Something to ask your wedding photographer.
After your wedding, you will be eager to see your wedding memory photographs and look forward to viewing the entire set to relive your day. But how long will it take to get them after your wedding has happened? This is something you must talk to your wedding photographer about, as every photographer is slightly different. The average wait is 3-12 weeks. Yes! Quite a difference in time! This is because every wedding photographer is at a different stage in their business, life, and seasonal business.
Full-time wedding photographers typically do not have a day-time job, and so have that time to edit photos. Part-time photographers often do have day-time jobs, which takes up that possible editing time. Another major factor is their lifestyle. Does your photographer have kids? Are they the primary caregiver? Do they volunteer? This takes up a big chunk of their time as well. If your wedding is happening during peak season (June, July, August, September), the return time will likely be later due to the amount of weddings each photographer is editing. Wedding photographers with a fast turnaround may also have an assistant or business partner to help with their editing process.
Look at your wedding contract closely that you’ve signed or will be signing with your photographer. It should say somewhere in there the approximate wait time for the return on your images. If it does not, definitely talk one on one with your photographer about this. They will give you the honest answer. 
Since going full-time photographer in July 2021, I am happy to be delivering my photos faster than ever! I deliver sneak peek images within 7 days to the client, and the full gallery anywhere from 3-6 weeks, depending on how many hours of coverage they booked. By clearly talking about this with my clients, they understand and have a realistic time-frame of when to expect their photographs returned to them. It is written in my contract as well. If your photographer is not clear with you on this, you will be waiting and wondering when your images will be back to you. It’s not something you want to be up at night thinking about and being unable to answer your friends and family when they ask about your photos.
As a courtesy, I send about fifty images to my couples within seven days of their wedding date as sneak peaks. I select a number of images throughout the day to show them an abbreviated story. I do this so you have something to post on your social media about, and importantly, so you can send thank you cards with a picture or two in them if you want.
Looking for more sneak peaks? Wedding photographers often can’t help but want to share the beautiful moments they capture on their social media as they edit them. It’s an instinctive urge we have, and I can guarantee you will find additional sneak peeks on your photographers Instagram and Facebook business page. So, make sure to follow them, and better yet, if you become friends with your photographer they can tag you which will notify you instantly. If you are having an Instagram hashtag for your wedding, let your photographer know and they will include that in their keywording.
I hope you found this helpful and will talk to your wedding photographer about expected delivery time of your photographs!
