IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
You want those great shots but most importantly the wedding day is about enjoying your friends and family and soaking in every bit of the celebration. You DON’T want to spend hours in taking tons of posed photos after the ceremony. I have actually been at weddings where the B&G missed the first two courses of dinner (not shooting of course). To avoid that scenario, set aside some time with your photographer for the pre-ceremony pics. This will allow your photographer to use some great locations at your venue, control the light and be playful / artistic. This will take place before the ceremony and can be a lot of fun. It might even get your mind off pre-ceremony jitters. Take as many photos as possible before the wedding ceremony. These shots would include the bride alone, with her maids, and with her immediate family; the groom alone, with his groomsmen, and his immediate family. In some cases, you might even want to do the B&G photos beforehand. I only ‘encourage’ this if lighting is a factor after the ceremony (because I like to use available light) or if reception timing is an issue. If those two things are no matter, I leave it up to the Bride and Groom to decide.
LADIES FIRST
I like to take photos of the Bride’s side first. The first reason is that it will give you some time to touch up right before you head down the aisle (this is important if it’s a windy day or hot, or rainy etc) You might have your makeup / hair person stick around for this or have one of your maids assist you. Also, it eliminates the risk of guests seeing you on the grounds as they arrive. Most venues will have a bridal suite even if you’d gotten ready initially at a different location. Once the ladies are done, the groom & men can arrive on site for their side (less time in the heat if it’s Suits in the summer too). It doesn’t matter if guests see them and many times they’ll be helping with ceremony seating anyway.
ENJOY YOUR COCKTAIL HOUR
I think this is the one of the best opportunities to visit with your guests and celebrate your newly married bliss. If you can, extend your cocktail hour by 15 minutes or so. And do the following:
Follow the above-mentioned list of pre-ceremony photos. This way the only photos you need to take in between the ceremony & reception are: a combined bridal party picture, a shot with each set of parents, and an extended family shot from each side. This should take about 20-25 minutes, leaving 10 minutes alone time with the Bride & Groom. I like to send the Bride and Groom to join the cocktail hour at this time and then steal them again for another 10-15 minutes during the dinner hour (or possibly in that time before the sun goes down when the light is perfect) This way the bride and groom get to enjoy at least 30 minutes of mingling and canapés.
DETAILS
By joining the cocktail hour, it also allows the photographer to do detail shots of your reception room and table décor before the guests are seated. After all, a lot of time, thought, and money go into the details and sometimes the photos are all you have to remember your hard work. That only takes about 15 minutes and then we come out to get candid cocktail hour shots.
GUIDELINES
You don’t have to give your photographer a list of every little shot you want, that can make it more difficult to record the flow of the day when we are concerned with a checklist. BUT it is nice to have a list of key group shots. Say you’d like a photo alone with Grandma June, which isn’t one of the standard shots from above. Or say your family dynamic isn’t the ‘standard’ married mom and dad. Let your photographer know if there are step parents, or parents who aren’t together anymore, or a deceased family member. Every family is unique and it’s good to fill us in on the basic relationships to avoid any awkwardness when we arrange the group photos. Let us know if there are any key groups you want done at the reception…say college buddies for example, or all the cousins. Better to do these as relaxed reception photos than the more formal ones.
WHAT YOU SEE is WHAT YOU GET
If you visit a photographer’s studio and they have raw journalistic photos in B&W, don’t ask them to take structured formal shots for a canvas print above the mantle. They might agree to it if they want to get the job, but you could be very disappointed. Make sure to ask your photographer about their shooting style and take a look at their photos. I have couples ask me about cross processing and digital retouching all the time and I have to tell them that it’s just not my forte. If you don’t see it in someone’s portfolio, there’s probably a reason why.
And MOST IMPORTANT!!!!
CLICK with your PHOTOGRAPHER
You will be with this person MOST of your wedding day. It is very important that you feel a good connection with their personality and demeanor.
