One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is how each and every wedding is a unique celebration of the couples’ love. No two weddings are the same, even those that take place at the same wedding venue and have the same or similar vendors! This is because no two love stories are the same, which is why as a Chicago wedding photographer I give my couples the freedom to customize their photography package to best fit the needs of THEIR wedding day. How does a customizable photography package work though, and what’s the process look like from start to finish? That’s what we’re here to talk about today, so let’s get into it!

A Breakdown of My Photography Package Options as a Chicago Wedding Photographer

I start off all of my Chicago wedding photography packages on the same baseline level, which currently sits at a starting price of $4800. The starting package includes:

• 8 Hours of Photography Coverage.
• Sneak Peek Photos Within 48 Hours.
• Planning Assistance for Your Timeline, Photo Lists, and More.
• Full Gallery Delivery Within 8 Weeks.

I feel that every one of my couples, regardless of how much photography coverage they want for their day, all deserve the same level of quality, care, and assistance when it comes to their wedding day. That’s why ALL of my packages include in depth planning assistance, beautiful images from your day delivered in a timely manner, and a photographer who’s as pumped as you are for your wedding! 

Now, when it comes to coverage for your day, sometimes 8 hours is juuuust right. Other couples may want more coverage though, and that’s where my a la carte add-ons begin!

Feel Free to Customize Your Package

With every wedding being unique to the couple, it’s always been a priority of mine as a Chicago wedding photographer to offer as much flexibility as possible with my photography package. The best system I’ve found for this is offering an array of add-ons for couples to choose from! I find this to be much simpler than having multiple packages that each offer different add-ons and hours of coverage. These a la carte add-ons include:

• Additional Hours of Photography Coverage.
• A Second Photographer.
• An Engagement Session.
• Rehearsal Dinner Coverage.
• Bridal Boudoir Session.
• And More!

All these options are meant to enhance your wedding day to help make what should be one of the best days of your lives the unforgettable experience you both deserve! How do you know if you need a second photographer though? What’s the right amount of coverage for your day? What does the booking process look like? The rest of this article will walk through the answers to these questions and more!

What Does My Process Look Like?

Just like the planning process for your wedding, there is a LOT more to my process as a wedding photographer than just showing up on the day and taking your photos! From your initial inquiry and creating the right photography package for your wedding in Chicago, to the moment when your full album arrives, let’s go through all the ins and outs of my process.

Step 1: Inquiry

The very first step in this process is of course your inquiry! This quick and simple step is handled through the contact page of my website. All you have to do is fill out a little bit of information about yourselves, your wedding day, and any additional information you think I should know up front! This helps me get an idea of what your wedding day in Chicago will look like, and in turn I’ll be able to better recommend the best level of photography coverage for your package during our call together, which happens to be the next step!

Step 2: Your Consultation Call

Once I receive your inquiry, I’ll then get in contact with you to set up a time for a consultation call. This is where the fun begins, as it’s when we actually get to start to know one another! I’ve talked many times before in previous articles about how important it is to enjoy your wedding photographer on a personal level. This is because you’ll likely be spending more time with them on your wedding day than you will with your partner!

This consultation call is a great way to ensure that we’re the right fit for one another, in addition to finding the right photography coverage and add-ons for your wedding in Chicago. Together we’ll discuss your vision for your day, what you want documented, the locations for your day, and more! Once we know that we’re the right fit for each other, and we have your package ironed out we’re good to go here!

Step 3: Any Additional Sessions

The next step in this process are any sessions you choose to add on to the photography package of your Chicago wedding. This could be either a bridal boudoir session, or an engagement session, both of which I LOVE to document! An album from a bridal boudoir session makes for a fantastic wedding day gift, and engagement sessions are something that I recommend EVERY couple do with their wedding photographer.

An engagement session with your wedding photographer gives us all the chance to meet one another, and for you two to get used to showing off your love in front of the camera when the stakes are much lower. It’s always a little awkward making out in front of a total stranger while they’re taking photos of you, so getting these jitters out of the way prior to the big day is always a good idea!

For both of these sessions I’ll help guide you both through the planning process including location scouting, choosing the best time of day, finding the perfect outfits, and more. After these sessions it becomes a waiting game until your actual wedding day, but there’s still a few things I’ll be doing before then!

Step 4: Your Three Month Check-In

As your wedding day approaches, I’ll be checking in routinely to make sure you have everything you need, and to answer any questions you may have. One of these is a big one, and that’s the three month check-in! Three months out from your wedding date I’ll send you a detailed questionnaire for you to fill out that goes over ALL the important details of your wedding day.

This questionnaire plays a key role in the planning assistance that is a part of the photography package for your wedding day in Chicago. The questionnaire will allow me to build the perfect timeline for your day, create a list of your must-have photos, know the other vendors I’ll be working with, and more to ensure that your day runs AS smoothly as possible! I also always encourage my couples to reach out to me either through text or email if they have any questions about their day. I’m here to help make this your favorite day ever!

Step 5: Your Week of Check-In

I check in with my couples one week out from their wedding day just to make sure they have everything they need. By now we’ve done a LOT of planning together, so at this point we should have a concrete plan for the wedding day. This check-in is meant more to hype you up and get you excited for the day, not that you aren’t already! We’ll double check all the details to make sure we’re all on the same page, and then wait for the week to go by so you can finally enjoy your wedding day!

Step 6: Your Wedding Day!

It’s the big day! You’ve put in a ton of effort to make this day a reality, and now it’s finally time for you to enjoy it and marry the love of your life. I’ll be showing up bright and early for your day, depending on the amount of coverage we decided on for your photography package, to document ALL your favorite moments that you’ll want to relive from your wedding in Chicago! There is a LOT that goes into a wedding day and the experience I provide as your photographer, so much so that I actually have a full article going over this which you should check out when you have a chance!

Step 7: Your Sneak Peeks are Delivered

Waiting to see the photos from your wedding day is one of THE hardest parts of the whole process! The day went all according to plan, you had the best time of your lives, and you want to see these photos and experience the day all over again! Trust me, I get it! This is why every one of my photography packages include a mini gallery of 75+ images from your Chicago wedding delivered to you within 48 hours. These images will help to not only hold you over, but also to get you even more excited for the delivery of your full gallery! 

Step 8: Your Full Gallery is Delivered!

It’s finally time! Within eight weeks from your wedding you’ll receive your FULL gallery for you both to enjoy. Grab yourselves a drink, snuggle up together on the couch, and get ready to relive the BEST DAY EVER through 800+ stunning images from your day! It’s worth noting that the more coverage you opt for in your photography package, the more photos you’ll receive from your wedding in Chicago, and this roughly translates to around 100 photos per hour of photography.

There you have it, the full process of booking me as your Chicago wedding photographer, and a look at how my customizable photography package works. There’s a lot that goes into this process as you can see, but it’s all part of what allows me to make your dream wedding day a reality! For a look at more of my work be sure to check out my Instagram or some of my other blogs, and if you’re ready to book me to document your wedding day be sure to send me an inquiry!