Every now and again we get an enquiry we can't answer. It goes something like this:

Hey, we love your work. How much do you charge for a wedding in Cambridge on 22nd May?

You see, we'd love to tell you but the honest answer is we really don't know. There are a lot of factors that influence our prices, and until both you and we have talked it's difficult to give you any kind of answer. Not even a wild guess.

Here are some of the things that are worth mentioning in your enquiry.

1. The basic details

Specific information about the date, location and venue(s) is really important.

Do you mean 22nd May this year, next year or the year after? (We're sometimes asked to make bookings up to two years in advance so it's best to be specific).

We photograph weddings far and wide and get enquiries from UK and abroad. Do you mean Cambridge, England or Cambridge, Massachusetts? We'll work with both, but naturally there are different costs.

Civil ceremony for 20 guests in a farm? Catholic service for 120 guests in a High Church? Wedding for 500 guests in a temple? We'd love to cover your wedding whatever its location or affiliation, but it helps us to know what you're planning. We might be able to offer you a price incentive if your wedding is unusual and would work well for our portfolio. And some weddings may imply different levels of photography - from several hours to several days.

Do you want coverage all day or part of the day? Getting-ready shots of both, or one, or neither of you? Pure documentary, or formal groups as well? Bride/groom portraits? We can provide any and all of these things, but it helps if we know what's important to you.

2. Your budget

It helps also if you tell us the budget you're working with. We can meet a fairly wide range of needs by adjusting our blend of coverage, products and services. We work with a range of different suppliers (for example, we have multiple album partners that cover a wide range of price points) and can often size our services so they fit within your budget. It's much more efficient if you explain your budget and then see what we come back with. If we can't meet it we'll tell you. And if we can, then it saves you time that you could probably use elsewhere.

3. The type of products you'd like

This is one of the factors that most affects pricing because some products are more costly to produce than others. Prints are easier to produce than albums. Preparing a full disk of all images is more labour intensive than preparing a smaller set of selected images. Some types of albums can be produced digitally, and others may require assembly by hand. If we know your budget we can suggest appropriate products.

4. How to contact you

Let us know your phone number and a preferred time for a chat. We can answer any questions, tell you a bit about us and you can decide if you'd like to meet up in person.

5. How you found us

It's not mandatory and doesn't affect pricing, but it's always interesting. Tell us if you've been guests at a previous wedding we've shot (lots of our clients have) or if you're friends of our past clients. Tell us what you like about our work. We don't need flattery, but we do need to know we're right for you in terms of our photographic style.