In an effort to educate and help my clients, I’ve written a few tips for brides to have better wedding day photos.  Some ideas are simple and some you’ve never thought of!

Be sure to check out the first segment if you missed it 5 Tips for Better Getting Ready Photos.

The wedding day timeline is definitely something that causes lots of stress for brides…..they’ve never done this before so why does EVERYONE want a timeline of the day from them?  Everyone needs to know when to bring the flowers, the cake, etc.  All your family wants to know when they need to be there.  Your bridal party is clueless about when they are supposed to be where and for what.  Communication is key here, not only with everyone involved in the wedding but also with your photographer!  The timeline is the number one thing brides call me about when their wedding is about a month away, I’m pretty sure those are the calls of frustration after anyone and everyone has just gotten done hounding her and she just says “I don’t know……let me call the photographer”.  With that said I would love to help alleviate some stress and provide you with what we recommend for timelines.  Please remember EVERY wedding is different and each couple values certain things over others so your timeline could be quite different……that’s ok!

Please please please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions about your timeline!  (well if you are one of my brides…..  :)

5 Tips for The Wedding Day Timeline

1.  Better photos results first and foremost in booking your photographer for the appropriate amount of time!  Photographers have packages with hours ranging all over the place.  We often get inquiries for weddings from 2 to 10 hours!  Our packages start with 4 hours up to 9 hours.  Typically a 4 hour wedding seems to be on a non-Saturday or off season day, 100 guests or less, small bridal party (1 or 2 attendants on each side), and usually a short reception with cake and punch.  A good example would be this Bell Gable wedding with Amanda and Steven.  5 to 6 hours is considered the standard coverage time for a Saturday,  modest bridal party (3 to 5 attendants), basic wedding and reception.  See Amanda and Cade’s Cooper Chapel wedding here.  7 to 9 hour packages are built towards the weddings that are elaborate and full of little details, larger bridal parties (6 or more attendants), and those couples planning to have a PARTY at their reception!  London and Darron’s wedding at the Little Rock Club is a great example!

2.  An average amount of time suggested to capture your details before you get dressed of your shoes, dress, garter, jewelry, bouquets, rings, programs, invitations, location details is around 30 minutes.  First look and couple portraits averages to about 30 -45 minutes, along with bridal party, and family portraits.  We also like to have everyone photographed 30 minutes or more prior to the ceremony start time first so that the guests arriving won’t see the bride, second to give time for everyone to freshen up, and thirdly this time allows us to capture all the details of your ceremony/reception location and regroup.  Also regardless of if you plan on having a first look or not we are going to suggest taking about 15 minutes just before you walk into your reception for some more quick couple portraits depending on the daylight (that hour before sunset) we might come ask you to leave the reception for a bit and sneak outside with us!  If your photography time is going to run out before your reception is planned to be over may I suggest considering what your last image of the night will be.  You have an option for a faux “grand exit” just to get the shot and you can head back in and party (I’ll be honest unless you have an AWESOME dj I haven’t seen this work except once).  You could also just plan a slow dance and we can capture your last moment for the night as you two dance arm in arm.  Another suggestion is heading outside and snapping a couple portrait outside your reception venue.

3.  Consider having a FIRST LOOK.  I understand wanting to hold onto tradition and make the groom wait until you walk into the room to be the first time he sees you that day, let me say I understand and I respect that decision.  I have shot many weddings both ways and they turn out perfectly.  But before you finally make that decision there’s a few things I want you to think about.  First I want to make sure the knowledge behind the tradition is known, often times when my couple’s hear this the thought of seeing each other before becomes a much easier decision to make, in the days of arranged marriages the groom was forbidden to see the bride before the wedding in the case he thought she was unattractive and bailed…..obviously we aren’t dealing with that problem these days!  Most of the time when you hear photographers and wedding vendors chatting about the first look it pertains mostly to making the day easier, getting the family portraits out of the way, or not having your guests wait at the reception.  There’s lots of options to solve those problems such as booking more coverage, having a short family portrait list and doing as many as you can before the ceremony and finally hosting a cocktail hour for your guests to refresh and mingle.  But here’s the kicker I’ve heard from many of my brides after they decided to go with having a first look……”I just love our reactions in those photos!”  Most of the time the biggest concern is capturing the grooms first glance at you if you plan not to see each other, now unless you have an over the top emotional groom or one that’s very dramatic our shots are mostly going to look like he’s standing there staring at you blankly.  No one wants that.  Everyone wants the true emotions captured.  Below is a great example of the brides reaction, the love and comfort they felt holding and hugging along with the groom’s awwwww as he takes a moment to access his beautiful bride.  9.8 times out of 10 a first look gets to be in a more controlled environment yielding better images along with real emotion since you actually get to talk, kiss, hug, and be comfortable, unlike at the altar.

4. I recently shot a wedding in England (oh boy was that fun and after 3500 images I’m still working on them!) and the whole day was all about the wedding which gave us lots of time in-between each break to take more couple shots!  The couple chose not to see each other before due to the fact that they weren’t worried about having time for portraits.  Following the ceremony we went outside for family portraits and bridal party portraits then ventured off for some couple shots.  The guests were all outside the grounds mingling and enjoying a cocktail hour while the event staff was preparing for dinner.  Once the couple was introduced and made their way to their seats the toasts were given and dinner was served.  Soon following dinner we arranged that the couple would sneak off for some more portraits oh boy am I glad we did!  The guests were invited to the the foyer to watch the couple cut the cake while the event crew set the dinner hall up for the second dinner.  After they cut the cake the guests mingled and enjoyed the sunset outside, as did we, as we snuck off again for some awesome sunset pictures!  Then back to the dinner hall for fish and chips and a whole lot of dancing!  Obviously they do things a bit differently in England but the idea that we ducked out for pictures three times during the day was genius!

5.  Always plan for some smudge room!  I’ve learned that it’s likely that someone will forget their suit coat at home (which just happens to be 30 minutes away), a bridesmaid will get lost, there’s a dress malfunction, or the videographer is MIA, so always be prepared for unexpected events!  Along those same lines I’ve learned everything seems to work itself out and the show must go on!  If you’ve planned some extra time and something unforeseen like this comes up you’ll be able to seize the moment, sit back, relax, and enjoy your good company!

Enjoy!

-Erika