Online booking for wedding photographers
The wedding itself is a contract, not a calendar slot. What needs booking is the consultation that wins it — and, increasingly, the pre-wedding shoot that is a business of its own.
A free 45-minute consultation event type bookable a year ahead, plus a separate paid pre-wedding shoot event type priced in yen for overseas couples.
Two businesses that look like one#
Wedding coverage is sold through a conversation and closed with a contract. Pre-wedding shoots for couples flying in from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are sold like a product: booked online, months ahead, paid in full, never spoken about by phone.
Running both through one enquiry form loses the second one entirely, because those couples expect to book and pay in a single sitting.
The setup to start from#
One date, one couple, booked a year ahead — and an enquiry call is what wins it, not the booking page.
| Duration | 45 minutes for a consultation; the wedding itself is contracted, not booked |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 48 hours |
| Bookable up to | 365 days |
| Location | Video or in person |
| Payment | Consultation free, deposit handled in the contract |
| Cancellation policy | Not applicable to the consultation |
Worth asking on the booking form: Wedding date and venue · Which country are you travelling from? · How many hours of coverage?
Pre-wedding shoots for couples flying in from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are a business of their own, booked months ahead in a foreign time zone and paid in yen up front. Give it its own event type, priced online.
The consultation, bookable a year out#
Free, forty-five minutes, video or in person, with Bookable up to set to 365 days. Ask for the date, the venue and the coverage they want on the form.
Pre-wedding as a paid product#
Its own event type, three hours, priced in yen, paid online, open a year ahead. Overseas couples see the price, book, pay and are done — which is how they expect to buy.
Protect the seasons you cannot repeat#
Sakura and autumn weekends sell first. A tiered refund policy — full refund thirty days out, fifty per cent inside fourteen — is fair while you can still resell and firm once you cannot.
Getting started#
- Sign in at app.marubox.jp with Google or Microsoft. There is no card and no trial clock.
- Create an event type with the settings above. Event types explained
- Connect your calendar so your wedding diary never gets double booked. Google · Outlook
- Set your real hours, and close Japanese public holidays in one tick. Availability
- Put the link in your bio, or the widget on your site. Adding it to your website
Common questions
Can overseas couples book and pay for a pre-wedding shoot online?
Yes. Make it a paid event type priced in yen, open a year ahead. They pay by card into your own Stripe account and see the time in their own time zone.
Should I take wedding bookings through a calendar?
Usually not the wedding itself, which is a contract. Use booking for the consultation that wins it, and for pre-wedding shoots, which are a product.
How far ahead can people book?
Up to 365 days, which is the right setting for wedding work.
Set this up in about ten minutes
Business Box is free for as long as you like, with no card required — booking pages, Google and Outlook calendar sync, availability, Japanese public holidays and the website widget. Taking card payment for bookings is ¥1,200 a month, tax included, with no commission on what you sell.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026.