May 6, 2015
Wedding Party and Romantic Portraits | Wedding Day Breakdown
It’s time for the wedding party and bride & groom pictures! These pictures are the most fun AND important ones of the day! This is where we get to have fun and capture your personalities! These are the pictures that you will hang all over your house, so it’s extra important that we plan ahead to ensure we get the best images possible! The when and how of these pictures will depend on whether or not you do a first look. With a first look, we will do most of these pictures before the ceremony and a few after. If you are not doing a first look, they will on be done after. But it’s important to plan ahead for whichever way we are doing it and to make sure that everyone involved knows the game plan! Here’s some tips on planning ahead for your wedding party and bride & groom portraits!
Location. One of the first things you’ll want to consider is where you want to do these pictures. Do you want to do them at the venue? Or is there a particular location down the road where you want to do them? You’ll want to pick a location that goes with the overall theme of your wedding and fits your personal style! If you’re not sure where to start when picking a location, you can also hand that responsibility over to your photographer! We will be able to scope out a location the lends to great light and suits the overall style of your wedding! If we do plan to use a location down the road, we’ll want to plan ahead for that, especially if it involves driving. You will want to designate specific cars and drivers for transportation, and it’s best if it’s someone that is not in the wedding party. This way they can pull up the cars ahead of time and everyone can just hop in and go as soon as we’re ready. I did this for a wedding last November where the wedding was in a downtown area, but we wanted to take the whole wedding party to a nearby park for pictures after the ceremony. We only had about 30 minutes to work with, so we had to be very efficient! We had two drivers pull up two cars right after the ceremony. That way as soon as we finished the family formal shots, we hopped right in the car and didn’t lose any time! And everyone in the wedding party knew the plan so we didn’t have to worry about rallying everyone together when it was time to go. So everything went smoothly and we were able to get some great portraits for them while still getting them back to the venue on time for the reception!
Timing. The timeline for your wedding day is SUPER important! You’ll want to work with both your planner AND your photographer to come up with a wedding day timeline. The planner will know when to start the ceremony, seat the guests, cut the cake, etc. And the photographer will know when people should be dressed, when and where to meet for pictures, etc. When I work with my couples on their timeline, I’ll include the specific times that the bridesmaids, bride, groomsmen and groom should be dressed and ready to go. I’ll also include when and where everyone needs to be at certain times for pictures. The way this will work varies depending on whether or not you are doing a first look. With a first look, we will do the bride and groom portraits first, then we will have the wedding party join us at a designated time. So it is important that the wedding party knows when and where they need to be, especially since I will be with the Bride and Groom at that time and may not be able to gather them myself. If you are not doing a first look, then we will do the wedding party pictures immediately after the family formals, then the bride and groom portraits right after that. We will also try to do some of the wedding party pictures before the ceremony. So will we do the bride with her bridesmaids and then the groom with his groomsmen at separate times before the ceremony. This way we only have to do the combined wedding party pictures after the ceremony. So it is very important that everyone involved is aware of the timeline and know when and where they need to be throughout the day to ensure that everything goes smoothly!
Bouquets and Boutonnieres. This tip applies more so to when you are doing a first look. You’ll want to make sure that everyone in the wedding party has their bouquets and boutonnieres before we start their pictures. You invest a lot of money in your flowers so we want to make sure we get them in the pictures! So be sure that the flowers are delivered in time to be included in these shots! I recommend having them delivered to where the bride will be getting ready at least by when the photographer will arrive. This way they can also be included in your details shots!
Sunset pictures. Depending on the season and the timeline of the day, I love to take couples outside just before sunset to get some shots in the glowy golden light! During the middle of the year, the sun will probably be setting during the reception, so we’ll want to plan ahead of time to alot about 10 minutes during the reception to take you guys outside for a few quick shots! Believe me, it is SO worth it!! 
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