This first section is just basic information about the wedding day! Here are a few tips to know beforehand: 1. Make sure there is natural light in the room where the bride will be getting ready (window light). This makes a WORLD of difference in your images! I promise! 2. If possible, try to have all bridal details together before the photographer arrives. (Dress, jewelry, shoes, bouquet, garter, veil, etc) This will make the detail shots more efficient! 3. Keep the area near the window free of trash, bags, snacks, etc. This will be where the bride will be putting on her dress! (We don’t need any Aquafina bottles in our bridal portraits:). 4. Allow more time than you think you need to get ready! It’s better to be safe than RUSHED! 5. Relax and have fun! You’re getting MARRIED!!
Timeline preference and explanation of how photos work.
So to start, the best way to photograph your wedding and capture all of the memories starts about 1 hour before the ceremony and 1 hour after the ceremony for photos. (2 hours is needed if you choose a single photographer package).
Generally, I get to a wedding 2 hours (3 hours if single photographer) before the bride is in the dress with two photographers one stays with the bride and the other with the groom and groomsmen.
The photographer with the bride does detail shots of the rings, dress, bouquet, invitation, veil, and garter and getting ready shots of the bride and bridesmaids. once the bride is ready with the bridesmaids we do single bride shots and bridesmaids shots we need 30 mins at least 1 hour is preferred not to be rushed. If one photographer is present it's preferred to have 45 mins with groomsmen and 15 mins to get back to the bride then 45 - 60 mins with the bride and bridesmaids.
The photographer with the groom and groomsmen will take shots of the groom and groomsmen getting ready then do single shots of the groom and pictures of both the groom and groomsmen. 1 hour is preferable but 30 mins works as well. If one photographer is present it may not be possible to get getting ready shots of both the groomsmen and bridesmaids it’s usually one or the other unless the groomsmen get ready an hour and a half before the bridesmaids.
These shots generally occur before the ceremony if we do not have time for these shots before the ceremony we will have to get them after.
After the ceremony family formals should only take 15-20 mins as long as you fill out the list that is provided in the questionnaire I will be sending you. After family formals if we did not do the bridal party, we will do the bridal party for 20 minutes, then couple photos for 20 minutes. Totaling 1 hour of photos. If we have to squeeze in bridal party photos after the ceremony they are going to be lacking to what we could have gotten if we did them before the ceremony.
The couple photos should try to be scheduled during golden hour and it would be best to have at least 30 mins for them. Golden hour provides breathtaking images with good lighting generally that is 5:30 fall or 7:30 summer. This sometimes is not possible but if you can make it work with your day you will not be disappointed.
After all of that, it’s time for fun and we will be shooting cake cutting, garter toss, first dances, etc.