# Wedding photography > Wedding photography in Japan starts with your venue’s rules: shrine ceremonies, hotel chapels and restaurant receptions each set their own, which we get in writing. The base covers the ceremony or the portraits after it; preparation and the reception are added by the hour. This page as HTML: https://www.komorebis.cc/services/wedding-photography - Type: Photo · Weddings & pre-wedding - From: $1,900 - Duration: 30 min - You receive: 15 edited photos within 3 weeks ## What is included - 15 edited photos - 5 preview photos within 48 hours - Venue photography rules confirmed in writing beforehand - Full private online gallery within 3 weeks ## Add-ons - Kimono rental & dressing — +$55 - Hair & make-up artist — +$100 - Extra hour — +$150 - Reel add-on — +$120 - Drone add-on — +$235 - Express 24 h delivery — +$80 - Mandarin-speaking assistant — +$70 ## Check the venue contract first Who it suits. This is for couples holding a wedding in Japan with guests: a hotel chapel, a shrine ceremony, a restaurant reception, or a mix of the three. A wedding in Tokyo usually means a hotel, with a chapel on an upper floor, a ballroom for the reception and an in-house photography team the hotel expects you to use. So the first job is not shooting but reading your contract with you. The contract. Many Japanese wedding venues and hotels require couples to use their in-house photographer, or allow an outside one only for a bring-in fee (mochikomi-ryo) that can be tens of thousands of yen. Send us the clause and we will tell you what it means in practice, before you sign anything with us. What the day is legally. In Japan the ceremony does not marry you; registration at a ward or municipal office does, with documents from each partner’s embassy. Many couples marry legally at home and hold the celebration here, which does not change how the day is photographed but does change what it needs to include. Planning the coverage. The base 30 minutes covers one key moment, usually the ceremony or the vows and rings, shot from the positions the venue allows — in a hotel chapel often the back and one side aisle. A full day is built with extra hours at $150 each: preparation and details such as rings, shoes and invitations; a portrait window between ceremony and reception; and the reception (hiroen), which commonly lasts about two and a half hours, with speeches, a cake cutting and an outfit change (oiro-naoshi) in the middle. From preparation to the last toast, that adds up to about five hours. Shrine, chapel or restaurant. Shrine ceremonies have stricter rules than hotel chapels: photography inside the main hall is often limited to set moments or not allowed, flash is usually forbidden, and the procession under red umbrellas is shot from places the shrine permits. Hotel chapels run several ceremonies a day, so the time slot is fixed by the venue months in advance and we fit around it. Restaurants are the most flexible, but the room is smaller, so we agree where to stand with the manager. The portrait window. From Marunouchi hotels the Tokyo Station plaza and Gyoko-dori are minutes away; from Ginza or Shiodome, Hamarikyu or the palace moat. In winter, sunset around 4:30 pm sets the window, so outdoor portraits come before the reception; in summer we use the cooler end of the afternoon. Season. April to May and October to November are the most requested months. June stays popular despite the rainy season because ceremonies are indoors; we keep a covered portrait location for it. Group photos and video. Send a list of the group photographs you need, with names, before the day: Japanese receptions run to a tight timetable and group photos are where time disappears. If you also book the wedding film, the photographer and videographer agree positions in advance so neither ends up in the other’s frame. What is included. You receive 5 preview photos within 48 hours, enough to share with family the next day, and the full set of 15 edited photos in a private online gallery within 3 weeks. Venue and bring-in fees are not included; a Mandarin-speaking assistant is $70. ## Places - [Tokyo](https://www.komorebis.cc/services/wedding-photography/tokyo.md) ## Frequently asked questions ### Will our venue let an outside photographer work? Often only for a fee, and sometimes not at all, so check your contract first. Many Japanese hotels and wedding venues require their own photographer or charge an outside-vendor fee (mochikomi-ryo). Send us the venue’s name and we will ask what they allow before you sign anything with us. ### How many hours of coverage do we need? About five hours for everything from preparation to the last toast; one to two for the ceremony and portraits only. The base 30 minutes covers the ceremony; each extra hour is $150, and a Japanese reception alone commonly runs about two and a half hours. ### Can you photograph a shrine ceremony? Usually from set positions only, and some shrines forbid photographs during the rite inside the hall. We follow the priest’s instructions on the day and plan portraits in the grounds before and after, where there is more freedom. ### Do you work with our wedding planner? Yes, and it is the first thing we do. We agree the timeline, the photographer’s positions and the portrait window with your planner, so nothing important happens while we are in a corridor. --- Komorebi · https://www.komorebis.cc