Wedding day tips!
Girls Getting ready
-Girls may wish to coordinate getting ready outfits for photo purposes IE matching robes, flannel shirts, tshirts etc. Ensure they are clean/wrinkle free if possible.
-Clean the “getting ready” area of excess clutter before photos begin.
-Hang wedding gown on a hanger that you’d like in the photo if you have a custom or wooden hanger rather than the plastic one it usually comes on.
-Remove hair ties from wrists and anything else you do not want in photos like smart watches or plastic wristbands etc.
-Collect any details you’d like in your detail photo. This can include jewelry, veil, shoes, invitations, vows **It is helpful if you have all 3 rings but no worries if not!
-Let us know if you plan on exchanging gifts or letters (reading letters is an amazing opportunity for custom audio for videography).
-The person/people helping you into your dress and jewelry should be completely dressed and ready before they start to help you so allow for that in your timeline.
Guys Getting ready
-Guys usually get pants and undershirts on before we start so photographer can start photos with buttoning up shirts, tying ties, putting shoes on etc.
-Clean the “getting ready” area of excess clutter before photos begin
-Collect any details that you’d like in a detail photo. This can include shoes, socks, watch, suspender, boutonniere, cologne, cufflinks, written vows or letters.
-Watch a quick youtube video on pinning boutonnieres, tying ties and folding pocket squares if guys are going to help each other with any of these!
Ceremony
-If ceremony is outside, you may want to consider the lighting in that location to ensure it’s evenly lit at the time of your ceremony (Not ½ in shade and ½ in bright sunlight).
-If the ceremony is in a limited space, ensure there is room on the sides of chairs/aisle to ensure we can move around and get different angles without having to remain in the center aisle.
-We love unplugged ceremonies and think it’s a great idea to have a sign or reminder for guests to refrain from having their cell phones or tablets in the aisle.
-Guys take bulky items out of front pockets like keys and cell phones and sunglasses
Portrait time
-We usually do family portraits right after the ceremony since the family is already gathered. We can do as many groupings as you’d like but we must allow for plenty of time to organize large groups. If time is a concern we recommend sticking with parents, grandparents, siblings, sibling spouses and their children rather than including aunts, uncles, cousins etc.
-If you would like to plan large groupings, we may need chairs or steps to allow for multiple rows of people.
-If you’d like to provide a list of family groupings we can ensure that we capture each group that you’d like. It is really helpful if you have a “helper” who knows the individuals in your family and can help me ensure they are all present for each shot.
-After family portraits we usually do bridal party portraits so please have bridal party stick around so that we do not spend time trying to find them in order to get started on those portraits. (In some cases we can complete the bridal party photos before in the case of a first look)
-When selecting locations, we love being able to go to one or two locations where we can use multiple backgrounds (IE a park) or sticking to the venue if there are places we can photograph everyone there. I’m happy to go to as many spots as you’d like but travel time will cut down on the number of images we are able to get.
-Ensure no one has bulky items in front pockets like keys and cell phones.
-If it’s a bright sunny location we usually do a few fun photos with sunglasses on, if you’d like to do this sunglasses should be available for everyone in the wedding party.
Reception
-First dance - Make sure you spend a little time smiling at each other, kissing, laughing or crying. We love the emotion! Practice spins and dips before the big day!
-Have fun! We will get the rest.
Sparkler Exit
-We will want to try to do this as safely as possible. At the very end of a wedding reception that can be challenging so here are a few tips.
-It will take at least 15-20 minutes to get guests lined up and hand out sparklers. It shouldn’t take this long but it’s always a challenge to get people to leave a party that they are enjoying.
-Have multiple lighters and ask guests to hold sparklers to their neighbors sparkler to light. The goal is to have them all lit at once so we have plenty of time to go through the line, stop and kiss and then go back through the line again!
-Hold off on lighting until we are completely setup and everyone is in an organized line so that they can be lit at the same time.
-I highly recommend getting the longest lasting sparklers you can
-A far less time consuming way to do this is to ask just the wedding party or your immediate family to hold the sparklers for you and form a half circle behind you for the photo op! This can be done whenever it is dark out and does not require as much work to get all of your guests outside and lined up!