The Truth About Destination Weddings
Issue #52
[Read Time - 8 Minutes]
I know when you hear “destination wedding,” the first thing that comes to mind is a tropical location with white sandy beaches.
Yes, a wedding in Mexico, Hawaii or Turks & Caicos are magnificent destinations for weddings, but what if you live in Turks & Caicos? Is it still a destination wedding?
For the couple and the guests, you bet, but for you, probably not.
And what about Silver Dollar City or Disneyland? Are those destinations worthy of the mighty moniker, Destination Wedding?
Again, for the couple and guests, most definitely, and for you, perhaps.
So let’s define our terms.
If you travel far enough away that you cannot drive back to the wedding safely at the end of the night, or you need to get a hotel room for the night before you drive or fly home, I consider that a “destination.”
I’ll let you decide where your wedding falls into your description, but for me, it’s about two hours away.
I’ll drive two hours no matter what time the reception ends.
I like my bed, and I prefer to wake up in it the morning after a wedding, if I can, rather than drive or fly for half a day to get home.
And with that, let’s talk about Destination Weddings.
There are many variables around a destination wedding and not all destinations are the same. Let’s look at some of the bigger considerations to pay closer attention to if you’re thinking about adding this to your business.
Driving Distance
If you can drive, but can’t drive home that night (3+ hours), factor in gas.
For a hotel stay, I ask the bride to add a room to the block she’s holding for family. She’s getting a good rate, so that’s reasonable. If she wants me to make my own arrangements, I just add it to their total.
For a two-hour drive, I typically do not charge for gas.
Flying Distance
Same rules apply with a hotel but now you have to pay for a flight.
If I have to book the flight, I take the actual cost of the flight and a rental car (a must-have) and add that to their total collection rate.
I’m pretty transparent with this, and if someone wants to buy the ticket with miles, that’s just fine. Often, a travel agent is employed, which makes things much easier.
When To Arrive
You can always get there early, but you can NEVER be late, so take the earliest flight you can on the day you need to shoot and expect to start working right away.
If you do get a little downtime before, call it a gift.
Extra Time
One of the perks I give my couple when it’s a destination wedding is more photography coverage. They are paying my way there and back, so I give them extra time.
For a Saturday wedding, I would arrive on Friday and give them rehearsal dinner coverage as a bonus.
This is a small but savvy way to blend in with the family and friends and quickly become a member of the party.
I also shoot the entire wedding day as if they purchased full-day coverage.
I’ll negotiate with the bride when she wants to start getting ready, and I’ll be there.
Oftentimes, they might hit the spa that morning, or the guys might grab nine holes before the evening festivities. - Shoot it all.
This is a big event for everyone, so getting a few fun photos of the guys on the links or sipping drinks poolside, or of the girls getting pedis and massages, is all part of this wedding experience... which means they are mandatory.
You don’t have to shoot every minute (they don’t want you there that long, anyway), but when they see those photos and remember those moments, that whole amazing trip will come back to them, and you’ll be the one delivering it.
This is NOT a Vacation
I know photographers who like to take their wives along as assistants and spend an extra day or two after the wedding to share some time together. That’s just fine, but any extras are on YOUR dime and not on THEIR time.
Any assistant (spouse or not) is there for your couple, and you should all be there as perfect professionals.
When You Arrive
I typically check in at the hotel, call the couple to confirm the rehearsal start time, and start shooting postcard shots of the resort and the nearby scenery.
Most families don’t take the time to do this, and I think it’s a nice touch to include in the couple’s photo gallery.
You might also get some time with your newlyweds before the reception, so this photography doubles as reconnaissance (imagine how impressed they’ll be when you get a photo of them on an amazing vista that only took 10 minutes!)
If You Get a Few Days
I’m pretty frugal with my couple’s money, so I only stay as long as necessary, but sometimes you get to spend some extra days shooting different wedding-related events. Use them well!
The couple is going rafting on Thursday? Shoot it! Horseback riding? Shoot it! A fun pizza party lunch for the kids? Yup, shoot it too!
The more you integrate yourself into this close circle of invited wedding guests, the better your photos will be. And by the wedding day, you’ll be “family” and treated as such!
Location Doesn’t Matter
You may be flying in for the wedding while everyone else is driving across town. This destination is special to your couple.
Yes, it might be local for everyone else, but this lets you bring fresh new eyes to an older location and produce incredible photos that the bride and groom have never seen before.
And don’t forget about the wedding venues!
Get contact info for everyone and send them a link to the photos, along with a thank you for taking such good care of everyone.
I’ve actually had a fancy out-of-town venue recommend ME to a local couple, and they hired me! I gave the full royal treatment, and I ended up getting a referral wedding from them for another wedding at that venue four states away!
Pricing a Destination Wedding
This depends on whether you live at a destination spot or not. I do not, and you probably already deciphered this, but I’ll make pricing really easy.
If it’s a short drive, I consider it “local” for me and priced the same as an in-town wedding.
If it’s a longer drive and the couple is putting me up in a hotel, I still price it the same as a local wedding, but I add in some gas and add a couple extra hours of coverage (it’s a fair trade, IMO).
If airfare and a hotel are involved, it doesn’t matter where it is. I give them the full destination coverage and shoot everything they need while I’m there. I price this at my standard 8-hour coverage rate.
It’s important to itemize the additional coverage and add in a Destination Discount so Dad can see and justify the cost of bringing you along.
It Starts With One
Once have one destination wedding in your portfolio, everything changes.
You’re now able to sell your services to anyone considering a wedding, regardless of location.
You can even add “Available to Travel” and comfortable have a story to tell. It just starts with getting that first wedding out of town.
The Destination Booking Secret
Wedding shows are great places to pick up destination wedding leads because most brides never consider bringing a photographer with them to an out-of-state or out-of-the-country wedding.
This is your hook!
You’ll be at a show and ask a bride about her wedding, and she’ll say, “Oh, I’m getting married in Cancun, and the resort is giving us a photographer.”
Green Light!
I’ve watched the “Resort Photographer” in action, and it’s not what you might think.
Often, the camera and responsibility are given to a random employee - NOT a photographer. They shoot a few shots of the ceremony, the cake and the couple by the beach, then move on to another wedding on the other side of the resort or go back to serving drinks.
When you’re chatting with a bride about HER wedding, you’re selling your attention to her, your care for her and her family and your photography (usually in that order).
It’s your responsibility to show her that when you’re there at her wedding, you’re HER photographer for the entire time, and this wedding experience they’re putting together is too important to give to “the resort.”
This is your chance to tell her about your added coverage.
Take your rate for a full day’s coverage if this were a local wedding ($), along with the rehearsal coverage ($$$), and COMPARE that to the price of your standard 8-hour coverage, it’s a no-brainer.
All she has to do is add another hotel room to the block she’s booking and pay for your flight.
The Cost of Destination Weddings...On You
Is this trip more work for you? Yup, quite a bit.
Is it more time away from your family? You better believe it.
Is it worth it? Yes, it is…if this is something you want for your business.
When my portfolio shows Venice, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cancun, Colorado, New York, California, Florida and even Branson, Missouri, my prospective brides see someone who has been trusted to travel and take care of people.
I don’t have to “say” anything. The photos speak for themselves.
“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”
Benjamin Disraeli
Shooting destination weddings is one of the little parts of the “inner game of wedding photography.”
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