Wedding photographer in France
Marrying somewhere you do not live means the venue makes half the decisions. We get those in writing before the day, not on it.
- From
- €1,200
The session
What is different about marrying away from home
You will not have visited the venue three times. You will not know that the courtyard is in shadow by four, or that the drive from the mairie takes fifty minutes on a Saturday rather than the thirty the map promises.
So the preparation looks different from a domestic wedding. We spend it on the things you cannot check from another country: the estate’s own rules, the hour the light turns, the shelter that exists rather than the one advertised.
The venue makes half the decisions
Every estate has its own answer on access, its own hours, and its own idea of what counts as a wet-weather plan. Some forbid photography in a chapel; some close a cellar at six; some have a gravel drive that ends a pair of shoes.
We ask, in writing, at the point you book. It is unglamorous work that removes most of the surprises a destination wedding otherwise supplies.
Light, and the drive that eats it
The usable hour before sunset is short, and the journey between the ceremony and the reception almost always lands in the middle of it. Counting that journey into the running order is the single change that most improves the pictures.
Before and after the day
Many couples add a couple photoshoot earlier in the week — partly for the images, mostly because being photographed once before the day itself visibly changes how people behave in front of a lens.
If the proposal has not happened yet, the proposal photographer page explains how that is covered without giving it away.
Regions
Provence, the Loire and the Alps carry their own pages because each has its own constraints — see Provence, the Loire and the Alps.
Price
From €1,200, with the full range on the pricing page. A deposit of 30% holds the date and the balance falls due on delivery.
What holds you back
The questions people hesitate to ask
- None of our guests speak French
- Nor do we need them to. The day runs in English, the short list of group photographs is agreed in English, and nobody is asked to understand an instruction shouted across a courtyard in a language they do not have.
- We have never seen the venue
- Common, and it is why we scout at the hour of the ceremony rather than at a convenient one. You get back the things a photograph on a website will not tell you: where the sun actually is, whether the gravel is walkable in those shoes, what the shelter really holds.
- What if it rains and there is no indoor space?
- Then we say so months in advance rather than on the morning. A great many estates advertise an orangery that seats forty when you have invited a hundred and twenty, and knowing that early is your problem to solve, not a surprise to absorb.
- How many photographs do we receive?
- Every frame worth keeping, which on a full day runs to several hundred. We set no guaranteed number: a promised count pushes a photographer to deliver padding.
- Who owns the images?
- You receive an unlimited personal right of use. Nothing is published without your written consent, given separately and revocable at any time.
How it runs
How it works
The venue, in writing
We contact the estate as soon as you book: which areas we may use, whether hours are imposed, and what shelter actually exists. Brochures and reality differ, and the difference matters in the rain.
The running order
Written with you, with travel between addresses counted in minutes. It is the part couples underestimate and the part that costs the best light.
The day
Continuous coverage of the hours agreed. We direct very little: the group shots come from a short list, done in twenty minutes, early, while everyone is still patient.
Delivery
Sorting, treatment, then the complete gallery within 4 to 6 weeks.
Full gallery delivered within 4 to 6 weeks.
Pricing
What it costs
€1,200–€3,500
- Duration
- 10 h
- Delivery
- 4 to 6 weeks
- Deposit
- 30%
TODO_TVA
Included
- Planning call and a written running order, travel time included
- Scouting the venue at the hour of the ceremony
- Continuous coverage of the agreed hours
- Private gallery in full resolution, reachable from any country
Options
Questions
Frequently asked
How far in advance should we book a French wedding?
Twelve to eighteen months for a Saturday between May and September. Midweek or out of season, a few months is enough. We take one wedding per day whatever the distance between them.
Do you travel to the whole country?
Yes. Within the city a photographer is based in, travel is included; beyond it, it is quoted at cost and appears in the quote before you commit. Overnight stays for distant venues are in the quote from the start.
Can you help with the legal side of marrying in France?
No, and we would be wrong to try. Residency requirements and the paperwork for a civil ceremony are a matter for the mairie and, usually, for a local planner. We photograph; we do not advise on the file.
Tell us about the day
Describe what you want to keep from it. You get back a written proposal with a figure in it, not a catalogue.