Congratulations! You’re engaged, now it is time to start planning...

Planning a wedding can be a lot of fun but unless you are an event planner or have been part of many weddings of friends or family, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. There are many factors that help make your wedding day flow smoothly and I made this guide to share what I have learned after years in the business. Ohhhhhh what I would change about my own wedding if I was doing it with all of this new knowledge. I have broken down the guide into the typical parts that I see on most wedding days.

Getting Ready

Joining you as you get ready to get married is one of my favourite moments of the day. The excitement and anticipation is contagious. Let’s keep those good feelings going by thinking of the following:

• Choose a getting ready space that has an abundance of natural light. Clean, light coloured walls can help reflect light in rooms with smaller windows. If you wish to get ready at home, take a walk around the bedrooms and common areas at the time you will be getting ready to see which rooms will have the best lighting at that time.

• Be mindful of clutter and distracting pieces. You are the focus of the day, not the McDonalds wrappers from breakfast. Clear out all garbage (water bottles are the number one culprit) and suitcases. Clearing the area beforehand will allow us to take our time and focus on the day. If possible, have adjoining hotel rooms or a suite so one area can be kept clear. Most hotels are happy to come and make the bed for you. I would also recommend asking hair and makeup to setup away from the area you have chosen to use to get dressed.

• Try to have hair and makeup putting finishing touches on you as I am scheduled to arrive.

• Create a playlist ahead of time with the mood you want to exude.

• If you have a complicated clothing item or something you are not used to wearing, such as a bow tie, practice putting it on. I have been in many hotel rooms with 5 groomsmen trying to YouTube “how to tie a bowtie”.

• Everyone will be very excited and eager to help. Ask one or two people to be in the room with you to get ready so you can keep the moment private. Let everyone know who will be helping ahead of time. For example, a parent can help you do up your dress or put your suit jacket on and a member of your wedding party can help with your jewelry or tie. After that, we can arrange for a special moment with everyone else at the getting ready location if you would like them to be involved, like a mini first look.

• It takes time to organize those beautiful flatlays you see on instagram. If this is important to you, please let me know so I have enough time to create those without rushing the getting ready portion of the day. Please have your details set aside and ready for us to capture. Some of the most common details people include are your shoes, a nice hanger for your dress/suit, jewellery, invitation suite, the rings, gifts, watch, tie, cuff links, perfume/cologne if a nice bottle, etc. 

• Ideally, I like to schedule 1-1.5 hours of getting ready coverage. I typically start with the details and flatlays, followed by getting dressed and many candids throughout.

First Look

First looks have become more and more popular over the past few years because they allow you to have a private moment together and help with pre-ceremony nerves. Those reasons are great but my favourite thing about first looks? The fact that you can actually fully enjoy the wedding you spent so long planning. When having a later ceremony and deciding on seeing each other beforehand, I recommend to take a moment for yourselves and then do wedding party and family photos before the ceremony as well. This way, after the ceremony, everyone (yes, including you!) can enjoy cocktail hour with your guests.

When planning a first look, try to:

• ask family and wedding party members to keep a distance so you can have an intimate moment.

• think about how you want the look to happen. Some common ideas are tapping your partner on the shoulder, calling their name or grabbing their butt ;). Discuss this before your wedding day so you both know how it will play out.

• I will help find a spot with good lighting for the most flattering angle and set you both up.

Ceremony

The moment you have been waiting for is finally here!

• Please remind your wedding party to walk down the aisle slowly and looking ahead (not at the ground) to ensure we are able to get lovely photos of them. This can be tricky if they are too close to the person before them.

• Have everyone do a quick scan of each other to make sure they look their absolute best. Common things to look out for are hair elastics on wrist, bra straps out of place and phones/keys in pockets.

• Even though everyone will be focused on you, your wedding party will be part of the ceremony with you and in many of the photos. Standing straight, holding flowers at their navel and smiling make all the difference! 

• Some people are nervous about their first kiss in front of all their guests but please try to hold it for a few seconds to make sure we get it. I also like to do another kiss at the end of the aisle with your guests in the back but I will remind you of this.

Family Photos

• Create a list of all the variations you would like. Please write down the name of each person as well as their relation to you to help me be able to identify them and get the next group ready so we can breeze through your list! Below is an example of how to set up your family shot list:

  • Bride + Groom + Bride’s mom (Linda)

  • Bride + Bride’s mom (Linda)

  • Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents (John and Susan)

  • etc

• Try to keep your family photos list to immediate family. The list can quickly grow and become overwhelming for you.

• Please remind everyone involved in family photos where and when to meet.

• If there are any tensions, please let me know so I can strategically place your family members.

• Larger, extended family groupings can be done during cocktail hour or reception if you would like.

Reception

Unless we have some family photos to finish, I take a step back from posing and guiding during the reception and focus on capturing all those special moments as they organically unfold.

• Be mindful of what is directly behind the head table as it will be in the background of all of your photos.

• Some venues have the head table up on a platform. This can make it tricky to get photos of your reactions during speeches. If you will be sitting up on a platform, try to have low florals so nothing is blocking your faces.

• I know giving a speech can be nerve-racking but it is near impossible to get a good photo of you and your family/friends talking if you are looking down and reading the entire time. Take a moment to look up, pause and be present in the moment.

• Weddings can be long days and sometimes 8 or 10 hours of coverage does not get us too far into the reception. If this is the case, I would recommend doing your first dance and parent dances at the beginning of reception along with a few speeches so I can capture those and some great reactions before I leave for the day.

• Playing songs that get all of your guests up on the dance floor helps me capture lots of dancing and partying. I typically find that 30 minutes of coverage once the dance floor opens is enough.

• I like to sneak out for 15-20 minutes at golden hour for a few more portraits of you in some stunning light. I plan this for around 30 minutes before sunset but will keep and eye on the setting sun and pull you between speeches.

• Eat! Drink! Enjoy! You’re married!

Recommendations

I will be there every step of the way with you on your wedding day and step in to help as much as I can. However, pausing to pin 10 boutonnieres on your groomsmen when we are already pressed for time takes away from what I am able to focus on as a photographer. Having a planner makes a big difference in how the day flows and takes the pressure off of you. If hiring a planner is not in your budget, many offer month-of or day-of coordinating services which could be a great option! Please keep in mind that a venue coordinator is not the same thing as a planner. A planner works for you and has your best interests at heart and a venue coordinator works for the venue. Below are some planners that I have worked with in the past and are a dream:

Open Sky Weddings - Amanda Chapman

Tracey Mcateer Events

Be Our Guest Events

Amanda Cowley

Please email me if you have any questions. I like to set up a call about a month before your wedding to organize the timeline and go through the details as they are usually finalized by this point.

I can’t wait to celebrate with you!