Originally Posted by
tanalasta
I would assume most couples prefer contracts where the photography owns the copyright but allows, in his/her contract for the couple to reproduce the photograph(s) as they desire (as long as it's not for commercial reasons), often providing a DVD-R of the images in high-resolution JPEG.
However, although many mid-tier wedding and semi-professional photographers allow for this, the top-tier wedding photographers tend to have more restrictive copyright. They are the ones with the silk bound albums that takes 6-12 months to receive and charge >$100 a page. And also tend to be the wedding specialists who are either AIPP masters or grand masters of photography. And people are often willing to pay the price for the very best...