UK couples spend an average of £1,484 on a wedding photographer and £1,514 on a videographer, according to Bridebook’s 2026 data, so booking both comes to about £3,000. In London and the South East, expect several hundred pounds more for each. This guide explains where those averages come from, what pushes a quote up or down, what each budget level typically buys, and whether booking one team for both saves you money.
The short answer: Bridebook’s 2026 averages are £1,484 for photography and £1,514 for film, with most couples paying between £500 and £2,500 for each. London and South East prices run higher. Hours of coverage, crew size, the number of events, the edits and albums you choose, and your date all move the price.
We are a photography and film studio in Beckenham, on the London and Kent border, and we have spent more than a decade at weddings of every size and faith. We don’t quote our own prices in the journal (you’ll find them on our investment page), but we can tell you honestly what the industry figures mean and what you should be comparing.
How much does the average wedding cost in the UK?
The Bridebook UK Wedding Report 2026, based on more than 7,000 UK couples, puts the average wedding at £20,604. That covers the wedding day only, not the honeymoon or the engagement ring. A quarter of couples spend £10,000 or less, and a quarter spend more than £26,000.
Hitched publishes its own figure from a separate survey of 2,020 newlyweds. Its January 2026 report puts the average UK wedding at £21,990. The two surveys use different samples, so taken together the average UK wedding sits at roughly £20,600 to £22,000.
Within those budgets, Bridebook’s report says photography and video together take up about 10%. On its average wedding, that’s around £2,000. That figure is pulled down by the many couples who don’t book film at all, which is why the combined spend for couples who book both is closer to £3,000.
Average wedding photographer and videographer prices in 2026
Bridebook publishes separate averages for each service, updated in July 2026. They are the clearest UK supplier figures available.
| Service | UK average (Bridebook 2026) | Typical UK range | London and South East (Bridebook estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wedding photographer | £1,484 | £500–£2,500 | Average about £1,700–£2,000; typical £700–£3,000+ |
| Wedding videographer | £1,514 | £500–£2,500 | Average about £1,800–£2,200; typical £700–£3,000+ |
| Both, booked separately | About £3,000 (the two averages added) | £1,000–£5,000 | About £3,500–£4,200 |
Bridebook also finds that over 90% of couples hire a photographer, but only about one in three book a videographer.
Film averages slightly more than photography because a film takes longer to edit: sound, colour grading and music as well as picture.
Each service has its own deep-dive guide:
- Wedding photographer prices in detail, with prices by hours of coverage, second shooters and albums.
- Wedding videographer prices in detail, covering crew, audio, edit lengths, same-day edits, drone and multi-day films.
Why do wedding photographers and videographers cost more in London and the South East?
The whole wedding costs more here, not just the photographer. Bridebook’s 2026 report puts the average London wedding at £26,986, 31% above the UK figure, and the South East at £22,637, 10% above it.
Hitched’s survey shows the same pattern with different numbers. It puts London at £24,622, about 12% above its UK average, and the South East at £23,589.
For photographers and filmmakers specifically, Bridebook estimates London and South East averages of about £1,700 to £2,000 for photography and £1,800 to £2,200 for film. These are Bridebook’s estimates rather than survey results, so read them as a guide.
The reasons are practical:
- Demand. London and the home counties have more weddings, more venues and more couples chasing the same summer Saturdays.
- Longer days. City weddings often involve travel between a register office, a place of worship and a reception venue, which adds hours.
- Bigger celebrations. Many of the weddings we cover in and around London are large or multi-event celebrations, which need more coverage and often a second photographer or camera operator.
Our travel is included within 50 miles of our studio in Beckenham, which covers London and much of Kent, Surrey and Essex. Further afield, studios usually add travel and sometimes accommodation, so check whether your quote includes it. For weddings overseas, our guide to taking a UK photo and film team abroad explains what a travel quote should cover.
What drives the price of wedding photography and film?
Two quotes can differ by thousands of pounds and both be fair. These are the things that move the price.
Hours of coverage
Coverage is the single biggest factor. A register office ceremony with portraits can be covered in two hours, our minimum. Most couples we work with choose six to ten hours, from getting ready to the first dance. Every extra hour also means more images to edit or footage to review.
Crew size
One photographer and one filmmaker suit most weddings. A second shooter or second camera operator lets you have both sets of preparations, two angles on the ceremony, and candid guest coverage while the couple are away for portraits. Bridebook’s guidance puts a second photographer at £400–£600 extra, and suggests one for weddings of 80 or more guests. It puts a second video operator at £300–£600 extra.
Number of events
Many UK weddings are a single day. Many Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and African weddings are several events across several days: a mehndi, a sangeet, a haldi or maiyan, the ceremony and the reception, sometimes with a civil ceremony weeks earlier. Studios usually price these event by event, as we do, so the total depends on which events you choose and how long each one runs. We go through this in detail in our guide to photo and film costs for a multi-day Asian wedding.
Edit type and film length
For photography, the edit is usually a full gallery of individually edited images. For film, the edits vary much more: a highlight film of a few minutes, the ceremony in full, the speeches uncut, a longer feature film, or a same-day edit shown at the reception. Each extra edit is days of work. Our guide to what goes into a wedding film explains each one.
Albums and prints
A designed, printed album is often the largest optional extra in a photography quote, and parent albums add to it. Bridebook’s guidance shows albums usually appear in packages at the top of the price range. Our guide to lay-flat, fine-art and parent albums explains what changes the cost.
Season and day of the week
Summer Saturdays are the dates every supplier is asked for first. Bridebook’s 2026 report found that 47% of 2025 weddings were on a Saturday, 17% on a Friday and 27% from Monday to Thursday. Across whole weddings, June was the most expensive month in the report and January the cheapest. Many studios, including ours, charge less for Monday to Thursday weddings and for winter dates.
Experience, skill and the hours you don’t see
The day itself is only part of the work. Bridebook estimates that a photographer charging £1,500 or more may spend 40 to 60 hours on one wedding, once you count meetings, planning, travel, the shoot, selecting images, editing and delivery. Film usually takes longer. We break those hours down in where your money goes when you book photo and film.
What each budget level typically buys
The table below adds together Bridebook’s separate guidance for photography and film, so you can see what a combined budget usually covers across the UK industry. These are typical patterns, not fixed rules, and London prices sit towards the top of each band.
| Combined budget for both | Photography usually covers | Film usually covers | What’s often left out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under £2,000 | 4–6 hours, one photographer | 2–4 hours, one filmmaker | Preparations, the evening, a second shooter, a longer film |
| £2,000–£3,000 | 6–8 hours, one photographer | 4–6 hours, one filmmaker | The first dance or evening party, albums |
| £3,000–£6,000 | About 8 hours, often preparations to first dance | 6–10 hours, highlight film plus ceremony and speeches | Second shooter or operator on some packages, albums at the lower end |
| £6,000 and above | 10 hours or more, one or two photographers, an album | 10 hours or more, often two operators and a longer feature film | Very little, though multi-day events are priced on top |
A few points the table can’t show:
- Short coverage can be good value. If your ceremony is at a register office and you’re having a small lunch afterwards, two or three hours of photography and a short film of the ceremony and speeches may be all you need.
- The cheapest band often loses the speeches. Speeches usually fall in the late afternoon or early evening, so short film coverage tends to miss them unless you plan for it. Our simple wedding film is built around the ceremony and speeches for exactly that reason.
- Multi-day weddings sit outside these bands. Three or four events can each cost as much as a short wedding.
If you’re working to a tighter figure, our article on how to spend less on photo and film without regretting it goes through the trade-offs we would make, and the ones we wouldn’t.
Is it cheaper to book a photographer and videographer together?
Often, yes. Studios that offer both usually price a combined booking below the cost of the two services booked separately, because one team plans once, travels once and meets you once. Booking our wedding photography and wedding films together costs less than booking them separately.
Price isn’t the only saving:
- One plan. One timeline, one shot list and one family photo list, rather than two suppliers working from separate notes.
- No clashes. A photographer and filmmaker who work together know where each other will stand in the aisle, at the mandap or by the top table, so neither ends up in the other’s shot.
- Matching style. Your photographs and film share a look, colour and pace.
- Light that works for both. Stills flash can spoil video, so a combined team agrees how to light the evening for both.
There are good reasons to book separately, too. You may have fallen for one photographer who doesn’t offer film, or you may have booked a photographer before deciding you wanted a film at all. In that case, introduce your two suppliers before the day and ask them to agree positions for the ceremony and speeches. We look at both options in our guide to booking your photographer and filmmaker as one team.
Do we need a photographer and a videographer?
Most couples book a photographer as a matter of course. Film is the question. Photographs give you the moments; film gives you the voices: your vows, the speeches, your grandparents laughing, the music you walked in to. In our experience, couples who decide against film usually do so for budget reasons rather than because they don’t want one.
If the full cost of both is out of reach, a simple film of the ceremony and speeches keeps the words safe for much less than a full-day production. We look at when film is worth it, and when it isn’t, in our honest answer to whether you need a videographer.
Are Friday or weekday weddings cheaper?
For venues and for many photographers and filmmakers, yes. With nearly half of weddings on a Saturday, studios can afford to charge less for the days that would otherwise go unbooked. Monday to Thursday and winter weddings cost less with us, and we often have midweek availability at shorter notice. Our winter weddings page explains how a short day changes the photography, too.
Booking ahead helps as well. Bridebook’s guidance suggests booking 18 to 24 months ahead for a popular summer Saturday, and 6 to 9 months for an off-peak date. Our guide on how far ahead to book your photographer and videographer explains how to time it.
How to compare wedding photography and film quotes
Bridebook’s report found that 88% of couples expect to find prices online, but a price on its own tells you little. Before you compare two quotes, check that they cover the same things:
- Hours. When does coverage start and end, and what does an extra hour cost on the day?
- Crew. How many photographers and filmmakers, and are they the people whose work you have seen?
- Events. For a multi-day wedding, is each event listed with its own hours?
- Photography deliverables. Roughly how many edited images, how they’re delivered, and when.
- Film deliverables. The length of the highlight film, whether the ceremony and speeches come in full, and whether music is licensed so you can share it.
- Audio. Who is mic’d for the vows and speeches, and how the filmmaker records the speeches.
- Albums. Included, optional, or quoted separately? How many spreads?
- Evening extras. If you were planning a photo booth, compare it with guest portraits by your own photographer before you book both.
- Travel. Included, or added at cost?
- VAT. A business with taxable turnover over £90,000 must register for VAT and add 20%. Ask whether the figure includes it.
- Payment terms. How much the booking fee is, when the balance is due, and what happens if you move or cancel.
- Delivery times. Our galleries usually arrive within four weeks and films within two to three months, but timescales vary widely, especially in peak season.
Our list of 30 questions to ask your wedding photographer and videographer goes further, including the questions to ask about your ceremony and culture.
From behind the camera
When couples send us another studio’s quote to compare, the difference is rarely the price per hour. It’s what the hours cover. A quote that looks cheaper often stops before the speeches, leaves out the preparations or has one filmmaker where the ceremony really needs two angles. I always ask couples to take their timeline, mark the moments they would hate to lose, and then check that every quote they have covers those moments.
The other thing we see is couples who book a photographer, set the budget aside, and only think about film a few months before the wedding. By then, many filmmakers are booked for summer Saturdays. If there’s any chance you’ll want film, ask about it when you book your photographer. Even if you don’t book it then, you’ll know what it costs and whether the same team can do both.
For multi-day weddings, the biggest saving usually comes from planning hours event by event rather than booking a full day for everything. A mehndi at home might need three hours of photography and no film, while the reception needs both from the entrance to the first dance. That decision is worth more than any discount.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a wedding photographer and videographer cost in the UK?
According to Bridebook’s 2026 figures, couples spend an average of £1,484 on a photographer and £1,514 on a videographer, so about £3,000 for both. Typical prices for each run from about £500 to £2,500. Expect to pay more in London and the South East, and for long days, two-person crews, several events and albums.
Is it cheaper to book a photographer and videographer together?
Often, yes. Many studios that offer both price a combined booking below the cost of the two separately, and one team saves on planning, travel and coordination. Ours costs less than booking separately. Compare like for like, though: check the hours, crew and edits in each quote before you decide on price alone.
What percentage of the wedding budget goes on photography and film?
Bridebook’s 2026 report puts photography and video together at about 10% of the total wedding budget. Its average wedding costs £20,604, so that is roughly £2,000. The figure is an average across all couples, and only about one in three book film at all, so couples who book both usually spend more.
Are weekday and winter weddings cheaper for photography and film?
Usually. Summer Saturdays are the dates every supplier is asked for first, so many studios charge less for Monday to Thursday and for winter dates. We do too. Bridebook’s 2026 report found that 27% of 2025 weddings took place from Monday to Thursday, the highest weekday share outside the Covid years.
Do wedding photography and film quotes include VAT?
It depends on the supplier. A business with taxable turnover over £90,000 must register for VAT and add 20%, while smaller studios do not charge it. Two quotes that look similar can differ by a fifth once VAT is added, so always ask whether the price you are given includes it.
Keep reading
- How much does a wedding photographer cost in the UK?: prices by hours of coverage, plus second shooters, albums and how many hours you need.
- How much does a wedding videographer cost in the UK?: what crew, audio, edit length and extras such as drone or a same-day edit add.
- One studio or two?: the practical pros and cons of booking your photographer and filmmaker together.
Get a price for your date
Every wedding is different, so we price by the hours and events you need. Tell us your date, your venues and which parts of the day matter most, and get your price for photography, film or both. If you would rather talk it through first, book a call or ring us on 07958 351 282.
