I recently wrote a post about how much wedding photographers cost in Charleston, but I wanted to write another post to talk about the cost of wedding photographers in general.  Total wedding investments are all over the place and the “average” wedding investment can differ from location to location.  For example, on average, a wedding in New York City will almost certainly cost more than a wedding in Fairhope, Alabama.  Weddings in California will likely cost more than weddings in Nebraska.  Your money simply goes further in some places versus others – and the cost of living for local vendors differs from place to place.  So to base your wedding photography budget on what the “average” wedding photographer pricing is, according to sources like The Knot, or from asking your friends how much they spent on their wedding photographer really won’t give you a realistic number.  There is so much more that goes into pricing than that.

So, how much does a wedding photographer cost?  Luckily, the ladies at Educate Empower Encourage have done the legwork for us.  They’ve broken down the wedding industry into 8 tiers, ranging from DIY weddings to ultra luxury weddings.  These are all categorized by the per person spend at each level.  And from there, they pinpoint how much couples are investing in their wedding photography at each level.  This gives us a way more accurate look at how much wedding photographers cost and how much you should budget for your wedding photographer based on your per person spend and overall wedding budget.

“DIY Weddings” – $250 or less per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a total wedding budget of $25k or less; in this category, expect a wedding photography investment of $2500 or less

“Budget Weddings” – $500 or less per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a total wedding investment of $50k or less; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $2500-5000

“Lovely Weddings” – $500-1000 per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a total wedding investment of $50-100k; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $5000-10k

“Upper Lovely Weddings” – $1000-1500 per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a total wedding investment of $100-150k; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $10k-15k

“Entry Level Luxury Weddings” – $1500+ per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a minimum investment of $150k+; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $15k-20k

“Mid Level Luxury Weddings” – $2500+ per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a minimum investment of $250k+; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $20k-30k

“Upper Luxury Weddings” – $3500+ per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a minimum investment of $350k+; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $30k-40k

“Ultra Luxury Weddings” – $4500+ per person

So for a 100 guest wedding, this would be a minimum investment of $450k+; in this category, expect a starting wedding photography investment of $40k+

Naturally, the more expensive the wedding, the higher your wedding photography investment should be.  Weddings in the luxury tiers often demand a photography team, not just 1 or 2 photographers.  They often consist of multiple days of events.  They often demand a certain level of discretion, professionalism, and experience.  So, of course, photography investments will be substantially higher when you’re spending more on the wedding – simply because the scope of the wedding is much larger.

Keep in mind that the wedding photography investment numbers above are a STARTING investment range, which means plenty of couples will spend more than the numbers listed within each wedding investment level.  So when you’re trying to figure out how much wedding photographers cost and how much you should budget for your own wedding photographer, follow these steps:

• Work with your wedding planner to get a realistic estimate of what your total wedding investment will be.  You may start wedding planning with a certain “budget” in mind, but let’s be honest – most budgets double (or triple) throughout the planning process.  A wedding planner should have a good pulse on what things cost in their area and can hopefully give you a good ballpark number of where they think you’ll end up based on what you envision for your wedding day
• Divide that total wedding investment number by the number of guests you plan to invite; this will give you an estimated per person spend
• Take a look at the information above and see where your wedding photography budget should land; this will give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of minimum cost when looking at wedding photographers for your wedding day

A good rule of thumb is that you should spend AT LEAST 10% of your total wedding budget on your wedding photographer, if not more depending on how important photography is to you.  This is one area you shouldn’t skimp on to save money, if you value photography.  After the flowers have died, the dress has been ruined, the food has been eaten, and the celebration is over – your wedding photos will be the only thing left to remind you of this magical day.  Your wedding photos will last a lifetime and be passed down through generations, so if there’s any place to really splurge, it’s on your wedding photographer.  I hope this post has been insightful and helpful as you navigate through wedding planning and hiring a wedding photographer.