Bride and Groom Wedding Day Checklist & Questionnaire
Below is basic information about the wedding day. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Make sure there is natural light in the room where the bride will be getting ready (window light). This makes a world of difference in your images.
If possible, try to have all bridal details together before the photographer arrives. (Dress, jewelry, shoes, bouquet, garter, veil, etc). This will make the detail shots more efficient! PLEASE BRING AN INVITATION/SAVE THE DATE TO THE WEDDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.
Keep the area near the window free of trash, bags, snacks, etc. This will be where the bride will be putting on her dress! (We don’t need water bottles and luggage in your bridal portraits) We will have to spend extra time to clean these up before shooting begins if there is a lot of clutter.
If anything goes wrong on a wedding day, guess what’s the only thing you can cut time off of? You guessed it: the photography. The more rushed your photographer is, the less chance he’ll be as creative and seeing those opportunities for amazing photos or the candid moments unfolding. To avoid this, make sure to leave extra time for photos and any traveling between locations. Especially if you aren’t doing a first look, make sure your cocktail hour is sufficiently long to fit in all the photos you want. I recommend at least 45-60 minutes for family and bride and groom portraits. This allows us to walk around the property to different locations, to play with different techniques and most of all to give YOU time to get comfortable in front of the camera and for me to discover what angles and poses are the most natural and flattering for you. If you are considering doing photos off site, which I sometimes recommend if the venue doesn’t offer many options, leave double the time you think you need for travel.
Make and Manage Your Family Photo List
Everyone wants family photos, but no one wants to pose for them. To keep them moving as fast as possible, I ask my clients in advance to provide a list of family members name listed out. I do not recommend family photos in the middle of cocktail hour as gathering everyone can be impossible. Doing family photos directly before or after the ceremony usually works best.
Please note that I have a hard copy of the questionnaire available if you find the online version difficult to use. Please just click the link below and email the finished document to ryan@rwphotographs.com
Thank you!