In this video, I talk about through few things that can really help me on a wedding day
If you are getting ready at the venue, or you don’t have me for morning prep; then feel free to skip this bit!
I need to arrive at the wedding ceremony location at least 30 minutes before the start of the wedding ceremony; this allows me to capture people arriving and get some venue shots, cake pictures etc…
There are two main timings that impact the time that I arrive at the wedding ceremony location.
The first is travel time, if it takes 45 minutes to get to the ceremony location from where you are getting ready in the morning, I’m going to need to leave the getting ready part of the day at a certain time to allow me to get to the venue with the 30 minutes spare.
The second bit which impacts on the morning timings is the final getting ready bit, the wedding dress or suit going on.
If you want to have some shots of the final bits of the dress going on, maybe Mum’s helping or you want to capture the bridesmaid’s reactions when they see you for the first time – all this needs to happen before I have to leave to get to the ceremony location.
Typically, if there is travel involved, most people are eager to make sure they are ready and so it might be that nothing changes in terms of timings, but worth keeping it in mind if you do want the reactions or the dress/suit shots.
It’s so important that on the wedding day that you have a few people, Ushers, Groomsmen, Best men, Bridesmaids etc.. there to help with things. Simple things, like which side people should be sitting on during the ceremony, what time things are happening etc.. these little things can make the day run a lot smoother.
The two times on a wedding day where it’s beneficial to have someone to help us out:
CONFETTI
If you are planning on doing confetti, it’s really helpful if you can get the Ushers or Groomsmen to arrange two lines of people ready for when you guys come through the door or the arch way etc..
I’ll obviously step in if things aren’t getting done, but I much prefer to be snapping away capturing people getting ready to cover you in confetti – people love confetti and so to capture that is important.
FAMILY FORMALS
The second time that the Ushers or Groomsmen will need to help us is when we are ready to do the family/group formals.
If you can delegate a couple of peeps (and let them know before the wedding); pick peeps who are likely to know the people who are on the group shot lists, brothers or sisters are usually good ones to rope in for the bit as they are likely to know the families.
Typically we can do the family formals during the drinks reception, there is usually a lull after about 40 minutes, this is the perfect time to do them.
About 6 weeks before the wedding I’ll be in touch to arrange a Zoom call and to send you a link to fill out a pre-wedding questionnaire, on this form you can fill in the timings of when the main things are going to happen on the day.
Around a week before the wedding, I’ll be in touch to double-check that nothing has changed from when we had our Zoom call and when the pre-wedding questionnaire was filled out.
Things do change, sometimes they change on a wedding day, but let me know if they do change so I can make sure I’m in the right place at the right time!
Hopefully, these suggestions make sense, and I’m in no way saying that what I have written or said in the video must happen, but I genuinely want you to get the best out of me and these things can help.
Andy
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I hated it. It was an awful experience. It was the middle of July, it was very hot and the guests just want to find some shade, sit down and enjoy the wedding day. The Bride and Groom were adamant that they wanted all 30 family formals doing and after the ‘everyone whose surname begins with an ‘S’ and was born on a Tuesday’ shot was done – the formals were complete.
My couples book me for my documentary style of wedding photography, with most of my couples not wanting to be standing around for ages having formal photographs – and because I can only be in one place at a time, if you have 3 pages of family formals it will mean I won’t be able to get the candid images of you and your guests enjoying themselves.
Family formal shots with me are 20 minutes, a small list of between 4-8 main shots which will cover all the important people who are with you on your wedding day.
Darren + Sharon plus Darren’s immediate family
Darren + Sharon plus Darren’s parents
Darren + Sharon plus Daz and Shaz’s parents
Darren + Sharon plus Sharon’s immediate family
Darren + Sharon plus bridesmaids
Darren + Sharon plus Best Man & Ushers
This is a tricky one and I would only suggest you do an ‘Everyone’ group shot if there is space at the venue for your guests to be on steps/stairs, a place where they can be layered so everyone can be in the photo, or a place where I can get high up to shoot down on the group. These photos tend to take around 10-15 minutes to get setup – so please factor this in to the timings of your day and the other group shots that you would like capturing.
Before you confirm your family formals with me, have a quick chat, text, facetime, or Facebook message with your parents; they might like to add some suggestions for some family formals, and it’s best to have these conversations before the wedding.
If you know that there are going to be some family formals which include ‘family politics’ that’s all fine, every family has its family members who don’t get along – just let me know as best you can the people who might not get along, and we can arrange the formals so things don’t ‘kick off’!!
I tend to do the formal photos following 15-20 minutes of mingling after the ceremony. I tend to let you guys have 15 minutes of greeting people, thanking people and hugging people before we start the family formals.
Depends. Honestly, it does. The majority of wedding ceremonies are completed between 12-3pm often when the sun is at its highest and also its most harsh.
If the sun is very bright and you have your heart set on a particular location, it might be that we wait for the sun to soften in the early evening before we do the family formals.
If you just want to get the family formals done, I will advise you guys on the day where the best place will be unless we have gone through this before the wedding.
It’s best to nominate a couple of friends who can help in rounding up the guests and it’s best to make sure that the nominated people know the majority of the people in your family formal shots. This should mean less waiting around for you guys as we can get the formals done much quicker with help.
There are going to be people looking at other people (often with mobile phones), there might be a slanted smile, there might even be a sneeze – so just go with the flow!
Are you are looking for Wedding Photographer in Nottingham and are interested in my relaxed, natural and candid, documentary wedding photography? – Click to check out my availability and to get in touch.
-Andy-
At every one of the weddings I have photographed, I find myself drawn to the sounds of a wedding day, all the happy stories, the stories of loved ones who are looking down upon the wedding, the funny stories of childhood and stories from the stag do’s….
By using the sounds of the wedding ceremony, the speeches and the images from the wedding day all mixed together to create something truly special that can be watched over and over again.
The responses to the wedding photofilms have been amazing!
A Bride from last year who sadly lost her Dad a few months after her wedding got in touch recently to say how important it has been to be able to hear his voice and his wedding speech.
It was her that made me push on with offering the wedding photofilm to all my couples.
Haha – no, just me!
The way I record sound during the wedding doesn’t impact the wedding.
For the Wedding Ceremony, I place a small lapel microphone (typically) on the Groom (easier to hide on a suit rather than a wedding dress!), a small microphone on the registrar/priest/vicar, and if possible, a recording is taken from the PA system at the wedding venue or Church.
For the speeches – everyone who is doing a speech has a small microphone placed on them, and also a recording is made via the venue’s microphone and PA system (if possible).
Are you are looking for a Nottingham Hybrid Wedding Photographer who mixes wedding photo and video coverage together into a truly unique wedding photofilm? – Click to check out my availability and to get in touch.
In this video, I talk about walking down the aisle at your wedding; these tips are especially helpful if you have page boys, flower girls and or bridesmaids.
Hopefully, you found this video helpful, I see so many Brides eager to get to the ceremony; the nerves have kicked in, the music is playing – but take your time, let the Bridesmaids, Page Boys and Flowergirls find their seats at the front and then it’s your turn!
Are you are looking for a Wedding Photographer in Nottingham and are interested in my relaxed, natural and candid, documentary wedding photography? – Click to check out my availability and to get in touch.
In this video, I talk about getting closer together during the wedding ceremony – it’s amazing how many couples stand further apart during the wedding ceremony than what they do when they queue for the weekly shop!
This video follows on from the previous Wedding Hints and Tips – Walk Down The Aisle video where the nerves on the day can kick in and you are so focused on repeating the words back to the registrar that you forget to hold hands and you forget to smile at each other – it looks like you have fallen out already 😀
What typically happens once you have walked down the aisle is the registrar will take the flowers off you (if you have some) and place them on the table or ask one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen to hold them for you during the wedding ceremony – at this point, with your hands-free – get close and hold hands!
Are you are looking for a Nottingham wedding photographer and are interested in my relaxed, natural and candid, documentary wedding photography? – Click to check out my availability and to get in touch.
07764 200556
Andy Saywell Nottingham wedding photographer who specialises in candid, natural, relaxed and unposed documentary wedding photography
