Stress free wedding day!

There are so many things to talk about regarding to make your wedding day the best day ever! However, for this bit of information, I decided to talk about how to get the most out of your wedding photography images. I have brides and grooms come to my site and preview real weddings they think is a styled wedding inspired photo shoot. the fact is that these are real weddings that I shoot or approach in the same manor I would any of my editorial photoshoots. the reason being is that I would like all of my couples to receive images that are potentially submission worthy galleries. galleries that tell a beautiful wedding story. To have artistically styled details and timeless portraits with some carefully curated shots with style and grace, that is my goal when photographing weddings.

After talking to a lot of my couples they didn't realize that it was a possibility to have their wedding photographs curated in this way for thier wedding day. However I tell them it is!

A huge part of me working with my couples also entails working on styling, details, and timelines. One of the biggest parts of making a successful wedding day is having a sufficient timeline with a lot of up front communication and organization.

I hear time and time again that my brides want to be relaxed and enjoy their wedding day however it does require a lot of decision-making, organization, and delegation up till the day of your wedding. I completely agree that brides and grooms should sit back, relax, and not make decisions on their wedding day and just enjoy the moment with friends and family. The best way to do this though is to make the decisions ahead of time and communicate well with all your vendors.

I work with my brides to develop timelines and create styling kits for their wedding day images as well as wedding styling assistance should they want it.

Having a clear-cut wedding photography timeline is key to getting the images you desire. Here's an example of how I typically delegate time on a wedding day for a first look:

1 hour detail photography

30 min grooms getting ready

30 min bride getting ready and dress on

45 min first look

30 min bridal party portraits

30 min freshen up prior to ceremony

30 min family photos post ceremony

20 min for sunset images

This is about 4.5 hours of coverage. The remaining 3.5 hours in my bridal package is dedicated to everything else. Candid shots of friends and family, the cake cutting, dancing, any traditions that you might have!

This timeline remains true also when doing a traditional style approach where the bride and groom doesnt see each other until she comes down the aisle. The only difference is there are no combined shots of the bridal party so the minor change would be 20 min for bridesmaids and 20 min for groomsmen.

With this said it's so important that the schedule is at least somewhat on time. I am flexible and I understand that wedding day schedules don't always go as planned, however with great organization and planning up front there shouldn't be many hiccups in the schedule.

Communicating well with your hair and make up artist, your wedding day coordinator, your photographer, your DJ, and the rest of your vendors on your wedding day timeline is so helpful and important. I can guarantee that you will have a less stressful wedding when you know all of those things are in place and taken care of in your timeline. When talking to your wedding coordinator or your photographer and planning out your timeline it's best to always add a cushion in to the day for those "just in case moments!"

As a photographer the key vendors that I communicate with to help develop a timeline are the hair and make up artist, the wedding day coordinator, and the videographer and DJ.

First and foremost would be to communicate with the wedding day coordinator, and then the hair and make up artist. The hair make up artist is crucial because you need to discuss exactly what time your hair and make up will be done for portraits and visa versa.

Last but not least, once your timeline is developed I make sure to communicate well with my brides and groom's on their wedding day style!!!!

Now this is the fun part for me :-) I love to help my brides and grooms style their story book. I ask about themes and color palettes, special considerations like heirlooms and sentimental items, and walk the property with them as well to develop my ideas for photos and seek out the best light!!!!!

Photography is an investment and i want to be the best investment I can be for you!!!

I live to be a part of the planning process and be a resource for my couples. I love to advise on all things. Stay tuned for one of my next posts on prepping for great images dos and donts!