Things to think about

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself while planning your day-of timeline.

What do I want to be photographed doing before the ceremony?

Aside from details and getting in your dress, there are a few additional things you can do pre-ceremony.

• First looks — This can be with your fiancé or with family and relatives. I’ve had some brides do their first look with the bridesmaids, father, and siblings as well.

• First touch— This is a special moment with your fiancé where you won’t see each other, but can hold hands around a corner and say a prayer together or just say a few sweet words before you head down the aisle!

• Group photos — If time allows, we can knock out some of the bridal party group photos before the ceremony. The entire bridal party photos will be after the ceremony.

• Letters — You can both write a loving note to each other and have the maid of honor/best man deliver them to read before the ceremony. This is always such a sweet moment!

Find someone to be our go-to person

Choose someone to be our go-to person if questions come up during the day or if we need help finding someone specific. This can be somebody in your bridal party or a family member.

Give yourself enough time to sit down before the ceremony!

The day-of is going to be eventful, but remember you need to give yourself time to soak in your special day as well. Plan to give yourself at least 20 minutes before the ceremony starts to be done with photos so you can sit down, drink some water, take a break, and breathe!

Church Ceremonies

All churches are different and some have specific rules for the photographers. Some that I’ve had to follow before are; not being able to move around at all during the ceremony, having to stand in the back the entire time, limited movement, and even not photographing at all during certain parts of the ceremony. It is also very rare that we will be allowed upfront with you both. We will always respect the rules of the church, so please take a moment to speak to your pastor about their rules regarding photography and videography. If the rules end up being stricter and we need to stage something after the ceremony, we can. We just need to allow time to do so!

Family photos tips

Once the ceremony is over, everyone will be anxious to head to the reception and start partying! Here are a couple tips to make family photo time smooth and quick.

• Make a list ahead of time of every family member/group/combo you both want photos with. Separate it by family and try to list it in the order we’ll take them day-of. I recommend letting grandparents go first so they don’t have to wait around.

• Find a big voice in your group or family. We are more than happy to call names off of your list, but if there is someone in your group who knows everyone by name and is LOUD, let’s use them as a megaphone to keep things moving quickly.

Couple photos

This is one of my favorite parts of the day! After the family photos are wrapped up, it’s time to get photos of just the two of you together. I always love to break these up into two parts.

After family photos at the church or venue. We can take as much time as you both want, but I’d recommend allowing for at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time.

During the reception around sunset! You all know by now I love a good sunset and will jump tables to get to you both once I see it about to happen!

Exits

Depending on the time coverage for your wedding, we can do either a fake exit or a real exit. A fake exit is during the reception, except everyone goes back to partying after we get the shots. A real exit, is well, where you’re actually leaving the reception haha. Here are a couple of tips when choosing what type of exit to have.

• Sparklers — keep in mind that there will have been a lot of drinking done by the time the exit comes around. This can make it a long process to get all of your guests outside, lined up, and prepped with sparklers. We will work with the DJ to get everyone outside at the right time, but think about how you want your exit to happen.

     01. Do you want all of your guests participating in the exit?

     02. Do you want only the bridal party and family to participate in the exit? This option allows you to do an actual exit where you both are walking out together and then, with the leftover sparklers, some extra fun photos!

• Other fun ideas — giant glow sticks, wave streamers, bubbles, and confetti poppers, to name a few.

Take a look at your venue and visualize what it will look like at night with whatever you both choose for your exit. Also, keep in mind the cleanup and what will and will not harm the environment.