wedding photographer central coast

How I shoot a wedding day

Your guide to how I create a timeline that is stress free so you can enjoy your day.

Jump to guide –  Getting readyCeremonyCongrats & FamilyLocation photosReception detailsEntryGuestsCandidsSpeechesCake CuttingDance floorEnd of night.

 

Getting ready for your wedding day.

This blog is to show you what is generally photographed on a 8 hour wedding day.  Let’s start with some getting ready photos. This includes doing your dress up, detail photos, photos with family and bridal party. Some handy hints for this part of the day would be to have all your details together such as shoes, rings, etc. If you want a photo of the girls in their robes I generally do that as soon as I walk in, I then get the girls to go get dressed while I finish up with some details photos. After they are dressed they can either help you into your dress or mum can. For the guys, same thing..have rings, shoes etc together. I generally like to photograph the men when they are fully dressed (they actually take longer to get ready than the girls).


Wedding Ceremony time!

From here I travel to wherever the ceremony is held. Photos included are walking down the aisle, photo of your spouse’s face as you walk down, all the candids during ceremony, vows, ring exchange, any readings that may happen and of course your first kiss. Some handy hints for this part of the day would be – JUST ENJOY IT. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Look at each other, hug, kiss, stand close, whatever makes you feel comfortable…and remember to smile!


After ceremony congratulations and family photos

After the ceremony I get the guests to congratulate you for around 10 minutes before we dive into family photos. I try to do immediate family here only and get the rest of family at reception. The main reason is because is if we start photographing everyone here we will run out of time and light for your bridal party photos. These family photos usually take between 15-40 minutes (depends on how big your immediate family is)  A handy hint for this part is make sure immediate family members know they are wanted for photos directly after ceremony so they dont leave the area and are hard to find.


Bridal party photographs

After some congratulation and family photos we take off for your bridal party photos (these can be done before ceremony if you prefer to spend time with your guests here, that just needs to be worked into the timeline) These photos usually take around 45-60 minutes depending on how far we are going for photos. I actually don’t like keeping you too long from your guests, you invited them to spend time with them so lets do exactly that. Some handy hints for this part are – bring some food and drinks, make sure none of the bridal party take off after ceremony. A lot of times we are ready to go for photos and cant find a groomsman or bridesmaid.


Photos of reception details

After the location photos I try to get back to reception before guests go in so I can grab some detail photos of the room. Having a second shooter comes in handy here because they can go in while we are still out shooting the location photos. Room details include the general set up, menus, cake photos and anything that looks pretty.


Time to enter your reception

Bridal Party entry time! – Make it fun! Loud fun music, lots of dancing if you like! I get every bridal party member as well as yourself of course.


Taking photos of your guests

Table photos – During the start of reception I go around to every table and take photos of whoever is sitting near whoever. Sometimes it can be couples photos, sometimes its a group of mates, it can be grandparents, parents and so on. Handy hint for this part – when doing your table seating chart try to sit couples next to each other not opposite. It makes it a lot easier to shoot this way.


Time for candid photographs!

Candids! – I LOVE candids, this is my favourite thing to shoot. Once I know I have photos of everyone I pop on a telephoto and grab some candids. The best photos are ones that people don’t know are being taken.


Time for speeches!

Photos of speeches can be heartfelt, hilarious and just so full of love. I often find out a lot about the couple during this part of the night. Handy hint for this part – Keep it to 2 minutes or so per person chatting. Sometimes after a few beer/wines guests speeches can go for a LONG time.. I am talking 45 minutes for one speech..yes you read that right.


Cake cutting time

This usually last literally 2 minutes! Big handy hint for this one..let me get my photos before anyone else grabs theirs. Other peoples flashes going off is nasty..and because its over and done with SO fast it can definitely happen if others are shooting.


Time to hit the dance floor!

It’s that time of the night when the dance floor starts – which I LOVE!! Don’t worry if you arent a dancer just sway, or choose a song thats fun or you. It doesn’t need to be mushy if thats not you. It can really be anything you like…and boys, dont forget to dance with your mums. As a mum myself I just know they will love it. Handy hint for this section – have guests gather around to watch,  you can get amazing reactions from guests.


A few last photos

I do love taking couples out for one last portrait before I leave for the night. It can be a night time photo or it can be a sparkler photo. Handy hint – if you get sparklers, grab the really long ones, they last a lot longer