I have a soft spot for love, wedding, and marriage photo stories. Those are some of the best stories to tell through my camera lens!
The cool thing about wedding photos is they last a long time, long after the dinner is eaten, the party is over, the flowers are wilted, and the guests go home. It’s one of the few things from your wedding day that will stay with you and get passed down to future generations. Here are the top five simple things you can do ahead of time to ensure you’ll have a great experience on your big day, especially in terms of photography.
1. Work with your photographer on your wedding day timeline
This is the foundation for everything else on this list. You want your photographer to capture as many moments as they can on your big day. In order to coordinate that, your photographer needs to play a big role in the process of determining your wedding day timeline. They can give useful input about how far apart to schedule events on your timeline, where and when would be best of great photos, and who needs to be present at what point during your big day in order to effectively tell your wedding story.
2. Plan your bride & groom photos in the best light
The key ingredient needed for great photos is good light. Given how important light is for wedding photos that you’ll look at for the rest of your life, work with your photographer to prioritize this. The golden hour – one to two hours before sunset – is the best time to take the most important shots.
3. Consider doing a First Look
Things can get hectic on your big day. The first look shoot is an opportunity to get away from it all and just focus on your spouse-to-be. It’s a chance for you to take a breath, look at your partner for the first time, and let all the emotions sink in. It makes for great photos that you’ll be glad you did, I guarantee it.
4. Have all of your details in one place
The details of your wedding make your vision come alive. You’ve put a lot of thought into the flowers, the table setting, the dress, the overall color scheme, the invitation design, and more. A good photographer would understand that these details tell the story of your big day and capture them. In order to help them do so, make sure you gather as many details as possible in one place. For example, have your dress, shoes, perfume, rings, invitation, bridesmaid dresses, bouquet, and other pertinent details in one place so they can be captured efficiently while you’re getting ready.
5. Share a master vendor list with everyone on your “team”
To pull off a smooth wedding day, your future spouse, bridesmaids, groomsmen, vendors, mother, and select family members need to work well together and coordinate their activities. Help facilitate communication by making and sharing a list of all your vendors and “team members” and their contact information. This includes helpful family and friends, venue, photographer, hair & makeup artist, florist, band, and so on.
That’s it! Take a deep breath, you can do this.
P.S. Congratulations to these two love birds for saying “I do”. The warmth in their hearts radiated and glowed on their faces, even in February in Minnesota. This is why I love photographing couples in love.
“With that ring, I gave you my heart. I promised from that day forward, you would never walk alone; my heart would be your shelter, and my arms would be your home.”
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She wore a beautiful dress that matched the stone color of her custom ring.
