WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES

Karl Drage, Northampton Wedding Photographer

My name is Karl Drage and I am a Northamptonshire-based wedding photographer. I use the medium of photographs to tell as much of the story of your day as I can, and I absolutely LOVE it! This page of my site is all about the wedding photography packages I offer.

Classic black and white bride and groom shot with a flowing veil – Northampton Wedding Photographer

Personal service

I provide a very personal service to my couples, many of whom can feel quite nervous about being in front of the camera. It’s very important to me that you feel at ease. If that’s not the case, it WILL come through in the pictures. I will do all I can to ease your stresses rather than add to them. Hopefully we can have some laughs along the way, too. Many of my past clients say that by the end of a wedding they feel like I’m part of their family, and many life-long friendships have been created.

I LOVE a sunset – Northampton Wedding Photographer packages

Capturing the magic

I understand that it’s likely that you’ve been thinking about your wedding day for many years. You’ve probably spent a lot of money turning that dream into a reality. It therefore makes perfect sense to me that you would want your treasured memories to be recorded in the best and most comprehensive way possible.

A fairytale wedding at Sedgebrook Hall near Northampton

OUT OF THE DARK

It would be fair to say that my style has developed a lot in recent times. The acquisition of additional portable lighting sources has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for my clients and I.

Playing around with lights after dark at a stunning Stapleford Park Hotel wedding – Leicestershire Wedding Photography

STRIKING A BALANCE

I still consider myself first and foremost to be a storyteller, capturing all the key parts of your day as they unfold naturally with minimal intervention. Where things have changed somewhat is that I now might want to whisk you away two or three times during the day as the light alters. In fact, some of my favourite pictures from a wedding day are now often coming after the sun has disappeared altogether. Even rainy day weddings can produce great pictures, if you’re prepared to get out there in it!

Smoke grenades combined with studio lights and the dark are a winning combination for something a little different on your wedding day!

THE POSED

Couples I’ve worked with describe me as being relaxed yet professional, instilling a comfort-level that enables natural images to flow. I have quite often found myself working with couples who have told me they don’t like having their picture taken. Usually well before the end of their wedding day, they’ve become so comfortable with it that they’re requesting additional shots.

Two brides pose in a field of sunflowers – Kettering Wedding Photography

THE CANDID

As well as playing around with lighting, I love to put on a long lens and wander around in the background, capturing all those lovely, fun interactions between your guests. The photos are so natural, and every bride and groom wants to see pictures of their family and friends having fun at their wedding. I always set myself the challenge of producing at least one nice picture of each of them, and I normally come pretty close to delivering on it, too.

Ultimately, my aim is to produce pictures that you want to look at again and again.

Bride and Groom pose in the most gorgeous golden autumn light on their wedding day

If you think I might be someone you could get along with, I would LOVE to hear about your plans for your wedding day and for you to consider allowing me to be a part of it.

My off-the-shelf wedding packages come with sparklers included as standard. It makes for such a lovely shot!

The information below and on the links that follow will give you a fairly comprehensive insight into the way I work with my wedding photography clients. Allow me to walk you through some of those processes and introduce the packages I’m currently offering:

Time-based Wedding Photography Packages

Are you not getting married until late-afternoon? Do you not want photographs of the bridal preparations? I recognise that all weddings are different, as are the requirements of those getting married. Therefore, the basis for my wedding photography packages is the time-frame for which you require my services.

You have the option to choose from one of my time-based “all-in” packages (which offer considerable savings), or you can have the flexibility to build your own. For peak season dates (Fridays to Sundays, 1st April to 30th September), the minimum booking duration I can consider is 8 hours. If you are getting married outside those days or dates, you are very welcome to enquire about shorter-duration bookings, but please understand they will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you are still at an early stage of your wedding planning, please do not think that any timings you may book initially have to be set in stone. If you only book 8 hours at the off and suddenly realise you need 10, we can amend that right up until your big day itself. I won’t be making plans for the end of your booking!

The first dance as husband and wife – by Kettering wedding photographer Karl Drage

As a rough guide, if you wanted your bridal preparations covering, I would typically expect to arrive sometime between one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours before your scheduled ceremony start time, depending upon the distance to the ceremony venue from the place you’re getting ready. Additionally, some brides are more comfortable being photographed at an earlier stage of the bridal prep than others. It’s entirely up to you. Finishing touches to hair, make-up and being secured into the dress, are all lovely shots, as a bare minimum.

If you wanted coverage purely from the ceremony onwards, I would plan to arrive around 45 minutes ahead of your scheduled ceremony start time. This enables me to record some of the guest arrivals and capture some moments between the groom and his party. How long you require me for after that is entirely down to you.

Bridal prep always produces lots of lovely images, and it’s a great opportunity for you to get used to the camera!

BESPOKE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES – FROM £1449

For those of you wanting the works, my off the shelf package comes with all of the following elements included as standard:

• Pre-wedding consultation, either in person or via Zoom, if that’s more convenient for you
• An engagement/pre-wedding shoot (within 30 miles of NN14 4HY; includes 10x 18″x12″ prints and the high-resolution digital files edited in both colour and black & white)
• Pre-wedding venue walkaround (always useful for reacquainting ourselves with one another and making sure we each have the same/similar vision of the day)
• Up to 100 miles of travel from NN14 4HY (for both venue walkaround and on the wedding day itself)
• Images edited in both colour and black & white
• A password-protected web gallery (which you are welcome to share with friends and family, if you so wish)
• 5x 18″x12 prints of your choice
• Your choice of either: a) a large branded wooden presentation box, branded wooden USB stick containing all of the high-resolution digital files from your wedding day, edited in both black and white and colour + 20x 12″x8″ prints of your choice OR b) a small wooden presentation box (a range of styles are available), USB stick (options depend upon the style of presentation box chosen) containing all of the high-resolution digital files from your wedding day, edited in both black and white and colour + 50x 6″x4″ prints of your choice
• 2x smoke grenades (a range of colours are available)
• 60x 16″ sparklers

Beyond that, the bespoke packages are time-based. Don’t worry if you don’t have exact timings at this stage, though. You can always upgrade your package at a later date. There is also the option to add a premium photo book (90 pages for 8 hours, 100 pages for 10 hours & 120 pages for 12 hours).

The prices quoted below are for a peak-season (1st April to 30th September) wedding taking place on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Discounts may be available at other times, and shorter 4-hour bookings may be considered during off-peak periods.

Wedding Photography Package Pricing September 2023

My style is predominantly documentary, but I do love taking couples portraits a couple of times during the wedding day, too.

BUILD YOUR OWN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGE – FROM £1045

One of the best things about weddings today is your ability to shape your day to be precisely what you want it to be, and my wedding photography services are no different.

Build your own wedding photography packages start at £1045 for 8-hours of coverage on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between 1st April and 30th September. Shorter bookings *MAY* be considered outside of those times.

Price list:

• First two hours of coverage – £325 (includes pre-wedding consultation, venue walkaround and up to 30 miles of travel each way during the venue walkaround and on the wedding day itself)
• Additional hours – £120 per hour
• Engagement/pre-wedding shoot – £275 (within 30 miles of NN14 4HY; includes 10x 18″x12″ prints of your choice and high-resolution digital downloads)
• Small wooden presentation box / USB stick – £200 (please see below for options)
• Large wooden presentation box / USB stick – £200
• 2x smoke grenades – £20 (colours of your choice – wide selection available)
• 30x 16″ sparklers + matches – £20
• 5x 18″x12″ prints – £50
• 30x 12″x8″ prints – £150
• Additional mileage – 50p per mile

Sometimes I’ll go for a wander on a wedding day and just happen upon the cutest moments – Buckinghamshire documentary wedding photography

Second Shooter / Assistant

I have now photographed a few weddings with an assistant/second shooter. It has meant that:

• I can cover parts of the day that would otherwise be difficult (eg being with the bride and groom at the same time before the ceremony)
• It provides additional angles from other parts of your day (eg the ceremony, which is particularly useful where your venue/officiant does not enable me to move around)
• There’s the scope to setup different/more complex posed shots that would be difficult to achieve on my own, meaning you get even more lovely pictures from your big day

While it remains entirely your decision as to whether you want that second person present, I do recommend it for larger weddings and at certain, slightly more challenging, venues.

You can add a second photographer to your booking for £30 per hour (minimum 8 hours).

Reflective surfaces make for great wedding photographs, too! This piano top is in the church of St Clement Danes, Central London.

USB Stick & Presentation Box OPTIONS

Regardless of whichever wooden presentation box you choose, all the high-resolution edited images (in both colour and black & white) from the day will be copied on to your USB stick. You can print these as much as you want for family and friends.

Small BRANDED WOODEN PRESENTATION BOX, BRANDED WOODEN USB STICK + 50x 6″x4″ prints

LARGE BRANDED WOODEN PRESENTATION BOX, BRANDED WOODEN USB STICK + 20x 12″x8″ prints

SMALL WOODEN BOX, LASER-CUT HEARTS, BRANDED WOODEN USB STICK + 50x 6″x4″ PRINTS

Photo books

I have chosen a rather different style of photo book for my premium wedding photography packages to those most supply. The simple reason for that is that the photo books that I use start at 90 pages and go up to 120 pages. I just feel that they fit much better with my photographic style and aim of telling as much of the story of your day as possible. From feedback I’ve received, people seem to really love the montages of candid images of people having a great time that I have the space to fit in, which would otherwise not be there.

The books measure 30cms x 30cms and are supplied in a box. The cover is a padded hard-cover and has a silk feel.

This is a low-resolution digital version of an actual photo book from a real wedding I photographed at Sedgebrook Hall near Northampton.

Additional Copies

Should you wish to purchase additional copies of the photo book for other family members at the time you book my services, you can do so at the following current rates (prices include P&P). Please note that these are subject to change (prices correct at 05/05/2022):

90 pages : £180 per copy
100 pages : £200 per copy
120 pages : £235 per copy

I firmly believe that this extra space enables me to truly capture the real essence of your wedding day.

More Information

For more information on what happens when you decide you want me to photograph your wedding, please see: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY by Karl Drage – How I Work

While every wedding is different, there are certain elements which are usually broadly similar. Take a look at a typical wedding day to get a feel for the primarily documentary wedding photography style I’m likely to employ for your big day.

There’s much more work involved in photographing a wedding than just rocking up and taking the pictures. I’ve put together this guide to explain why wedding photography can seem expensive but it’s really not.

And if you are still on the hunt for your perfect snapper, here’s a list of questions you should ask a wedding photographer before making your mind up.

A bride and groom share a chair and an embrace at a Sedgebrook Hall wedding

Get in Contact

If you’d like to enquire about my availability, to discuss other wedding photography packages or if you have any queries, please use one of the methods on the Contact Us page to get in touch.
While I am based in Northamptonshire, I am willing to travel out of area, though please be aware this may bring with it an additional cost.

What my clients say:

02/10/2021

Lisa & Paul

"Karl is much more than a photographer. He truly sees people and tells a story. Both the formal and the more candid shots were so well taken and edited. The composition of the long shots to capturing the look in someone's eye all taken perfectly. I cannot wait until we have them in our hands. Thank you Karl! You were more than our photographer that day! x"

Lisa West

14/04/2018

Claire & Rob

"He turned up on time well dressed and aside the large camera blended right in to our day. Our guests believed he was a family friend. He socialised, took time and patience with our children, and my husband's need to make me laugh. He calmed my worries, picked confetti from my hair and stopped people standing on my dress, all while making us feel at ease and taking incredible pictures. This man made our wedding easy, stress-free and will help us remember it for the rest of our lives. He arrived as our photographer and left as our friend. One of the most heartfelt thank yous I have ever given… Thank you Karl."

Claire Gascoigne

20/09/2020

Holly & Dan

"Karl was fantastic. From the original meeting to our wedding day, he was professional and very supportive. We would highly recommend him."

Holly S

17/08/2022

Kate & Stuart

"Karl Drage is without a doubt the best Tradesperson/Professional that I've ever had the pleasure to hire the services of."

Stuart Willows

October 12,2019

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Gloria+Nate