I was chatting with one of my friends recently who is planning her wedding and it made me realize just how much I enjoy planning weddings and giving out tips and tricks to brides getting married. However, we had a great discussion about wedding photographers and I want to share with you what I told her. She just booked her photographer and chose a package that includes one photographer for ten hours. So, her question to me was, if I felt a second shooter was very important.

She said two photographers for ten hours was more than they wanted to spend, but she felt the 10 hours was more important than eight hours with two photographers.

So, here’s my advice if you are stuck in the same situation and don’t know what to do: I told her I would do eight hours with two shooters.

The last two hours of the night are primarily dancing, and how many more photos do you really need of people dancing? But the benefits of a second shooter outweigh only having one photographer. For example, the second shooter can be with the groom and groomsmen while the first shooter is with you and your girls getting ready. If you are planning on a first look, two shooters will come in handy because you can have them placed where one captures your face and the other captures your groom’s reaction. Also, the main photographer can be shooting portraits while the second shooter is with guests at cocktail hour. The list goes on and on!