Sometimes couples contact us looking for one or two hours of wedding photography. In other cases, they are planning a wedding on a peak Saturday or Sunday and want substantially less coverage than our published minimum.

We do offer shorter wedding photography, but we still have a minimum amount of coverage we can accept. That minimum depends on the date.

Wedding date	Minimum coverage
Monday-Friday, year-round	3 hours
Saturday or Sunday, December-April	3 hours
Saturday or Sunday, May-November	8-hour published minimum
San Francisco City Hall	2 hours

For non-City Hall weddings, three hours is the shortest coverage we offer. We do not offer one-hour, 90-minute, or two-hour non-City Hall wedding bookings.

On summer wedding weekends, meaning either Saturday or Sunday from May through November, our published minimum is eight hours. Shorter custom coverage is sometimes available on those dates, but it is offered selectively rather than as a standard option.

Why there is a minimum at all

The hours spent photographing the wedding are only one part of the job.

Every wedding also involves communication, timeline planning, preparation, administration, travel, image culling, editing, delivery and follow-up. Much of that workload exists whether we photograph for three hours or eight.

A 90-minute wedding booking therefore is not one quarter of the work of a six-hour wedding. There is a base amount of work and responsibility attached to taking on any wedding.

That is why we have a three-hour floor for non-City Hall weddings rather than reducing coverage indefinitely to match the duration of a ceremony.

Why summer Saturdays and Sundays are different

Wedding dates are limited inventory.

A four-hour wedding on a Saturday in September can prevent us from accepting an eight-hour wedding on the same date. This is why our published minimum for Saturdays and Sundays from May through November is eight hours.

There are situations where I am willing to offer something shorter. We may already have a full wedding on the other day of that weekend, a photographer may specifically have room for a shorter booking, the timing may fit particularly well, or the date may simply make sense for us.

Those decisions are made individually. If you want less than eight hours on a summer Saturday or Sunday, ask when you inquire rather than assuming either that we can offer it or that we cannot.

Why very short coverage can also be unrealistic

Sometimes the requested amount of photography simply does not match what the couple wants photographed.

A ceremony may only last 20 minutes, but that does not mean 30 or 60 minutes of photography is enough to cover guest arrival, the ceremony, group formals, romantics and candid photographs afterward.

Travel between locations, parking, venue access, delayed ceremonies and the time required for group formals all count toward the photography window.

Before booking, I create a preliminary timeline based on what you actually want photographed. If the plans cannot realistically fit into the amount of time requested, I will tell you.

What if I only want part of the wedding photographed?

That is completely possible in many situations.

You might want romantics, group formals, the ceremony and cocktail hour, then have photography end before dinner. Another wedding might begin with the ceremony and continue through speeches or the first dance.

I have a separate guide explaining how shorter and partial-day wedding photography works, including examples of different coverage windows and when custom shorter coverage may be available.

The important distinction is that shorter coverage still has to meet the minimum I am able to offer for your date.

San Francisco City Hall is different

San Francisco City Hall weddings have a separate service structure and begin at two hours.

If you are planning a non-City Hall wedding, the minimum is three hours regardless of how short the ceremony itself may be.

If you are not sure how many hours you need

You do not need to figure this out yourself.

Send me the date, locations, known timings and the parts of the wedding you actually want photographed. I can create a preliminary timeline and tell you what amount of coverage is realistic.

If you are asking for less than the published minimum for your date, mention that explicitly when you inquire. I can then tell you whether a custom shorter option is something I can offer.