I’m no expert on weddings or anything……but I’ve been to a few. Enough to know what makes a wedding day awesome and what makes it not-so awesome. So, allow me to get up on my soapbox for a moment, hopefully you’ll find some of my insights helpful in your own wedding planning.
Your pictures are the only thing you will have once the Big Day is over….well, besides a dirty dress, and maybe the top layer of your cake…..as long as I don’t get to it first. =) So it stands to reason that you should try and do whatever you can to ensure you get the best pictures possible.
Now I know it is my job to take great pictures, believe me, I take that to heart. I do whatever I can to get you the best shots. But the photographer can only do so much. The rest of the responsibility falls on your shoulders (I know what you’re thinking, “um, helloooo Becky, like I don’t have enough responsibility with this whole wedding planning thing”). There are definitely some steps you can take to ensure your wedding is as photogenic as possible.
“Gosh Becky, you are so right! Thank you for enlightening me. Now how can I possibly know what to do to help get these awesome pictures you’re talking about?” Ah, I’m so glad you asked! Lucky for you, your fantastic photographer has already made a little list for you. These few things can really help make sure your pictures are as great as possible. So take notes! (and you can thank me later) =)
Time
Time is a precious comodity on your wedding day. You need it. Lots of it. Even if you don’t think you do, you do. Trust me on this one. For the love of all things good in this life, give yourself plenty of time to get ready on your wedding day.
When you are running late, then everyone else starts running late. That in turn leads to stress, losing things, crying over silly stuff, upset bridesmaids and upset family members. I’ve witnessed it first hand and truuuuuuust me, you don’t want any part of it.
So please, if you do nothing else on your wedding day, give yourself enough time to get ready. No matter how much you think you can, you can’t possibly get ready in an hour. It just doesn’t happen. I’ve seen lots of people try and lots of people fail miserably. Give yourself enough time so that if you have to redo your hair, redo your make-up, get a stain out of your wedding dress, fix a broken zipper or get stuck in rush hour traffic (yes, I’ve seen every single one of these things happen)-you will still have plenty of time to relax and have fun before your ceremony.
When you give yourself enough time, you’re happy, you’re relaxed, you’re having fun with your family and bridesmaids and your pictures will reflect it. I’m going to say it one more time, just in case you didn’t catch on….give yourself plenty of time to get ready!
Location
This is a biggie. The location of your wedding sets the tone for the entire day and it is the backdrop for ALL of your pictures. And you have the power to pick that place. So take your time while you’re scouting out venues and make sure to pick a place that is beautiful and that captures your heart.
It would be a shame to gloss over this aspect and wind up in a dark, ugly reception hall that doesn’t reflect your personality and doesn’t look good in pictures. I know not everyone has 10k to spend on their venue and that’s ok. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to rent out a beautiful facility.
Sunlight
Not many people think about this, but the time of day you get married can really influence how your pictures turn out. Many are not able to chose the time of their ceremony due to church regulations and contracts with the venue ect. But for those of you who can control it, take advantage of it!
During the summer months, the absolute best time for lighting is 1-2 hours before sunset, which is typically somewhere between 4pm-7pm. If you can plan to have your ceremony start in that time range, then do it! And plan accordingly so that there is still at least an hour of sunlight to play with once the ceremony is over for more pictures. You will be happy you did because the sunlight at that time of day is just glorious. It’s soft, golden, radiant, and altogether lovely.
If at all possible, avoid doing an outdoor ceremony when the sun is right overhead. It produces harsh shadows and it can wash out your skin as well. Here is a website of when the sun sets
Trust me, you want this in your pictures.
First Look
I completely understand and respect the tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony and I won’t ever give anyone a hard time who chooses to do this. But if you do, keep in mind that it only allows for a small window of time between the ceremony and reception (typically less than an hour) to get all the family formals and pictures of you and your new husband. If a family member is running late, it can leave little or no time for pictures of the two of you.
The best way to avoid this situation is the First Look. This is typically is done in a secluded area with a good amount of time to capture all the pictures you could ever dream of. The groom stands with his back turned while you walk towards him and suprise him with what a stunning bride you are. It’s emotional, it’s intimate, it’s awesome. It is a beautiful way for the couple to see each other and share an intimiate moment before the ceremony begins.
It also really helps releive some stress before the wedding. I have never had a couple regret doing this, but I’ve hand plenty who have regretted not doing it. Just something to think about….
Details
I looooove wedding details. The details incorporated throughout a wedding can really tie everything together into a nice little package. It can be as simple as coordinating colors or as complex as having monogrammed water bottles and matching fan programs for your guests. Think about a theme you might want to follow; whether it’s a color scheme or an overall idea like sunflowers or a Colorado theme.
DJ
A DJ really can make or break a wedding. So make sure you actually meet you DJ and go over with him what your expectations are. The last thing you want to see in your reception pictures is an empty dancefloor and all your guests heading out the door early. So go over with your DJ in detail what songs you want, what songs are on the “no play” list, how involved you want him to be in your reception (seriously, some of them talk and talk with no end in sight). If you can ensure your DJ is great, then you can ensure your dance floor will be packed and there will be tons of great pictures of people lettin’ loose and having fun.
If you opt for the no-DJ route and elect to use an ipod, use a laptop with iTunes instead of an iPod. iTunes automatically mixes songs so there is no lag between songs. An iPod doesn’t and this can lead to 1-15 seconds of “dead air” in between songs. When people are ready to let loose, 5 second can seem like an eternity and can easily kill a dance floor.
Cake
Ok, this is the most important part of the day. You must have a delicious wedding cake (or cupcakes for that matter) at your wedding and you must give your wonderful photographer first dibs at getting a slice…. Hahaha, I’m soooo kidding! (kind of) I just wanted a reason to post a picture of this beautiful cake.
Make-Up
Of course I know that ALL of my brides are naturally beautiful and need little to no make-up at all. =)
But let’s face it, everyone wears even just a little make-up on their wedding day. That being said, let’s think about it a bit more. You’ll be wearing make-up for 8+ hours on your wedding day and you want it to look great the entire time. I’ve seen many weddings where mascara starts to run, blush gets rubbed off as you hug Aunt Betty, and by the end of the night, there’s nothing left…..but I’m still taking pictures. Uh-oh.
So what’s the best way for your make-up to stay in place all day so that at the end of the night, you look just as fabulous as you did 8 hours before when you put it on? Well, lucky for you, I’m 100% completely obsessed I have a very healthy interest in make-up and beauty products. Personally, I found MAC products to work amazingly well at staying on all day and staying put all day. If I could recommend 2 things, it would be a foundation primer and an eye base/eyeshadow primer. Primers really help your make-up stay put and not budge.
If you want more info on great products, check out this amazing blog. I’ve worked with Carissa before and she has some awesome insight into what works best. Even better, you can hire her to just come and do your make-up, that way you don’t have to worry about it! =)
Wedding Coordinator
Many times, I turn into the resident wedding coordinator: making sure the guys are running on time for their pictures, helping set up the favor table so I can take pictures, looking for a safety pins, letting people know when we’re running behind schedule….it’s kind of stressful.
The wedding day can also be really stressful for the bride. You wind up thinking ”who is setting up the centerpieces? has the cake arrived yet? did I give directions to the florist? is the aisle runner in place? who is going to clean up after the ceremony? who is loading wedding gifts into their car after the reception? etc. etc.”
Enter the wedding coordinator.
Wedding coordinators are really the unsung heros of most of the fantastic weddings I have shot. They do everything and then some. The set up, break down, clean up, bustle dresses, give directions, and make sure everything and everyone is running according to schedule. They help your wedding run like a well-oiled machine. They take so much stress off of the bride and bridal party, it’s really quite amazing. I could talk all day about how I love them and how much they do, but I’ll spare you. Here are a few of my favorites:
Something Class Events Danielle coordinated my wedding and did a fabulous job!
Save the Date Events
Swept Away Wedding Consulting
Sapphire Celebrations
Family
Family members are your support, your love and your encouragement. One of the best ways you can keep your wedding running smoothly is by keeping your family members in the loop about things. At almost every wedding I go to, some family member grabs me and asks “do you know where the flowers are? should the grandparents be here by now? what time are pictures? should I be ready by now?where are we doing pictures? etc. etc.”
I see aunts and uncles wandering around lost. I see people completely in a fog and unsure of where to go or what to do. Then, when it is time for pictures, half of the time, we can’t find the father of the bride, or the ring bearer or Aunt Betty. This leads to pictures taking way longer than they need to and we get behind schedule.
The best way to avoid this is to fill your family members in on what is happening and when. Print out a little schedule for them to keep with them so that they know when pictures are starting and where they need to be. That way, every one is on time, they feel “in the loop” , the pictures go smoothly and quickly and everyone is happy. If you can’t print out schedules, at least make an announcement at your rehearsal letting family members know where they need to go and when.
Phew! This is by no mean an exhaustive list, so if you see something lacking that you think might be helpful to others, please email me or post a comment and I’ll be sure to add it!
