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Des Moines, IA Wedding Photographer & Filmmaker
Lakefront summers, barn weddings in October and ballrooms that glow in winter — Des Moines gives couples every season to choose from.
Lakefront summers, barn weddings in October and ballrooms that glow in winter — Des Moines gives couples every season to choose from.
Around Des Moines the season decides the look: lake light in July, maples in October, snow in January. We plan for the one your date draws, including an indoor portrait plan nobody has to feel bad about using.
Olivia Layne Studios works nationwide with senior photographers and filmmakers, travel already included and a calendar kept small on purpose, so every wedding gets a first-team crew. If we have not worked your exact venue yet we visit it before your day — light, timing, logistics — so nothing about Des Moines is a surprise on the morning of.
Selected frames from the Olivia Layne Studios portfolio. Ask and we will send full galleries from weddings closest in size and setting to yours.
The hour you choose for the ceremony decides what your photographs look like, and that hour is specific to Des Moines. A June sunset here lands at 8:50 PM with golden hour from about 8:08 PM; by October the sun is down by 6:33 PM, a difference of 2 hours 17 minutes inside a single wedding season. Begin a Des Moines ceremony near the times in the table and the vows, family portraits and couple portraits all happen while the light is still soft and in front of you.
| 2027 | Start ceremony | Golden hour | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 5:42 PM | 7:47 PM | 8:27 PM | 14.5 h |
| June | 6:05 PM | 8:08 PM | 8:50 PM | 15.2 h |
| July | 6:02 PM | 8:06 PM | 8:47 PM | 14.9 h |
| August | 5:29 PM | 7:36 PM | 8:14 PM | 13.9 h |
| September | 4:39 PM | 6:47 PM | 7:24 PM | 12.5 h |
| October | 3:48 PM | 5:55 PM | 6:33 PM | 11.1 h |
Computed for Des Moines (Chicago) on the 15th of each month. A ceremony in open shade can start 20–30 minutes later than shown; an indoor ceremony is not affected, but the portrait window afterwards still is.
The Des Moines venues couples ask us about most. We will not pretend to have worked every one of them, so when a venue is new to us we visit before your date and plan the day from the room itself: where the ceremony light falls, where family portraits hold up, and how long the walk from getting-ready to first look really takes.
Venue list is informational; Olivia Layne Studios is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or booking on behalf of any venue named above.
Our prices are published, and a wedding in Des Moines costs exactly what a wedding anywhere else costs: travel is included and there are no location fees. The figures below are pay-in-full prices (the payment plan adds $500 with half down at booking). Photography begins at $1,600 and films at $1,300 for shorter days; the eight-hour collections most Des Moines couples choose are shown here, and the four-, six- and ten-hour versions are on the collections page.
$2,100 · The Magnolia, 8 hours
Several hundred edited frames, soft and true to colour.
$1,600 · The Anthem, 8 hours
A highlight film and extended edit cut from your own vows and toasts.
$3,600 · The Heritage, 8 hours
One team for both, plus a complimentary engagement session.
No. Olivia Layne Studios works nationwide and travel is part of every collection, so a Des Moines wedding is priced exactly like one in our own neighbourhood.
Yes. Every collection comes as photography, film, or both from one team. Combined coverage starts at $3,100, includes a complimentary engagement session, and gives you one timeline instead of two vendors competing for the same light.
Not every venue in Des Moines, and we would rather say so. When a venue is new to us we visit before your date and plan the ceremony light, the portrait spots and the walking time between them.
Soft, true-to-colour frames — several hundred edited photographs you own outright.
Highlight film and extended edit cut from your own vows and toasts, raw footage included.
One team for both, one timeline, and a complimentary engagement session.
Check Your Des Moines Date See Collections
Also serving: Cedar Rapids, IA 105 mi · Iowa City, IA 108 mi · Omaha, NE 123 mi · Lincoln, NE 167 mi · Kansas City, MO 180 mi · all locations →
