How to hire an out of state wedding photographer

Most of the time, couples feel it’s necessary to hire a local photographer in order to save costs and this is completely understandable in the long run. (Local in this case means within approximately 60 miles of your venue.) Photography tends towards the higher end of the expenses spectrum so saving a little money is always a good thing. But what if you’ve fallen deep in love with a photographer who ISN’T local to your venue? How do you prepare for the expense of hiring an out of state wedding photographer and what additional questions should you be asking? 

While all of the information included in this article is based solely on my own business practices, I’ve spoken with others in the wedding industry who tend to have similar practices when it comes to travel fees. These are also the same budgeting systems I use when planning my family’s travel around the country (which means they’re excellent budgets for Honeymoon Planning).  

Out of State Wedding Photographer Basic Travel Fees: the TFLs (Transportation, Food + Lodging)

Travel fees can be split into three basic categories: Transportation, Food and Lodging. Each of these will vary by location, but all are necessary for life and making sure your photography vendors arrive safely and in performance form. The last thing you want is an exhausted, hasn’t showered, smells like a plane photographer hanging out side by side with you in the cramped bridal suite. Paints a pretty picture doesn’t it? 

Transportation: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

When your photographer is coming from a different local than where your wedding is, they will need to consider travel time. For many of us, it’s not uncommon to travel across county or even state lines for sessions and weddings. This is the least expensive mode of transportation because we already own a car, however it is also the most time consuming if you’re getting married more than 250 miles from our home base. 

Plane flights are more common if you’re having an out of state wedding photographer. When we fly in for weddings, we like to make sure our scheduled flight lands 48 hours prior to our start time on your wedding day. This helps in a few ways: 1) if there are any flight delays, we are most likely able to still arrive well in advance of our scheduled start time. 2) In the catastrophic event transportation becomes unavailable to us, 48 hours is the minimum amount of time we would need to find and hire a backup photographer (we can also drive almost anywhere in the US with 48 hours notice). 3) If your wedding is on a weekend, Thursdays tend to be cheaper flights, and for weekday weddings, Saturdays and Tuesdays are the best days for travel. Fridays and Sundays are the busiest and most expensive days for travel. 

We have very limited knowledge of the train system, as we’ve never used it. While the tickets can sometimes be cheaper than plane flights, the train system takes a lot longer than either driving or flying. Seattle, WA to San Francisco, CA on AmTrak is about half the price of the same ticket on Alaska (once you add in baggage fees and parking). However, the plane flight takes about 2.5 hours, whereas the train ride is 23.5 hours. The train seems like a great place to work while you ride, but personally I think the novelty would wear off quickly. 

Once your photographer has arrived in the general location of your wedding, they will likely need their own vehicle (unless they drove). Public transportation can be amazing, but when you’re bringing gear with you, it can be safer for everyone involved to have a midsize sedan where bags can be stored in the trunk and out of sight. Some of my favorite rental companies are Avis and Enterprise as they’re the easiest and quickest to get you in a vehicle and on the road. 

Food: Lorraine, bring me tacos please. 

Lately it seems like food prices have gone through the roof no matter where you live. But everybody needs to eat at some point and the last thing we need is hangry out of state wedding photographers. In my experience, even fast food (think McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A) is about $40 for two people to eat. So when planning for whole days (or travel days at airports where food is triple the price) be sure to plan for about $100/person (two photographers would likely need about $200). I know this can feel like more than our weekly budget for groceries, and there are ways to save a little (I’ll touch on those next), but in the long run it’s better to have more than to run out. 

Dietary preferences and needs can be a harder budget to price. Various things will cost more when they need to be gluten free, dairy free or another allergen free. Similarly kosher foods can be more expensive in areas where they aren’t common. While the $100/day per person would hopefully cover it, your out of state wedding photographer will know their common costs when eating out vs cooking at home.

Lodging: Hotels, Motels and More

Unless you live in a mansion with a butler (if you do, please invite me to come visit you. I like my coffee with cream, sugar and caramel), it’s very likely that your vendor will need to secure lodging. If you’ve already secured a block of rooms for out-of-town guests, you can offer to add your out of state wedding photographer into that booking. I wouldn’t suggest just adding them; most of the time taking the initiative is appreciated but many vendors require they book their own lodging.  

Hotels/Motels are the most common source of lodging for out of state wedding photographers and also the one travel fee that varies more greatly than transportation. We’ve stayed in $35 motels as well as $300 hotels. Let us reassure you they are not all created equally. Our last $35 motel was in Port Townsend and basically a bed, bathroom and coffee maker. It was perfect for the single overnight we needed after a long adventure engagement session. Our hotel in Minnesota was much nicer, with a mini fridge, coffee maker, toaster and more onsite amenities (breakfast, fitness center, pool, etc.). It’s also important to consider the area you’re asking your photographer to stay in. I wouldn’t recommend a $35 motel in downtown Seattle, but in tiny Port Townsend it’s a decent place to stay! 

AirBnB, Vrbo and Private Lodging are becoming more and more common. Prices and fees on these also vary greatly based on the type of lodging (single room vs whole home) and location. They also have some great benefits that outweigh the costs and might help you cut down on other things. Remember when I mentioned those with dietary preferences/needs? Booking a whole house with a private kitchen will make meeting those needs easier. Plus some of the hosts take special care to make sure their guests feel welcomed and it’s a more personalized experience than a standard hotel/motel. I stayed in a private room in Connecticut and the host had a basket of snacks in the room when I arrived. Her puppers came to visit me while I was editing the wedding photos as well (it was around July 4th and there were a lot of fireworks in the neighborhood) which made me feel at home. 

Camping, glamping and HipCamp are some of my favorite ways to travel now. Whenever possible, we tow a trailer to a nearby campground a couple days ahead of time and stay through the weekend of the wedding. It takes us a little longer to get there (hello 55 mph), but it makes us more comfortable to have our own space and place for cooking. HipCamp is the AirBNB/Vrbo of the camping world where people will open their spaces and host guests in glamping tents, trailers, and more. Some offer power/sewer/water, and some are just dry camping. Personally, I prefer campsites with full shower facilities because we all want clean out of state wedding photographers. 

Six Important questions to ask your out of state wedding photographer: 

1. Is there a backup plan? If yes, have you ever had to use it? 
2. Will the final product still represent your style, if you’re unable to shoot our wedding? 
3. Who is responsible for booking your travel?
4. How many days in advance will you be arriving at our destination? 
5. Will you require lodging separate from the block of rooms we’ve secured? 
6. Are there differences in the post processing timeline due to post-wedding travel? 

My Answers: 

Is there a backup plan? 

Yes. As an out of state wedding photographer, we always have a backup plan. We even have them for my in-state weddings. You never know when an emergency is going to happen, requiring a substitution. I always network in the area of your wedding, long before I head to the airport. And by long, I mean the moment you hire me I will begin searching my current network as well as making new network connections. This way, I have a list of 2-3 photographers who can match my shooting style and take over in the instance of an emergency. 

Thus far, I’ve only had to use an alternate photographer twice (Jake was still able to attend, see the samples in the question below!) and one was in state due to illness (The other is a long story, coming soon). Ironically, the venues were both less than 20 minutes from us. Knock on wood, we haven’t missed an out of state wedding! In 2018, my Gracie broke her arm on July 2nd, and I was scheduled to fly out to Connecticut on July 5th. The concern that I would miss that vow renewal was definitely there! We managed to get her into surgery on July 3rd, and between Jake and our family, I was able to leave on the 5th and make it to the vow renewal with time to spare!

Will the final product still represent your style, if you’re unable to shoot our wedding?

Yes. I’m very picky about the photographers who will step in during my absences, and choose those who have a similar shooting style to mine. Once the wedding day is over, all image files are transferred to me and I take over the final editing and delivery of your wedding day photos. This way, your final product will match what you see in my portfolio. A big part of what you’re paying for is the final product I deliver, and I want to make sure your wedding day photos are exactly what you hoped for. 

Samples of weddings where I wasn’t able to photograph but Jake and our professional associates stepped in are:
Rachel + Mario at The Five2Five
Amanda + Mitchell at Five Sisters Farm

Who is responsible for booking your travel? 

Since 2023, we’ve chosen to book our own travel for various reasons. It gives us the flexibility to purchase the lowest price (I’m also a travel advisor, so I’m constantly researching pricing) with the best travel schedule, make sure we’re in town well before your wedding starts, and make changes as necessary during the trip. As a travel advisor, I’ve learned how much of a hassle it can be to change flights that were booked through someone else (like a third party). Up until travel is booked, we communicate with you about what we’re seeing and when we plan to book those tickets. We’ve found it easiest to book our own hotel, rental cars and flights in most instances.

How many days in advance will you arrive at our destination?

For Saturday weddings, we typically arrive on Thursday afternoon in order to do some scouting for locations and make sure we know where I’m going. This also gives us a full day on Friday to make sure all our gear is functioning properly, and ready to go for your wedding. For most other days of the week, I’ll arrive approximately 48 hours in advance. 

Will you require a hotel separate from the block of rooms we’ve secured? 

Definitely not! If you’ve already secured a block of rooms, let me know where and I’ll definitely take advantage of one of those. The only way I’d need a separate hotel is if there is a significant distance between the hotel you’ve secured and the venue(s). I prefer to stay as close to the venue as possible, for convenience! 

Are there differences in the post processing timeline due to post-wedding travel?

Not really. It might take an extra day or two for sneak peeks, however for the most part the post processing timeline stays the same. Sneak peeks will typically be posted within 3-5 days for destination weddings, and final galleries will arrive between 6-8 weeks post wedding. 

Hiring an out of state wedding photographer means you have a few extra things to think about, but overall, it’s worth it to have that dream vendor participate in your big day!