How Much Should Wedding Photography Cost?

When a bride and groom sit down to make decisions about the allocation of their wedding budget, there are many items and businesses vying for their dollars. Here is a typical budgetary breakdown with average percentages:

Rings (Wedding and Engagement): 15%
Wedding Gown (including accessories such as veil, tiara, etc.): 5%
Wedding Reception and Catering: 35%
Photography and Videography: 10%
Music and Entertainment: 4%
Flowers and Decoration: 13%
Cake: 3%
Wedding Party Gifts: 2%
Wedding Invitation: 4%
Rehearsal Dinner: 2%
Officiant/Ceremony Fees: 1%
Transportation: 2%
Tuxedos: 1%
Pre-Wedding Parties: 3%

These percentages can vary quite a bit depending on the wedding couple’s priorities. Some couples place a greater emphasis on photography and/or videography and make it 15% or more of their budget. (I believe these latter couples are “my audience”–i.e., people who consider the photography to be one of the most important and lasting aspects of their wedding day.)

The total cost of a wedding has a *huge* range and varies quite a bit by region. The average total (presumably for the US as a whole) is somewhere around $30,000 according to the data I’ve been able to find.

So, for the “average” wedding, the budget for photography and/or videography would be $3000. For couples placing a bigger emphasis on photography and/or videography (12-18%), the allocation would be in the $3600-$5400 range.

For most of the weddings I’ve shot, the couple has commissioned the photographer to be around most of the wedding day. If there is a videographer (most weddings I shoot don’t have a hired videographer), s/he is often only around during the ceremony and maybe the beginning of the reception (e.g., for the wedding party introduction, the toasts, and first dances)–maybe 3 hours. Anyone paying for a “full-time” photographer and videographer is not throwing an average-priced wedding, at least not in my experience.

I know I’m not the cheapest wedding photographer out there, but neither am I the most expensive. It’s good to know that my 2009 plan to limit my number of weddings to 12 so I can increase the quality and artistry of my delivered photos–and give better customer service ta’ boot–hasn’t put me out of the reach of the average wedding for which photography is a priority! My wedding photography packages start at $3995 (update: I recently added a special package that starts at $2295).

Even if you don’t become a client of mine, I hope you find some of this information to be helpful if you are–or will be–planning a wedding now or in the near future…:-) .