A wedding photographer website that shows whole days, not just highlights
Couples looking for a photographer have usually seen a hundred beautiful single frames on social media. What they can't tell from those is whether you'll cover a rainy register office, a dim reception and a nervous best man as well as the golden-hour portraits. A wedding photographer website should show whole days, explain packages, and turn interest into an enquiry with a date on it.
Full stories beat a highlights reel
A portfolio page of thirty best shots from thirty weddings tells couples you can take one great photo a day. A story of one wedding, morning prep to first dance, tells them what they'll actually receive. Show a handful of complete weddings, each with 40 to 80 images in order, and name the venue, the season and the light conditions.
Choose stories that answer the questions couples have: a winter wedding, a small civil ceremony, a big family party, a venue that's known for being dark. Ask each couple's permission before publishing, and respect anyone who'd rather their day stayed private.
In Anticode, keep weddings in a CMS collection with fields for couple's first names, venue, date, a short write-up and the photos, so each one gets its own page and you can add the latest wedding from the dashboard. Host your images and put their addresses in the collection's image field (uploads are used only by app builds); the design gate requires alt text on each one, so write a few words per photo ("confetti exit outside the church, overcast"), which helps search engines and screen-reader users.
Packages and what's included
Couples compare photographers on price more than they'll admit, and most want at least a starting figure before they enquire. A clear packages section saves both sides time:
| Detail | Say it plainly |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Hours, or "prep to first dance" |
| Photographers | One or two, and whether the second is named |
| Delivery | Number of edited images (a range is fine), how they're delivered, and how long it takes |
| Extras | Engagement shoot, albums, prints, travel |
| Booking terms | Retainer amount or share, when the balance is due, what happens if the date moves |
An enquiry form built around the date
Availability is the first filter, so the date comes first on the form. Then venue (or "not booked yet"), ceremony type, rough guest numbers, the package they're interested in, and an open question such as "what matters most to you about the photos?". That last answer tells you more than the rest combined. The standard contact form only has name, email and a message, so give these their own fields with a custom form tied to a site function (up to 30 plain-text fields).
Anticode saves each enquiry sealed in your dashboard and can email it to you, add a row to Google Sheets or Airtable as your enquiry tracker, or send it to HubSpot. Reply fast: couples often enquire with several photographers on the same evening. Put a line next to the form saying when you usually reply.
Retainers and payments through your own provider
Once a couple decides, the date is secured with a retainer and a contract. Anticode doesn't do contracts or e-signatures, but a payment link handles the money: create a link in Stripe Payment Links, PayPal or another supported provider, and send it with the contract or put a Pay your retainer button on a page you share with booked couples. Payment goes straight to your account. The get paid upfront workflow covers the order of contract, payment and confirmation.
Venue and travel information
Many couples search for a photographer by venue. A short page per venue you've worked at, with a few images and practical notes (where the light is good, wet-weather spots, the timings that work), is useful to couples and to search. Say where you're based, how far you'll travel without a fee and how travel is charged beyond that, including destination weddings if you take them.
Design: get out of the photos' way
Generic generated photography sites wrap images in decorative frames, heavy overlays and script fonts. The photos are the design. Luxury (Jost) gives wide spacing and a quiet, elegant type; Swiss (Inter Tight) suits a documentary style; Editorial (Geist) works for a photographer who writes about each wedding. Use one action colour, black or gold often works, for the Check your date button.
Limits worth knowing
- No client galleries. There are no private, password-protected galleries for delivering photos; use a client gallery service and link to it.
- No contracts or e-signatures.
- No availability calendar for dates. The booking calendar takes slots up to 120 days ahead, and weddings are booked a year or more out, so use the enquiry form for dates.
- No print or album shop. Sell albums by payment link or through your gallery service.
Questions people ask
Should a wedding photographer website show prices?
A starting price per package is usually enough to filter enquiries without locking you into a figure for every wedding.
Can couples check my availability online?
Not as a live calendar, as weddings are booked further ahead than the booking calendar's 120 days. Put the date first on the enquiry form and reply with availability.
Can I add new weddings myself?
Yes. Add an entry to the weddings collection in the dashboard, or ask for a change in a sentence and attach the photos.