The practical side of hiring a wedding photographer for your destination wedding
- Cheryll van Weert
- 12 aug
- 3 minuten om te lezen
I often get asked how it all works when you're flying in a Dutch photographer for a wedding abroad. In this blog, I’ll walk you through those questions and answer them. Handy if you're planning to hire a photographer yourself—or if you're a photographer being asked to travel abroad. If you still have questions after reading, feel free to ask; I’ll add the answers below.
INVESTMENT
Wedding coverage: The fee for the wedding day itself is the same as for a domestic wedding (see more details here www.cheryllvanweert.com/weddingstory).
Extra days of photography: Often, a wedding abroad spans several days — think pool party the day before or a leisurely breakfast the day after. Extra hours are charged at the hourly overtime rate listed in the brochure for domestic weddings. So, no bundling of two full-day packages.
Travel days: A destination wedding involves more time than a typical one-day domestic event. Travel days are essentially unavailable for other sessions, so destination photographers usually charge a travel-time fee. In my case, I use the rate of the cheapest photo session per travel day.
COSTS
Of course, expenses are incurred during such a trip—flight, rental car, etc. are reimbursed by the couple. A practical tip: as the photographer, include these costs itemized on your invoice with attached receipts. Show the amounts excluding VAT and then apply your own VAT rate (for me, it's 9%, as the wedding report is meant for a wedding album).
Air tickets: The couple and I decide together. I pay attention to flight times so that I don’t arrive too late in the evening or have to get up too early the next morning—it’s double duty energy-wise! A practical requirement: your gear and equipment should stay with you at all times, so a priority ticket with carry-on plus a large bag works best, like on Ryanair.
Hotel: Often the photographer stays in the same venue or location as the guests, but if not, the hotel nights (linked to the coverage) are reimbursed by the couple.
Food: If catering isn’t covered by the venue hire, meal and drink costs are handled by the couple.
Rental car: Can be arranged with the couple. Make sure you’re fully insured—sometimes small damage can happen. For example, one of my last flights included a stopover due to a storm; I arrived late (23:05), after the rental office had closed (23:00). We couldn’t reach them during the stopover. The next morning, we learned the reservation had lapsed—and the only available car was twice the agreed price. I’ve heard good things about Sunny Cars—I'll look into that next time. Fuel, tolls, and other costs are also reimbursed by the couple.
CONDITIONS
Photographing a destination wedding is a wonderful honor but also a significant undertaking—planning, travel days, time away from family, etc. That’s why I choose to photograph only 1 or 2 destination weddings per year. A key condition for me: I do not travel and shoot on the same day. So if a wedding starts on Tuesday, I arrive Monday. If it ends Thursday, I return Friday—unless, as with one recent wedding, part of the evening is also photographed and there is only a early morning flight — I’d then return the day after.
Also, to secure your date, the deposit is higher than for a domestic wedding. Since I block out an entire week, the deposit is 25% of the total quote.
Feel free to reach out via info@cheryllvanweert.com. I'd be happy to provide you with a personalized quote tailored to your wedding plans.
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