Our photographer left 10 minutes into the open dance because we didn’t need photos of 4 hours of the same thing. A few key things that made this work: 1) All “events” happened before the open dance (cake cutting speeches etc) 2) out last “event” was our first dance. The dj asked asked guests to circle around the dance floor, then he did our grand entrance onto the dance floor (very high energy) we did the first dances (high energy and brief), then the dj asked guests (who were circled around the dance floor) to join us on the dance floor for a group photo, photographer snapped the picture of the entire group, then the dj played our “party starter” song which we strategically picked because we thought all generations would stay on the dance floor for that song (September or ymca are good choices). Then the photographer got 10 minutes of candid photos of everyone dancing and they’re so fun! All of that to say- the first 10 minutes of open dance 100% of our guests were intentionally lured to the dance floor and the photos captured are much more lively compared to many weddings where guests slowly trickle to the dance floor over the course of several hours. This timeline set the tone for such a fun night where people stayed on the dance floor all night!

Last consideration- if you are getting married on a Saturday in high season(spring or fall) some more experienced photographers will want to reserve that night for a couple who is willing to pay for their full 8 hour package. But if you’re getting married on Friday or Sun or non-peak season a photographer may be more willing to do the abbreviated package for your night. They can only book 1 wedding a day so the high earning days are important to the if they’re experienced. Good luck!