Yes, I regularly photograph weddings that are more ‘party’ than ‘wedding’: a barn on the family farm, a pub after the registry office, a summer party in the woods, a celebration a year or two after you eloped. With no ceremony, sit-down meal or first dance to work around, I tend to spend the time mostly focused on your guests and the atmosphere. These are typcially shorter coverage packages. Four hours is often plemty to tell the whole story.
Here’s a fun statistic (is there such a thing?): Around one in seven couples who fill in my enquiry form describe their day as a party first and a wedding second. Below are the questions they ask me most, with the answers I mostly give them.
Do you photograph weddings with no ceremony?
Yes. Couples write to me about days like these all the time. A party in a barn to celebrate a marriage from a few years back, with no ceremony, no meal, no group photos and no white dress. A registry office in the morning with three people, then fifty friends in the local pub that night. A wedding with no sit-down meal at all, only long tables, good food and a summer party in the woods. One couple summed it up better than I could: “more of a big party with food, drinks, music and our favourite people.”
If you’re wondering whether your day counts as a wedding, it does to me. I photograph it the same way.
What do you photograph when there’s no ceremony or first dance?
The people. At a traditional wedding you plan the day around the set pieces. At a party your guests decide how it goes: the first arrivals hovering near the bar, your nan claiming the best seat, the moment someone plays the song everyone knows and the whole room gets up.
I move around all evening and photograph what happens, without posing anyone or stopping the party. You get the hugs at the door, the speeches if anyone stands up, the kids under the tables, the dancing and the two of you in the middle of it. On the day you only get a few minutes with each guest, which is why most party couples tell me the guests are the photos they want.
Do we need to do any posed photos?
No. If you want none, you’ll get none. Most couples still ask for a handful of family groups, because a party can be the only time the whole family is in one room, especially when people have flown in for it. Those take about fifteen minutes and we agree the list before the day.
If you’d like a few photos of the two of you, we can step outside for five minutes when the light is good and go straight back to the party. If posing is the part you dread, my guide for couples who hate having their photo taken explains how I keep it short.
How many hours of coverage does a party wedding need?
My Intimate package is four hours and often suits most parties. I’d start when the first guests arrive and stay until a few songs into the dancing. By the last hour of a long night the dance floor looks much as it did an hour earlier, so you can save that money.
Parties take time to warm up, so plan the hours around when your crowd gets going. If your party starts at five and you know nobody will dance before eight, start the coverage later. I’d rather be there for the busy part than for two hours of people finding their seats.
If you’re marrying at the registry office in the morning and celebrating in the evening, there’s often a long gap in between. Tell me the shape of your day and we’ll work out the best use of the hours on the planning call.
Which package suits a party wedding?
Intimate is the usual fit. It’s four hours of coverage for €1,850, with 150 to 200 photographs delivered within four weeks and ten 5x7 fine art prints, for weddings within an hour of Dublin. You can add extra hours at €400 each.
If your party follows a ceremony earlier in the day and you want all of it covered, Full Coverage (€3,750) runs from the morning to a few songs into the dancing. If you’re further from Dublin, or your day doesn’t fit any collection, tell me what you’re planning and I’ll put something together. The full list is on my packages page. My guide to what a wedding photographer costs in Ireland puts those prices in context.
You can also add analogue film. On Intimate it’s €400 and gives you around 30 photographs on 35mm and medium format alongside the digital gallery.
Can you photograph a pub, barn or house party at night?
Yes. Most of my weddings end on a dark dance floor, so a dim pub, a barn after sunset or a kitchen full of people at midnight is familiar ground. A party doesn’t need a castle or a grand staircase to look good in photographs. Your people carry it.
We’re already married and the party is at home. Do you cover that?
Yes. It comes up often. Couples living in Australia, London or the States tend to do the legal part where they live and come home for the party, because it’s the one time everyone they love is in one place. In that case I’d keep the fifteen minutes of family groups even if you skip everything else, because you may not get everyone together again for years.
If the legal part is in Dublin, my guides to small and intimate weddings and the Dublin registry office cover the ceremony side.
What should we tell you when we enquire?
Your date, the venue or the town, roughly how many people and what time you expect the party to get going. If you know a moment is coming, a speech from your dad, the song that gets everyone up, a surprise for your guests, tell me, so I’m in the right place when it happens. The enquiry form has a box for all of it.
Who will be photographing our party?
I’m Kevin Kheffache, a Dublin wedding photographer working across Ireland and abroad. I’m one of Ireland’s most internationally awarded documentary wedding photographers, ranked top 25 in the world and top 3 in Ireland by This Is Reportage and top 3 in Ireland by Fearless Photographers. I photograph weddings without posing or direction. At a party I get more unplanned moments than on any other kind of day, which suits that approach.
Frequently asked questions
Do you photograph wedding parties with no ceremony?
Yes. I photograph wedding celebrations with no ceremony, sit-down meal or first dance, including barn and pub parties and celebrations held after an elopement or a registry office wedding. I photograph your guests and the atmosphere without posing anyone.
How many hours of photography do we need for a wedding party?
Three to four hours suits most parties, from when the first guests arrive to a few songs into the dancing. If your crowd won’t get going until later in the evening, start the coverage later.
How much does a photographer cost for a wedding party in Ireland?
My Intimate collection is €1,850 for four hours within an hour of Dublin, with 150 to 200 photographs and ten fine art prints. Extra hours are €400 each. Longer collections run from €2,850 to €7,950.
Do we have to do group photos at a party?
No. Group photos are optional. Most couples choose a handful of family groups, which take about fifteen minutes, because a party is often the only time the whole family is together.
Can you photograph only the evening party?
Yes. Coverage can start later in the day, so you can book the hours around when the party is at its busiest.
Can we have film photography at our party?
Yes. You can add analogue film to any collection. On Intimate it’s €400 for around 30 photographs on 35mm and medium format alongside the digital gallery.