5 Tips To Avoid Disaster On Your Wedding Day
As a wedding photographer for 7 years, I’ve had my fair share of experiencing things that affected the outcome of the wedding day timeline. Unfortunate things happen, and while we obviously don’t want it for any event, it is just a part of reality and we have to be diligent on this one day that’s been planned for a year (more for some) to be a successful event.
But there are things that we can take action on to mitigate or better yet, avoid these from being a problem! So here are our top tips!
Have An Engagement Session
Even though couples can have a preview of their chosen photographer’s portfolio, having established a working relationship prior to the wedding has its weight in gold. Because it can serve as a practice session for beautiful portraits and how to work with your photographer during the wedding day. The couple can understand what they mean when they instruct them to do certain things without the time pressure of the wedding day. Also the same goes with your photographer. He/she can have an idea how you are with each other, your personalities and provide feedback to each other so when the wedding day comes, results are amazing photos!
It will give you a feeling of familiarity with your photographer that on the wedding day, they won’t feel like a stranger. You will be able to be much more comfortable in front of the camera on the wedding day. It affects your timeline in a way that it will speed things up because you are not trying to get a feel for each other during the photo ops and wasting valuable time. Your comfort level with your photographer will show through on the images.
Plus, you can schedule your hair and make up trial on the same time of the engagement shoot as well to knock out two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Having beautiful engagement photos will create for a chance to use them for stunning save-the-dates and art work for you to enjoy!
Organize Your Family Formal Photos
Even though couples can have a preview of their chosen photographer’s portfolio, having established a working relationship prior to the wedding has its weight in gold. Because it can serve as a practice session for beautiful portraits and how to work with your photographer during the wedding day. The couple can understand what they mean when they instruct them to do certain things without the time pressure of the wedding day. Also the same goes with your photographer. He/she can have an idea how you are with each other, your personalities and provide feedback to each other so when the wedding day comes, results are amazing photos!
It will give you a feeling of familiarity with your photographer that on the wedding day, they won’t feel like a stranger. You will be able to be much more comfortable in front of the camera on the wedding day. It affects your timeline in a way that it will speed things up because you are not trying to get a feel for each other during the photo ops and wasting valuable time. Your comfort level with your photographer will show through on the images.
Plus, you can schedule your hair and make up trial on the same time of the engagement shoot as well to knock out two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Having beautiful engagement photos will create for a chance to use them for stunning save-the-dates and art work for you to enjoy!
Have A Day Of Coordinator
Wedding days have a lot of components, small details and moving parts that have to come together. These may be things that may need transportation (like taking flowers from ceremony space to reception tables centerpieces, etc.), relaying a message to the parents that are on a different floor while on a tight schedule, or some type of coordination that would be too much for a bridesmaid to do.
The last thing a bride and groom would want is thinking about all these little things and not being able to be present in the moment. Passing it off to the parents of the bride, or a bridesmaid may not be the best solution either. Because if that happens, whether it be the mom of the bride or any other relative on task, they won’t be able to experience and enjoy the day. And instead, they would just be worried about these things that could just be delegated to someone else that has a live-event experience. Thus, where a wedding day-of coordinator comes in to play.
Even though venues have a maitre d, most are not there until you get to the reception. So for the early portions of the day, the day-of coordinator can free you up from thinking all about those stuff. So you can relax and enjoy the day. Especially with unexpected things that can happen like a purse left at the hotel, or a tie was left at the house, marriage license got left at the hotel etc., having a reliable go-to person that knows what is suppose to happen on a wedding day and quickly solve and problems could definitely save you time and stress on the wedding day.
Consider A First Look
One of the most common things that happen on a traditional timeline (not seeing each other before the ceremony on wedding day) is squeezing in a lot of photos to be done with not enough time. With so many factors that could affect your timeline, padding it is always a great idea. Because you have family formals, bridal party photos, and creative portraits of you as a couple (which honestly will one of the few moments in the day that you actually get to spend time with each other), along with the logistics of travel to the venue if you are coming from a church, would usually a tough squeeze with only an hour of time given, in most cases.
But you can only have enough time spaced out before you worry about your guests sitting out there for
too long from the end of ceremony to the start of reception. So it’s like a chicken and egg thing.
Thus, here is another option, a reveal/first look. By doing that, it creates for an intimate moment between just the two of you, get the portraits of you and the bridal party early on, and even family portraits. While having time for your photographers for creativity, and perhaps being able to go to stunning locations. So when the end of the ceremony comes, you can be there at cocktail hour, mingle with your guests, and be present! Also if you’re getting married in the winter time, your photos won’t have to be in the dark as the sun is usually gone by 4pm in peak winter season.
As for the moments getting affected by it, we have photographed many weddings that our grooms still felt emotional at the altar even with having done a first look. And of course we also have photographed a lot of weddings without a first look, there just has to be great coordination between vendors as timelines and logistics vary by event.
In the end, it is still for you to decide if having a first look is indeed for you, but it is a great option if considered.
Have An Emergency Kit
Lastly, having an emergency kit with first aid items can really come in handy. With unavoidable things always a possibility, having a Tylenol, hairspray, bobby pin, deodorant, or a stain remover, could really save the day in some situations. The saying goes “it’s better to have and not need it than to need it and not have it” rings so true on a day like a wedding day. Things happen no matter how careful we get so just being prepared will only benefit you by having that peace-of-mind that you can tackle on these things should they ever happen.
Anticipating and being proactive on these things are our top tips to help make sure that a celebration like your wedding day flows smoothly without a hitch. Which in turn, let’s you celebrate, be present in the moment and enjoy your most special day with your family and friends!
We hope you have found this information helpful. Our studio still has a lot of 2020 & 2021 available dates. Contact us today for a FREE wedding consultation and learn more how we can work together to create your first family heirloom, and provide you with an amazing experience on your wedding day!
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