Wedding Day Tips
This page is full of lots of useful information for you to think about and consider for your big day. I am at the point now that I have shot so many weddings I have learned so many things and learned from mistakes so on this page I have listed all the information I wish I had for my wedding day. I hope you find it useful, it’s not something you have to follow and is just a guide but it will help make sure all those important moments are captured the way you want them captured.
Getting Ready
When planning your morning aim to get ready at least an hour before you plan to leave, especially if you are doing reveals (this is when you show your special people your outfit before anyone else and can apply to anyone). This gives you plenty of time to take some photos, chill out with your wedding party, and enjoy the moment.
When you are getting ready keep the area you are using as tidy as possible- choose one area to store all bags that are out of the way and hidden. Trust me suitcases with pants hanging out of them is not something you want in the background of your wedding photos/video. I have also had clients ask me if I can remove clutter in photos in the edits- as much as I am a whizz in Photoshop any images that have large clutter in the background I can't remove it so it is best to keep your area as tidy as possible- brief your wedding party with this on the morning and make it their priority to make sure everything looks neat so you don’t have to worry about it.
Have all your details in one place, this includes dress/suit, shoes, perfume/aftershave, jewellery, accessories, and stationery (save the dates, invites, menu cards- anything important you have had made for the day you would want me to document) and a veil if you have one. I love to photograph and video your details so having it all in one place for when I arrive means I can get straight to it in capturing it for you.
Light and Golden Hour Times
When planning your schedule for the day do consider when you will lose light, especially if you are getting married in the autumn/winter months as you want to make sure you have had all your group photos and some couple portraits before that light is gone. You also really want to think about golden hour times, if you are lucky enough to get a lovely golden hour you don’t want to miss it. Sometimes golden hour falls when you are eating so if you are happy to sneak out between courses this works nicely, because your guests don’t notice you have gone. You can use this website here to find out exactly what time the golden hour should be on your wedding day to plan this into your schedule. Just add your location and wedding date and look for the evening golden hour times in the table.
How to get the Best Confetti shot
Slow-falling biodegradable confetti is the best- it is not very expensive and just floats down perfectly for a really beautiful, full confetti shot, as you can see from the two examples below. Your confetti is amazing and was what was used to create the below images but I have added a couple of other shops that I have heard amazing things about as well.
Not allowed confetti at your venue- bubbles work great, I have also created a round of applause line when there was no confetti which also worked really nicely.
Group Portraits
My top tip here is to be strict with your group photos and keep them to a minimum outside of your wedding party photos (so parents, bridesmaids and groomsmen) as I naturally include these in my plan for your day anyway. So any additionals to those you want to keep your groups to a max of 8-10 at an absolute push- why? Group photos are the most stressful bit of the day, people disappear, take ages to come over for their group photo because they are busy catching up with people they haven’t seen for a while, and you the couple get fed up with standing there smiling for too long. If you think that each group photo can take 5-10 minutes to set up, and then times that by how many you want it can take a large chunk out of your day where you aren’t enjoying catching up and being present with your guests. When thinking about your group photos think about the sets of photos you are going to put on your walls at home, this helps to cut them down. I will always aim to capture a photo of you and all your day guests after your confetti shot so you know you will have one with everyone from the day in your gallery.
Couple Portraits
I find doing short slots with couple portraits and video capture works best. The minimum I like to do is two twenty minute slots- the first being after your group shots before you go in for your wedding breakfast and then depending on sun timings on your day in-between courses or after you have eaten before your evening guests arrive. Then just before I leave at the end I might sneak you away for 5 minutes to get an end-of-the-day shot if you are both up for it (these are usually off-camera flash shots in winter on sunset shots in summer). For both photo and video, it is all about the movement in the shots so I will get you to do lots of walking and talking, laughing and chatting (I have some tricks up my sleeve to bring some natural laughter so when you hear my random requests trust in me they are going to work for natural laughing shots). If there is anything you want to try for a photo or video please do add it to your question sheet.
Sparklers the Do’s and Dont’s
The do’s
Buy long-lasting sparklers the small ones do not last long enough, by the time everyone involved in the sparkler shot has theirs lit the first ones will be out. They are around 18inches long
Buy a big pack of lighters- do not rely on the venue having lighters and one lighter is not enough. Sparklers can be a pain to light so having loads of lighters spread out with guests means there is a better chance of all sparklers getting lit.
Have buckets with sand to put them in after- you want a min of two, again don’t rely on your venue supplying these because 9/10 they want nothing to do with sparkler shots.
Check your venue allows them before planning for them, most do some are really strict.
Keep the number of people you want in a sparkler shot to around 20- the smaller the group the better the sparkler shot. I didn’t learn this trick until my last wedding last year when another wedding photographer told me it’s how she gets her best sparkler shots and it’s so true because everyone listens- read on in the don’ts for why this is so important.
The dont’s
Do it at the end of your night- the drunker people are the more stupid they are with sparklers and I have experienced accidents because of this- hair singes, burnt hands, luckily no one’s dress has gone up in flames but this has happened to others. Even if you are getting married in the summer sparklers in light can still look lovely.
Think every guest has to be involved, you cannot see everyone in a sparkler shot anyway as the focus is all on you so select the 20 most sensible people you would want to shake a live flame in front of you for your sparkler shot.
Walk Slow
Strange subheading I know but there are a few moments throughout your day where you will be walking and want that moment captured so walking slowly really helps with this. The first one is walking down the aisle, take it slowly, enjoy the moment looking at the person you are about to marry, and keep your flowers down not covering your face as this moment is so special both for photo and video. The second important one is that confetti shot, take it slow, smile at each other, cheer with those flowers in the air, and stop for a kiss if you want to, some even do the kiss dip. The third is when you are announced for your wedding breakfast, for this one all your friends and family tend to be super excited to cheer you both in so enjoy the moment and walk around the room high-fiving your friends and family, hugging them, having a little dance if you’ve got some awesome entrance music- don’t just rush straight to your table as this one can be a real fun one especially if you know your guests are the nosey bunch (my fav kind).
The final one is if you are doing a sparkler tunnel, the same points as confetti apply, take it slow and enjoy the moment.
I will remind you of all these points on the actual day, but making you aware of them means you’ve already got them in your mind and helps capture some incredible moments for your video and/or gallery.
Pockets
This one is for the boys- anyone in the wedding party get those phones, keys, wallets, whatever else you’ve got in your front trouser pocket out of them for the day- stick them in your back pocket or jacket pockets the weird shapes I have seen in front trouser pockets for both photo and video can be super distracting and once you’ve seen it it’s all you see if every image of that person.
First Dance
If you are having a first dance I only have one bit of advice here and that is to move in a circle, don’t just sway back and forth in the same spot. Just having that slow bit of circle movement works great on camera for both photo and video. A sway back and forth hasn’t got enough motion for a first dance shot.
That’s it, hopefully you have found some of these tips useful. I am so excited to be capturing your wedding day for you.