I might be a little bit biased, but photos are such an important part of your wedding day. Other than your love, your photos are the only thing you will have after your wedding day. After spending so much time making sure every little detail is perfect, you want to photos to hold onto the memory of your wedding day for decades to come.
It is shocking to me that 40% of brides are unhappy with their photos, and its my mission to make that number much lower.
The last thing you want is for certain moments to be unnoticed or worse, not captured.
Chances are, you have meet with your photographer and have spoken a lot about your wants and needs for your wedding day. You probably went over a timeline to make sure they are there for the important moments which is a great start.
Even though I get to know my couples pretty well before the big day, (I often feel like an extended member of the bridal party!), I/your photographer still won’t know the entire guest list. Your photographer won’t know if you have a group of friends in town for college or if you have a special necklace that is a family heirloom.
Wedding days go by so fast, and you have so many wonderful emotions going on that it can be hard to think about those little things. So, prior to your day, discuss these things with your photographer. Check out this wedding photo day checklist to help keep everything organized! The best part, if its done ahead of time, you won’t have to think about it and can be even more present on your wedding day with your guests π
Bridal party photos
Typically if you have a bridal party the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be hanging our together before the ceremony. There are so many opportunities for great photos! We always start the day with detail photos (invitations, rings, flowers, dress, ext) and then move on to getting ready.
During this time, we always love to get some candid photos but will often capture:
- The bride/bridesmaids in cute robes
- The bride getting into her dress
- The bride putting on her shoes
- The bride putting on jewelry
- The bride holding the dress
- Group photo of the ladies helping the bride in her dress
- The groom/groomsmen getting ready
- The cheers photo with the bridesmaids or groomsmen
- Groom putting on jacket
- Groom adjusting tie, watch, pocket square
- Groom putting on shoes
You should let your photographer know if you plan on doing letters/gifts with your fiance so they can photograph that. If you are close with your friends and have gifts for them too, let us know! Or maybe you have something unique planned like having the guys play pool while they wait for the ceremony to start. These are those little moments that, if they are not photographed, you might look back through your wedding photos and get a touch disappointed.
Your Ceremony
Typically the moments captured during your ceremony are going to be everyone walking down the aisle, the two of you holding hands at the front, rings being exchanged, vows being read, the first kiss and then the two of you walking down the aisle as newly weds! We also love to photograph some guests as well.
What to tell your photographer:
- If you have a unity or other cultural ceremony, let them know so they can be prepared to capture it.
- If you have and speeches or guest speakers
Your Reception
You are officially married-yay!- now it’s time to celebrate! Typical moments captured are, your grand entrance, the first dance, parent dances, speeches, some dancing photos, and bouquet and garter toss, and cake cutting if you are doing those.
However, this is another one of those times that moments could be missed if you haven’t spoken with your photographer. Once everything has been decided on, think about your reception and all of the moments that you want to be able to look back on for years to come.
I love it when couples make their reception unique to them. If you are doing anything special, you should let your photographer know. For instance, I had one bride that told me she was going to surprise her groom by doing a karaoke song. It was so sweet! At another wedding, the father of the bride brought in some surprise Irish Tap Dancers and by telling me, we made sure I was there to capture it before heading out for the night.
At another wedding, the bride said they were going to make a special announcement to their grandmother. Knowing ahead of time have me a chance to find where she was sitting to we could make sure we could photograph the moment when the time came π
All the other details
If we are friends on instagram (@Brightlightsimagery) you will know how much I LOVE details! I am a very detailed oriented person and I’ve been a bride myself so I totally understand how many hours on pinterest and hours go into finding the perfect flowers, invitations, and details for the day you marry your best friend.
If you have a vision for something, please share it with your creative team! Our goal is to make you have an amazing experience and have photos that become family heirlooms.
One of our brides had a special hanger for her dress. (Sidenote: one great tip is to get a non-plastic hanger for your beautiful dress on your wedding day. The dress is gorgeous and the plastic hanger does not do it justice! You can get a wood hanger or custom hanger online and it is very inexpensive.) Anyways… the bride had a vision of her dress being hung in the barn where her reception was. Because we knew, we planned a little bit of extra time in the schedule to transport the dress and get the photos π
If you want photos of you getting your hair done, or that perfectly posed photo of you putting on a necklace or spritzing your wedding day perfume, speak up! We want you to have those photos if they are going to mean a lot to you. Some couples are ok without them, and that is fine as well!
The easiest way for you to get all of the moments and memories captured, is to go over a wedding day photo checklist with your photographer & videographer month or so before your wedding. That way we know where the importance of photography is and what makes the checklist and what doesn’t!
As always, if you need help feel free to reach out π
