Book a Wedding Photoshoot
in Sarlat & the Dordogne

Professional photoshoots in Sarlat start from €279. Packages vary by duration and the number of edited photos — an hour covers the old town on foot, from the Place de la Liberté up the Rue des Consuls. Two hours or more is the sensible choice if you want the Dordogne valley too, since Beynac, La Roque-Gageac and Marqueyssac are all a half-hour drive out.

In town, the Place de la Liberté, the Rue des Consuls and the lane past the Maison de La Boétie, all in the same ochre limestone under grey lauze roofs. In the valley, Beynac castle on its rock, La Roque-Gageac pressed between the cliff and the river, the clipped boxwood belvedere at Marqueyssac and the wide view from Domme at the top of its bastide.

Early morning in the old town: the stone is warm at first light and the lanes are empty, while the Saturday market fills the main square with people and awnings from about eight. In the valley the last hour before sunset is the one, with the river flat and the castles catching side light. September and early October are the softest months; January is cold and many sites close.

Yes — Beynac, Castelnaud, Marqueyssac and the Domme belvedere are all ticketed, and most close for part of January and February, so check opening times before you plan a route. Parking is the real constraint: the valley villages have small lots that fill by mid-morning in July and August. Going early solves both problems, and the light is better anyway.

For peak-season dates — May through September, and especially Saturdays in Provence, the Loire or on the Riviera — book 6-12 months ahead. The best-reviewed photographers are often the first vendors to sell out after the venue itself. Shoulder-season and weekday weddings are far more flexible; three to four months is usually comfortable. If your date is closer than that, don't assume it's hopeless: availability shifts, and Photo France can check the whole vetted roster for your date at once instead of you emailing photographers one by one. When comparing, look at full wedding galleries rather than portfolio highlights — how a photographer handles a candlelit château dinner tells you more than their best ten frames.

Work backwards from the moments you can't lose. An intimate ceremony with dinner fits in 4-5 hours: preparations, vows, couple portraits at golden hour, first toasts. A classic full wedding day — getting ready through the first dances — runs 8-10 hours. French weddings run famously long: dinner often starts at 9pm, the pièce montée arrives near midnight and the dancing goes until dawn; if your party will peak at 2am, budget coverage for it or arrange a set finishing time you're at peace with. One France-specific tip: in June and July the sun sets after 9:30pm, so schedule couple portraits around that golden window rather than the ceremony's end — your photographer will plan the whole timeline around it. Discuss your running order with your photographer and they'll recommend honest hours, not maximum hours.