need for my wedding?”
If you need assistance with your timeline or other planning details, find a wedding planner who can help to orchestrate the logistics. Then let our team of pros handle the videography and photography! Visit our Packages & Pricing page for the details and browse Joy video content on YouTube and TikTok.
[Videos in the spotlight: Michaela + Carrington and Heather + Harold in Houston, Texas]
Choose Joy,
The Joy Team