What was your shortest (or longest) booking?

There's gotta be some interesting stories in this one...

 

I had a wedding last year where the couple booked me two months

ahead of time. Cutting it close but not exactly extreme, How about

you?

3days..... MY first wedding.... and it was a mess!!! The bride was mean, the walls on the place were painted very very dark and gloomy, only light was though 2 windows with HEAVY BLACK and red drapes, looked like a prison basement, no flash allowed. THere was only 7 people includeing myself. The bride wouldnt smile the groom looked like he was about the throw up. I shoot it (with a smile) at 3200 at 1/60 2.8 with a monopod. and 1 out of every 4 pictures turned out. But I was thankful for the chance to shoot it. I was not leaving until I got 100% useable happy pictures! So as many of you know I worked for "In touch" mag. so I did was I know best. I did it Paparazzi style. After a less that happy shoot inside and outside I said my good byes and walked down the walkway a bit saw a BIG bushy shade tree and set up again this time with a long lens and shot off about 100 shots thought the bushes. The bride then let her gaurd down and was being playful with the family and hubby and they turned out Great! She later told me how fearful of the camrea she was; and was so thankful for the amazing photos. Funney thing was that a couple that were walking bye and asked me what in the heck I was doing. I said want I always said in hollywood. I said I was a insurance fraud photographer. I will remember that day forever. So scary, But in the end I laughted allthe way home. David what a great question!

I booked a wedding three days prior to shooting it once. The bride had insisted that she didn't want any photos at all, but a nosey aunt was even more insistent that SHE was going to hire someone to do it anyway. The bride relented three days prior, but but said, "black & white only!" I had not used B&W for years and had never used it for a wedding. I got to the venue and found out it was outdoors (this is rarely done in Alaska as the weather is usually not exactly cooperative). It was a beautiful place, and very green, with huge spruce & hemlock everywhere. I started to think about shooting some color, as I could hardly pass it up, and knew that the B&W film would never capture what I was seeing. In the end I did what the bride requested and stuck with B&W. I think it turned out to be the nicest wedding photos I've ever done. I use one of these shots on my business cards.

 

I just signed a contract today, for a wedding in 12 days. I suspect that there have been numerous photographers "booked" the day of the wedding, but so far I have had SOME planning time.

I book many mid-week { 2 to 4 person } weddings ~~ 'bout a month out. I wish my whole business consisted of 4 small weddings during the week! I generally shoot about 45 to 70 minutes ;; $ 5-600 and I just hand them the unprocessed film.

Mid-week call for a week-end wedding.

 

Couple decided that they would surprise everyone at their 2003 winter engagement party

... by getting married then. Then this past summer, they also hired me to shoot their

garden reception for an extended group of friends and family.

 

Farthest out booking is a Feb. 2006 ceremony, booked in fall of 2004.<div></div>

i had one about 2 hrs before the wedding was supposed to start and an hour after the photographer was supposed to be there. One of the best weddings i did and my first solo wedding. Thier photographer had a heart attack and i was the lucky one pulled from the hat. lol woke me up and everything. but it really was a great wedding.

Got a call yesterday morning at 7:30am from a friend to say that he had a high fever and couldn't get out of bed, could I do a wedding for him at 11am.

 

It was one hour shoot, formals only, no ceremony shots needed, and what the hell, it's not that I don't need the money!

I'm booked about a year out. The shortest has been several months, I'd say, without looking it up, 3 or 4. I've had people contact me who seem to be desperate but I kindly say I'm busy. As the others here can testify, usually the shortest bookings have many challenges. There are lots of folks getting married so I have to realize that not everyone who sends an inquiry to me will work out.

 

Just the way I conduct my business.

It was 11:15 am Saturday morning,we were on the way out the door to go photograph a wedding; pictures start at 12:00pm, my phone rings,it was a wedding director friend wanting us to come photograph a 1:00pm wedding ! I would have not taken it anyway !! The shortest booking was 4 days, it was a mess !! longest was 1 yr 9 months.