How to book a wedding photographer at the last minute
It happens. Sometimes you just find yourself needing to get things booked without very much notice. When I got married, we booked our photographer with just 4 weeks to go. It doesn’t need to be a stressful experience - here are my tips for how to find yourself a photographer at short notice.
Where to find a wedding photographer at short notice
There are two main places you can find a photographer. The first is by finding their website on Google and the second is by finding their social media presence. Most photographers have a title on their website for their location - so searching ‘Bristol wedding photographer’, for example, might show you my site as that’s where I’m based. But you can also search based on the vibe of your day - if you’re having a festival wedding, try searching for ‘festival wedding photographer’ - photographers who normally shoot a particular vibe of wedding might be more open to travelling, so if your wedding is on the other side of the country, I wouldn’t rule out sending an enquiry anyway.
The same strategy can be applied to finding a photographer on Instagram and TikTok. You can search by location+wedding photographer to find profiles, and see if you like the work on their grid. Another good idea is, if you’re getting married at a venue that does a lot of weddings, to go onto your venue’s social media and look at the posts they’ve been tagged in. When photographers share photos of a previous wedding, they usually tag the venue in, so you can browse people who have already worked at your venue and easily compare things like editing style and the types of photos they take. To be honest though, I wouldn’t exclusively look for someone who has worked at your venue before - (more on this in the next section).
How to choose a last-minute wedding photographer
One thing worth saying at this point is, don’t feel rushed into choosing someone who isn’t exactly what you want. Photography is such a subjective art form and you’ll find a whole range of editing styles and photography styles out there. Do you want someone light and airy? True to colour? Someone who shoots on film as well as digital? Ok and what about the photography style - do you want someone documentary-style? Editorial? Fine art? What do these terms even mean?!
The first bit of advice I have on this is, look up each of these styles and see how they make you feel and what you think of them. Looking at lots of different wedding photos and lots of different portfolios of work will help you to narrow down what you like and don’t like. A lot of photographers will have a ‘my approach’ type section on their site that will let you know what to expect from working with them, and is always useful to know.
When you’re reviewing photographers’ portfolios, don’t worry too much about if they have photographed at your venue before. Sure, it’s nice if they have, but a good photographer should be able to work out how to take great photos even at venues that are new to them.
Top tips for looking for a wedding photographer:
Have they got lots of examples of real wedding photos on their social media/website or is it all staged weddings with models? Styled shoots are a very popular way for a photographer to advertise the kind of weddings they want to photograph, but a portfolio that is made up exclusively of styled shoots suggests they haven’t done many real weddings. Snapping a photo of some models that someone else has directed and posing a real couple on their real wedding day are two very different skills. Someone without any real weddings in their portfolio might not be able to reproduce those images on your wedding day.
What are their colours like? Do you like them? Pay particular attention to how the colours of YOUR wedding look in their photos - if you’re having a lot of bright colours and they desaturate colours a lot, the photos will reflect your wedding colours in that way. Equally, do you want some images in black and white? Do they do that?
How do they use light? A good photographer should be able to find or make good light. So, look at how the lighting is in their photos. Do their flash photos look good? Are their couple photos taken in nice light? How about candid photos of the guests?
How do they edit different skin tones? Do they keep skin tones looking natural?
Can you see yourself in their photos? If you can imagine yourself in the photos, or the photos look like how you imagine your wedding will be - well, they might just be the one for you. If not - there’s so many photographers out there, it’s ok to look at a handful of different options until you find someone you like.
Do they have any Google reviews? What do they say?
Look at their ‘about me’ page. Do they seem like someone you would click with? You’ll be seeing a lot of them on your wedding day so it’s important to choose someone you’ll get on with!
If they aren’t local to you, will they travel for your wedding? Is that included in the package price or is there an extra charge for that? (a note on this - when I travel for weddings, I ALWAYS book a hotel for the night before so that I have a nice easy journey on the morning of the wedding. Getting stuck on the M25 in the morning absolutely isn’t the one - make sure that any photographer you speak to is on the same page with this so they don’t turn up late!)
Last minute wedding photographer availability
But wedding photographers get booked up years in advance, right? Well, yes and no. The wedding industry is so weird like that. There are some dates that I have had multiple enquiries for, and had to turn them away because I’m already booked. And there’s some summer dates that I still have available, that other photographers have had multiple enquiries for. There’s not necessarily a logic to it.
You might be surprised to find that photographers still have your date available at short notice. And it also goes without saying that Saturdays are usually the most popular wedding dates - if you’re getting married midweek, the chances of your favourite photographer telling you they’re available are pretty good.
The best way to find out if a photographer is available is to reach out on their website and send an enquiry over.
Last minute wedding photographer pricing
How much does it cost to book a wedding photographer at the last minute? Well, most photographers have their pricing available on their site so that should be easy to answer. Most photographers will have a few different packages based around hours of coverage, so consider what time your ceremony is, what time you want the evening party to get going, what time you’ll start getting ready in the morning. This will give you an idea of how many hours of photography you’re likely to need. Pay particular attention to what ‘all day coverage’ means to different photographers - will they stay to photograph the party or will they leave straight after the first dance?
I would be wary of anyone who offers a price that sounds too good to be true. There have been some notorious wedding scammers in recent years who have taken couples’ money and then not showed up to their wedding. The best case scenario with a ‘sounds too good to be true’ price is that you end up booking someone very inexperienced, giving you unpredictable results. Either way, having wedding insurance is a good way to protect against this.
My best tip for weddings on a budget? See if your chosen/favourite photographer offers shorter day coverage. That way, you don’t have to compromise on image quality.
Check my availability
As a UK based wedding photographer with a few 2025 dates still available, I might be able to help with your search for a last-minute wedding photographer.
As of 17th March 2025, I have 2025 availability on the following dates:
April: Fully booked
May: Saturday 17th, Saturday 24th, Saturday 31st - some midweek availability too (contact me)
June: Saturday 7th, Saturday 21st - some midweek availability too - contact for specific dates
July: No Saturdays available but good midweek availability
August: Saturday 9th, Saturday 16th, Saturday 23rd, Saturday 30th available. Contact for midweek availability
September: Saturday 27th available, some midweek availability
October: Saturday 11th, Saturday 18th, Saturday 25th available - some midweek but contact to check
November and December - good availability
Tap the link below to get in touch and check my availability for your date.
