WHY WE PHOTOGRAPH ONLY TEN WEDDINGS A YEAR (AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR YOU)
After photographing destination weddings across Portugal, Italy, and France as a luxury wedding photography studio based in the Algarve, and with work published in British Vogue, Vogue Arabia, and Tatler, we made a decision that surprises most people who reach out to us: we photograph a maximum of ten weddings each year. That number is not a marketing line. It is a structural choice, and it shapes everything about how we work with every couple on our calendar.
Why the Number Ten
The average wedding photographer in Portugal books between 30 and 50 weddings per year. At that volume, efficiency becomes the priority. You develop systems, delegate, deliver what was promised, and move on to the next booking. That is a valid business model, and some photographers execute it well.
We chose a different one.
Ten weddings a year means that when a couple contacts us in January about their September wedding, that date already carries weight. It is one of ten, not one of forty. The preparation, the site visits, the conversations about light and timing, the review of ceremony schedules and floor plans, all of that happens with depth, not in passing.
What Changes When the Calendar Is Tight
A limited calendar changes three things, in particular.
Preparation depth. Before every wedding, we research the venue's natural light at the relevant time of year, the direction of the afternoon sun, and where windows fall in relation to ceremony spaces and dining rooms. For a palace like Queluz, that means knowing the ballroom faces west and that the best light for formal portraits arrives around 6 PM in June. For an urban venue like the Grémio Literário in Lisbon, it means understanding how the chapel's interior light shifts between 5 and 7 PM, and how the reception rooms read under candlelight.
Presence on the day. When you photograph ten weddings a year, you are not running on muscle memory by October. Each day stays deliberate. We notice things that are easy to miss when you have done the same thing 35 times in a row: the way a guest watches the couple during the vows, the moment before the first dance, rather than the first dance itself, the thirty seconds when the bride checks the mirror before walking out.
Editorial control in the edit. Savannah edits every image in our archive personally. That is not something we emphasize in most of our communications, but it is the reason our work looks the way it does. A ten-wedding calendar makes that level of editorial care possible. Scaling the calendar would mean compromising the edit, and the edit is where the work actually comes alive.
What It Does Not Mean
We want to be clear about one thing: a limited calendar is not a scarcity tactic. We are not suggesting that because we photograph ten weddings a year, couples should feel pressure to act quickly. What we are saying is that the calendar exists for a reason, and the reason is craft, not marketing.
Some photographers limit their availability to create urgency. We limit ours because the work requires it. Those are different motivations, and we think couples can feel the difference when they look at the work and read the approach side by side.
We also want to be clear that ten weddings a year does not mean we are less engaged with the industry, less experienced, or less informed. We have photographed at more than twenty venues across Portugal, worked in Italy and France, collaborated with planners across four countries, and had our work selected for publication by editorial teams at some of the most discerning publications in fashion and lifestyle. The ten-wedding limit comes after years of experience, not instead of it.
What This Means for Couples Who Book With Us
Couples who book with us typically reach out twelve to eighteen months before their wedding. June and October close first. Full-day coverage in Portugal starts from €10,000.
Our calendar typically fills from around eighteen months out. October and June are usually the first to close. If you have a specific date in mind, contacting us early is worthwhile, not because of artificial pressure, but because the mathematics of ten weddings in a year are straightforward.
Every couple we work with has a pre-wedding call in which we go through the full day timeline together. We discuss light windows, venue logistics, which moments carry the most weight, and what the couple hopes the work will feel like a decade from now. That conversation is not a formality. It is how the day actually goes well.
We are based in the Algarve and travel throughout Portugal and Europe. Travel costs are included for weddings in Portugal; for European destinations, we discuss logistics directly with each couple. There are no hidden fees attached to destination work. Our starting investment for full-day coverage is €10,000.
How We Think About the Work
Ten weddings a year also reflects something about how we understand photography as a discipline. The photographs we make at each wedding are, in a real sense, irreplaceable. The day does not repeat. The light at 6:42 PM on that specific September evening will never exist again. That is not a poetic observation; it is a practical one, and it informs how we approach every hour of every wedding day.
We learned this from working in environments where the stakes were clear. A palace ceremony at Queluz, with work that went on to be published in Vogue Arabia, taught us that the editorial eye does not switch on when the cameras come out. It has to already be operating from the moment we arrive on site. That quality of attention is easier to sustain at ten weddings a year than at thirty.
If you want to understand more about our approach to working with couples, our approach to the work has more detail on how we built the studio and what guides the way we work.
Questions Couples Ask About Our Calendar
Do you ever make exceptions to the ten-wedding limit?
No. The limit exists because the work requires it. We do occasionally photograph editorial projects outside the wedding calendar, but those are structured differently and do not affect the ten-wedding commitment.
Does the calendar limit affect how you price your work?
Our starting investment for full-day coverage is €10,000. That reflects personal editing by the same photographer who shoots the day, thorough preparation, quality equipment, and the time each wedding receives when the calendar stays at ten. The calendar and the pricing are connected, but neither is a function of scarcity.
How far in advance should I reach out?
For most dates, twelve to eighteen months is the realistic window. Some couples contact us further out, particularly for June and October. We respond to all inquiries within 48 hours.
Can you photograph at venues you have not worked in before?
Yes. Part of our preparation for any new venue involves either a site visit or a detailed remote assessment of the space's light and logistics. We have photographed at more than twenty venues across Portugal, and new venues are a normal part of our work.
Are you available for smaller ceremonies or elopements?
We photograph a small number of intimate ceremonies alongside our main wedding calendar. The work is the same; the scale is different. If you are planning something smaller, tell us about your ceremony, and we can discuss what that looks like.
Do you take on weddings outside Portugal?
Yes. We have photographed in Italy and France, and we are open to European destinations where the light and the couple's vision are a good fit. We discuss logistics and travel on a case-by-case basis.
We are aware that most photographers do not talk about their calendars this way. We think it is worth being direct about it, because the couples who are right for us tend to be the ones who find that directness useful.
If you are currently exploring photographers for your wedding in Portugal, our Portugal wedding photography has more on the type of work we do and the couples we tend to work with best. After photographing more than sixty weddings in Portugal, Italy, and France, with work published in British Vogue, Vogue Arabia, and Tatler, we understand what it takes to make a wedding day count. When you are ready to have a conversation, tell us about your wedding, and we will respond within less than 24 hours.
