Can you believe it's November already?!?! Winter weddings are just around the corner! For those of you who are thinking about having a winter wedding here are 5 Winter Wedding Tips to keep in mind.
1. Sunset Time
It's winter so that means that days of 9pm sunsets are long gone. During the winter the sun can set as early as 5pm. If you are having a winter wedding you will want to keep this in mind so that you can make sure that you schedule enough time for your portraits before the sun will start setting. You won't want to have your couple portraits in complete darkness! :)
2. Consider the Temperatures
Winter can be a beautiful time with all of the snow, however, it can also be quite cold. You won't want to have a coat on during your portraits but you will still want to bring one along so that you can warm up in between photos. You may also want to consider adding a shawl or cute wrap to your gown. This also goes for your bridesmaids. The guys are usually pretty good with their suit jackets, but if it's an extra cold day having them bring a coat wouldn't be a bad idea either. You will want to make sure everyone stays warm!
3. Shoes
Along with coats, you may want to bring along a second set of shoes. If the ground is covered in snow your feet are going to freeze in the snow as you walk from location to location. Bringing along a pair of boots will help make sure you don't get frostbite.
4. Camera Acclimation
This is something that most people aren't aware of. If it's extremely cold outside and your photographer comes from a warm toasty ceremony/reception location, they will need to take a few minutes to let their camera acclimate to the environment. If not, the drastic change in the environment will cause their camera/lens to gather condensation which won't let them be able to take a photo without a fog covering. If you are a wearer of glasses, you will know what I'm talking about when your glasses fog up when you enter a building. The same thing happens with cameras. Your photographer will know how to deal with this but you will just want to make sure that you leave a little buffer time in your schedule so that once you are done with outdoor portraits they will be able to warm up their camera before they need to start shooting inside. This is also true if it's an extremely hot day outside and they go from outdoors into a cold air conditioned building.
5. Take Breaks
If it's extremely cold outside, don't try to push yourself to last for 1-2 hours straight. Take a few quick minutes to run inside and warm up. You photographer will want you to be comfortable so don't hesitate to let them know that you need a little warm up break. However, do keep the schedule in mind, you won't want to take 30 minutes warming up.
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Wedding Wednesday is a blog series that occurs every Wednesday and answers the questions you have about wedding photography. Have a question you would like to have answered or something that you wish you would have known before your wedding or are you a wedding professional who would like to contribute? Send your questions to jasmine@jasminenorris.com.
