Questions
The questions below come up in nearly every first email about live wedding illustration in Portugal: what it costs, how many drawings you end up with, whether you get them on the night, and how far Rui Charnock travels. Every answer here is the same one you would get by asking.
How much does a live wedding painter cost in Portugal?
Mine start at €X. The full list of packages is on the pricing page, published rather than gated. For context, live wedding art in Portugal generally runs from a few hundred euros to well over a thousand, depending on hours and whether guest portraits are included.
How many illustrations will we get?
About two for every hour booked. A six-hour booking usually produces twelve illustrations across the day, plus whatever guest portraits get handed out.
Do we get the artwork on the night?
Guest portraits, yes — those are handed straight to the guest. Illustrations leave with you in a rigid folder if they are finished. Anything still wet comes back to the studio for its final washes and is posted within two weeks.
Is this instead of a photographer?
No. Book both. A photographer records what the day looked like; this records what it felt like, and it happens in front of your guests instead of quietly.
Do you travel outside Lisbon?
Yes, anywhere in Portugal. Travel is included within X km of Lisbon; beyond that it is charged at cost and quoted before you book.
What do you need from us on the day?
A square metre somewhere with light, and a rough running order. No power, no table, no meal seat required — though a chair at some point is appreciated.
What if it rains, or the schedule slips?
Weddings slip. The booking is for hours, not for a fixed list of moments, so a late ceremony moves what I draw rather than costing you anything.
How far ahead should we book?
Eight to twelve months for a Saturday between May and September. Shorter notice is often fine outside that — ask.
Can you work from photographs instead?
That is a different thing and other people do it well. The point of this is that it happens in the room, in front of the people it is about.
Anything not answered above, ask. It goes on this page afterwards.
Check your date WhatsAppCheck your date
Tell me when and where. If I am free, I will come back with what it costs and roughly how the day would run — usually the same evening.