Let me start off by saying I am not a wedding planner. I think it would be a fun job, but I feel my strengths are greatest in the photography-related parts of weddings. That being said, this timeline is my personal estimation of how much time I like to schedule for photos on the day of the wedding. Keep in mind that every photographer is different with how they prefer to shoot. Some like to spend four hours taking photos of just the wedding party. I don’t. :-)

This is the basic timeline that I give all my brides who opt to do the first look – we start from here and if there is anything that we think will take more or less time, we make adjustments as necessary:

T-4 hours: getting ready + candids + details (dress, special jewelry, flowers, SHOES)

T-3 hours: couple’s first look and portraits

T-2 hours: wedding party portraits

T-1 hour 30 minutes: family portraits

T-1 hour: candids + details (time for you and all those involved with photos to grab a snack/touch up makeup/cool down before the wedding)

After the ceremony, I just tag along for the ride and let the rest of the day unfold!

Here are a few variables that tend to shift the schedule:

Location – How far is the getting ready location from the ceremony? How far is the ceremony from the reception? Is there an additional location where you’d like to take photos? Significant drive time will need to be included in the schedule to keep everyone on time.

Lighting – What time of day is the ceremony? With this schedule, a 3:00 ceremony would put the first look and portraits at noon… not ideal outdoor lighting conditions.

‘Fashionably late’ relatives – To keep your friends and family from showing up late, tell them they need to be there for photos earlier than planned. You’d rather have them there early instead of waiting on them to finish up the group photos.

Extended family members – More people means allowing more time for family photos either before or after the ceremony.

Small children – Naps are crucial! Especially if you want flower girls and ring bearers to be in the photos as well as be cooperative. :-)

Again, every wedding is unique and every wedding should have its own timeline – this is simply a suggestion meant to be adjusted to your specific needs. Also, make sure to check with YOUR photographer to see how they prefer to schedule photos. Every photographer does things his/her own way because they know what works for them.

I was recently asked what I thought about brides/grooms getting a spray tan for their wedding, so I thought I’d use this opportunity for another wedding tip to share! I think it’s definitely a healthier alternative than tanning beds. However, it probably isn’t wise get your very first spray tan the day before the wedding.

(click on the image to see Ross from Friends and his spray tan experience)

Okay, so hopefully you’ll know better than to count Mississippilesly. :-)

But seriously, I think that if you’re going to get a spray tan for your wedding, definitely do a trial run a month or two before the wedding. Find out how your skin reacts to it and how long the tan takes to fade. Hopefully you’ll be able to schedule the tan early in the week before your wedding. In case something does go wrong, or you feel you’re too dark/unnatural right after the spray tan, you’ll have a few days for it to wear off (on regular clothes instead of your wedding attire).

Your wedding photographer is the one person you hire for your wedding who will be spending the majority of the day with you.

Your wedding day. The day that you and your fiance become Mrs. and Mr. until death do you part. The day that you have been planning for months or even years! And you’re going to hire someone to document your entire love story come together with the unity of marriage. And they’ll be there. All. Day. Long.

Aside from whether or not you really LOVE the photos you’re going to get from this photographer (which you should – you’re hiring him/her!!) this person should be able to make you genuinely smile. They should make you feel completely comfortable in front of the camera. I believe that hiring a photographer should be more than just the photos they take. It should be a combination of their talent AND personality that you base your decision on.

By loving your photographer (their good looks (photos) and their charm (personality)) I’m sure you will feel super comfortable with them being around you all day long. And who doesn’t deserve to be comfortable on their wedding day?! :-)

p.s. I don’t care if this is the third time this image has been on the blog – I just love how in LOVE Dan + Kalina are!! And their wedding is only a little over a month away! Hip, hip hooray!!

Let’s say you are looking around for the perfect photographer for your wedding. You’re checking out websites, asking for pricelists, etc. You finally find THE photographer who is available for YOUR day. Yippee!! Now what? Hire them to spend all day with you at your wedding? Better yet, hire them for the wedding as well as an engagement session!!

I think it is so important to get to know your photographer. Not just their photos, but the actual photographer. Anyone can look at photos of other people and say “oh, they look so pretty!” Discover how you look through your photographer’s lens. Relax and have fun!

If you’ve picked the perfect photographer for you, you should feel comfortable around them and you should LOVE your photos! If you are happy with how your engagement photos turned out, you can relax and trust in your photographer to get amazing images on your wedding!

I like to make the entire wedding photography process simple for my clients and so I offer a complimentary engagement session with every one of my wedding collections. I put myself out there on the blog and on facebook, but I want to get to know YOU. I want you to know it’s okay to laugh at my lame jokes. I want you to have fun and show me how much you love each other and are excited to get married!

The photos that result from an engagement session are an awesome reminder of how in love you are with each other. You’ve met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and you’re about to make it official! I can’t stress this enough – HAVE FUN!!

It’s no secret that my absolute FAVORITE part about weddings is the moment the soon-to-be husband and wife see each other for the very first time on their wedding day. It’s so sweet and romantic and special!

I am so lucky that most of my couples opt to do a ‘first look.’ As soon as they are ready, I arrange for just the couple to meet someplace quiet before we start taking portraits.

I keep my big zoom lens on for these photos so I don’t distract my couple. I want this moment to be for them. So that they can have this time to hug and kiss and hug some more and tell each other how GOOD they look!!

I think I forgot to mention how exciting this is for couples!! Sweet, romantic, special and EXCITING!!

I let my couples have as much time as they’d like to have to themselves. Again, this is their wedding day. They are the ones getting married. And for the rest of the day, they will be talking with all their friends and family who have traveled so far to help them celebrate.

Of course, this is the perfect time to exchange letters or even (surprise) gifts. :-)

After the ‘first look’ I move right in to couple portraits. Doing a ‘first look’ before the ceremony gives us as much time as we want to explore different locations for photos. This also extends the ‘just bride and groom’ time before inviting the wedding party to join us for some more photos!

If you have any questions about the ‘first look,’ let me know!!