There are so many different aspects of your wedding day that you will want photographed. One of those aspects is an overview photo of your ceremony and reception venue along with the detail photos of all of the decorations. You worked hard on designing your ceremony and reception decor and you may have even put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making some of the items. Having your photographer document these details will be a priceless addition for your wedding album. Here are three quick tips that will make sure you photographer will be able to get the images that they need!
1. Allow Enough Time
This tip is the most crucial and when I work with my couples on their timelines, I make sure that this time is built in. Your photographer isn't going to be able to get an amazing overview photo of the venue if there are already people mingling about so the overview photos will need to happen before people arrive.
For the ceremony, your early arriving guests will start arriving 30 minutes prior to your ceremony time. Having a 30 minute buffer before your ceremony will be perfect for your photographer to get a few great overview photos as well as detail photos of any of your ceremony decor.
For the reception, if the reception venue is in the same building as your ceremony or close by, depending on the set up time, your photographer may be able to stop by there first to get some of the overview photos. If that is not an option, then you may be able to tell your venue to keep the doors closed for a few minutes while they get the photos they need. If you are having a cocktail hour, this will normally happen in a separate area so it would work out perfectly. We don't need a ton of time to get these photos! We are fast workers and know what we need to get photos of before we even arrive so having a 15 minute window built in would be perfect.
2. Communicate With Your Photographer
Is there an aspect of your ceremony and reception that you absolutely want photographed? Is there an item that has been used in all of your families weddings? Is there something that you made that you are extremely proud of? Let us know! We will try to make sure we get photos of everything, but making us aware of these perfect details will ensure that we get it photographed.
3. Communicate With Your Venue
Just like you need to keep your photographer in the loop, you should also keep your venue in the loop. Some venues will wait until the last minute to put the silverware on the table or to finalize your reception decor. Letting them know when your photographer is planning on stopping by to photograph the details will ensure that your venue is set up and ready to go. This also goes vice versa. Is there another event at your venue where it will not be set up early? Let your photographer know so they can adjust their schedule so they can capture the details.
