Things to Do and Helpful Hints When Planning Your Wedding!

We have listed here a number of things to do to make your wedding day go just the way you always dreamed it would. Over the years our experiences with over 1000+ weddings has taught us these are some of the things that can go wrong if not planned ahead of time. These suggestions are made because we want your wedding to be all you have dreamed about, free of problems that could have been avoided if only planned for ahead of time.

TIME: Portraits: For the, outdoor wedding decoration, average wedding, plan for the "posed", outdoor wedding decoration, photography to take about 1.5 to 2.5 hours before the ceremony and 45 minutes after the ceremony. It is extremely important that the bridal party and and family get a copy of our "timeline" so they, outdoor wedding decoration, know what time to arrive for portraits. If someone is late, it will cause important pictures to be, outdoor wedding decoration, missed or rushed. Rushing through portraits, may cause important details to be missed which would result in inferior images. If the schedule calls for a 2:00 pm start time, everyone needs to be dressed and totally ready at that time. Please do not be offended by our time schedule requirements.

Without sufficient time scheduled, you will end up with important pictures that you, outdoor wedding decoration, were counting on, getting missed.

TOGETHER OR SEPARATE:

If you so choose, the bride and groom can be separate until after the ceremony.

It is highly recommend that all portraits be done before the ceremony. You will look fresher and your clothing will be less wrinkled, You will be less rushed and the guests will not be kept waiting at the reception.This time can be very special when the groom sees the bride for the first time. The groom might be led in blindfolded, then kneel before the bride, kiss her hand and the blindfold removed. All other people would be asked to leave the room so this can be a special time for the bride and groom.

I have NEVER in20 years of wedding photography had a bride who chose to have portraits done, together, before the ceremony, later say they wish they had not seen each other. I have had dozens who say they wish they had. It is YOUR choice. The following is a list of things you can do ahead of time or assign, outdoor wedding decoration, to others. Plan ahead and set yourself free on the wedding day!

a. The guys should pick their tuxes up 2 days BEFORE, NOT the day of the wedding! Be sure they try them on! We have seen many tuxes that do not fit. Try on the shirts too, have the, outdoor wedding decoration, personnel at the tux shop show them how the buttons and the cufflinks work.

b. Hairdressers have probably caused more brides to be late than any other than any other thing I know. Make sure your hairdresser knows the time we need the photography to start, not the ceremony, which is two hours later! We recommend you have more than one hairdresser if you have several bridesmaids. A word of caution concerning your hairdo, some designs may be very elegant, but what will they look like in pictures? Long hair strands or curls covering your eyes can cast shadows on your face.

c. Make sure the florist knows the, outdoor wedding decoration, time schedule too! The flowers need to be ready and available two hours before the ceremony. The location of the ceremony should be decorated ahead of time, so the florist isn't arranging flowers, outdoor wedding decoration,, outdoor wedding decoration, on the altar when we need to start photography. Arrange for the flowers and decorations to be left up until the photography is done.

d. The church needs to know the time schedule. Ifthe photography is startingfor example, at 2:00pm the church willneed to be open, air-conditioning turned, outdoor wedding decoration, on way before this time. The photographer will need time to set up equipment beforehand (20 minutes) The church also needs to knowyou need approximately 45 minutes after the ceremony to do portraits of the bridal party and family with the bride & groom. Thechurch, outdoor wedding decoration, staff should not bein the background, turning off the lights, cleaning, and taking down decorations, outdoor wedding decoration, while you are havingportraits done at the, outdoor wedding decoration,, outdoor wedding decoration, alter.

e.It isrecommended that the first row be left empty. The parents should be seated in the second row. If the area between the front row and the altar is spacious, it's OK for, outdoor wedding decoration, them to sit there. I have often noticed the parents cannot see anything because the bridal party is standing right in front of them. Also,the photographerneeds a place to kneel to photograph the processional coming down the aisle. If the parents are sitting in the front row, and the bridal party is standing in front of them, it does not leave any place for the photographer, who will be moving away from there when the bride arrives at the altar.

f. Train the ushers! I have seen, outdoor wedding decoration, ushers seat people in the front row that were not even family members! I recommend that ushers be separate from groomsmen. The ushers need to be stationed at the door during the ceremony to seat late arriving guests quietly!

g. A word about children. We, outdoor wedding decoration, love children! Young children can be very cute in pictures. When a young child is the primary subject of our photography, we can spend the needed time to create some really precious memories. Your wedding day may not be the correct time to do this. We have experienced a few two year olds who want to be in all the pictures, except the ones they are supposed to be in! If you have very young children in your wedding party, we recommend an adult other than those in the bridal party supervise the children, and if they get cranky take them away from the area where your portraits are being created.

h. Let the limo driver, outdoor wedding decoration, know, outdoor wedding decoration, the schedule, both before and after the ceremony. Make sure they don't schedule another job too soon after your ceremony. Regardless of all the planning, there should be a little leeway in the schedule.

i. The DJ or party host needs to, outdoor wedding decoration, know the time schedule. The DJ needs to know if we are going outside to capture some sunset portraits or doing other outdoor portraits during the reception.

j. Have a backup plan for an outdoor wedding in case of inclement weather. Outdoor weddings can be lovely and we love to photograph them. Just one word of caution, beware of harsh midday sun, which can cast harsh shadows on faces with dark circles under the eyes. Natural light, especially late in the day, is often the most flattering for portraits. We also look for shady areas where the light is not too harsh.

We offer these suggestions because we wish your wedding day be all you dreamed it would be and as stress free as possible.

Paul Foreman