WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: A GUIDE FOR COUPLES
- Purple Kite Photography
- Jul 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 3
Hooray - You’ve booked your wedding photographer! But what happens now? What does the photography journey actually look like from here?
Let me take you through how I work and what you can expect once you’ve booked me to capture your wedding. From first chats to final gallery, I’ve got you covered every step of the way.
Table of Contents
Hi, I'm Sarah!
My documentary-style photography tells the story of your day unobtrusively, capturing the big moments as well as all those gorgeous little stories in between.
I create a calm and relaxed atmosphere, ensuring that you feel at ease and enjoy every moment of your day.
I love documenting the raw emotions and excitement of a wedding day and take pride in delivering beautiful images that you will cherish for a lifetime.
The months before your wedding
Once you've booked, you're more than welcome to share your wedding plans and ideas with me—as much or as little as you like. Some clients keep me fully in the loop, while others prefer to handle things quietly—and honestly, either way is totally fine. Just be yourself. If something crops up and you’d like a bit of advice or a sounding board for an idea, I’m always here to lend a hand. And don’t forget to check out my Wedding Tips Page too—there’s loads of inspiration and handy info waiting for you there!
4 weeks before – email questionnaire
Although we’ll likely be chatting through the details as you plan, about a month before the big day I’ll send over a questionnaire for you to fill in. It’s super helpful for a couple of reasons—it gives me the info I need to create a beautiful blog post afterwards, and more importantly, it helps me understand your day and your vibe even better. I’ll ask about your wedding timeline so I can piece together the day, and work out the best window for us to sneak off and create some stunning portraits. It also includes your must-have formal group photo list, so I can keep it handy and make sure no one important gets missed. This is also when your final balance payment is due.
Your wedding day
It’s your big day at last!
Everything’s flowing beautifully, and I’ve been busy capturing it all—from the tiniest details to the group photos, and of course, those beautiful couple portraits. Wedding days can be long ones for me, so if you spot me recharging with some water and taking a quick breather, I promise I’m not slacking. I'm usually on my feet for a minimum of 8 hours for your day and clock up a lot of steps!
Back up
Backing up your wedding photos is an absolute priority! That’s why I shoot with dual card slot cameras—so your images are being saved to two places the moment I take them. Then, once I’m back home, I transfer everything straight onto my system and copy to my external hard drive. It’s all about making sure your memories are protected at every step.
The first edit
When most people hear “editing,” they picture heavy Photoshop work—but actually, the real heart of editing hasn’t changed much in decades. It all starts with the first big step: selecting the images that truly tell the story of your day.
On your wedding day, I might shoot anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 photos. That includes everything from fleeting little moments to the ones where someone has their eyes closed mid-blink, and lots of near-identical shots as I capture those in-between expressions that make a photo feel alive.
If you've seen me in action, you know I'm dashing around with camera in hand, rapid-firing through even the group shots to catch all those tiny, beautiful shifts in expression. The truth is, you don’t need (and wouldn’t want!) to scroll through every single frame. My job in the first round of editing is to sift through the sea of images and pick out the gems—the ones that feel the most like you.
The second edit
Now we’re into the part of editing that most people picture—where the magic really starts to happen. This second round is all about refining: adjusting colours and light, cropping, and giving everything my signature look. I also take another look at the full set and might pare it down even further, trimming out anything that doesn’t quite add to the story of your day. Let’s face it—you don’t need thousands of photos clogging up your gallery, just the ones that make your heart skip.
I also re-edit the whole gallery to create a timeless black and white collection to enjoy alongside the colour images.
Delivery of the online gallery
Once your final images are fully edited and ready, I’ll pop them into a beautiful online gallery for you. This is your personal space to view, download, and even order prints whenever you like. Sharing your photos is super easy too—just send a link by email to family, friends, or anyone who couldn’t be there on the day.
Whether you're passing it along to loved ones featured in the shots or sharing highlights with guests who couldn’t make it, the choice is yours. And no worries about privacy—the gallery is password-protected, so your memories stay secure.
What about USBs? Well, USBs are about as up-to-date as CDs or DVDs used to be. Since many devices don’t even support them anymore, I’ve opted for a cloud-based system instead. That way, you can easily access and download your images from any device, wherever you are.
Blog
If you've mentioned you'd like a blog feature, this is the moment I start bringing it all together. I’ll curate a smaller, handpicked collection of your wedding images and craft a post for my website. It's perfect for sharing the spirit of your day far and wide—on social media, with friends who couldn’t be there, or anyone else you’d love to give a glimpse to. And the best part? It’s all just a click away whenever you want to relive the magic.
Leave me a review
Shortly after you’ve received everything you ordered, I’ll drop you a quick email to see if you’d like to leave a review. There’s no pressure at all—but if you do feel like sharing your experience, it honestly means the world to me. Your words can really help future couples who are looking for their wedding photographer.
If you've enjoyed this post about booking me as your wedding photographer, you can also read my in-depth look at how I work on your wedding day itself in my Wedding Photography Guide.
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