Booking a Wedding Photographer in Lebanon: A Pre-Contract Guide

Wedding photography is the only line item from the day that you'll revisit for the rest of your life. Lebanese weddings often span dawn-to-midnight, with two ceremonies, multiple venues and large guest lists — the brief is more demanding than it looks.

Six clarifying questions

1. Show me the last three full weddings you shot. Cherry-picked Instagram squares hide weaknesses; full galleries reveal them.
2. Will you be the photographer on the day? Some studios sell a famous name but send a junior.
3. Second shooter included? Two angles are non-negotiable for the church/reception split.
4. Deliverables and timeline. Number of edited high-resolution photos, sneak-peek date, full gallery date, album hand-over date.
5. Raw files? Most photographers don't include raws by default — agree the policy in writing.
6. Back-up policy. Dual card slots in-camera, off-site backup the night of the wedding — this is what saves you when a memory card fails.

Pricing structure

• Day rate or package — packages usually bundle pre-wedding, civil/religious ceremony, dinner and after-party.
• Engagement / "save the date" session — sometimes free with the wedding booking.
• Albums — number of pages, paper weight, cover material. Albums are usually quoted separately.
• Travel — venues in Bekaa, Faqra or down south often carry a travel/lodging supplement.

The contract

Insist on a written contract covering deposit (typically 30–50%), cancellation policy, force-majeure clause, image-usage rights for both you and the photographer's portfolio, and the data-protection backup window.