So what is a typical wedding day?
It’s All About The Timings
Well first off there is no such thing as a typical wedding day – they are all unique and each couple has unique needs. Each day is different and has to be planned down to the last detail. About a month before the big day I will meet with the bride and groom to discuss the timings and details of every part of the day.
I work out a time-line working from fixed points during the day. The two most important timings are, the ceremony time and the wedding breakfast time. I work the rest of the day around these two critical points.
If I’m photographing the bridal preparations then I need to allow time to travel to the ceremony venue and meet up with the groom and photograph details such as flowers and the guests arrivals. Usually I like to arrive at the ceremony venue about an hour before the ceremony time – this gives me about 15 minutes with the men before things start to happen.
Church ceremonies take around 45-50 minutes and civil ceremonies about 20 – 25 minutes. Travelling time to the reception venue and when the wedding breakfast is set for fixes how much time can be allocated to photography after the ceremony. I like to do the formal groups as soon after the ceremony as possible and I allow about 2 minutes per group shot. On average we’re done within about 30-40 minutes. Often I like to pop back into the church with the couple to take a couple of shots of them in front of the stained glass window, only takes a couple of minutes.
Once we’re at the reception venue I like to take the couple away from everyone for about 30 minutes for those more intimate romantic shots. And most couples don’t want the groom’s mates pulling faces at him so I make sure we’re not followed!
This takes us up to the wedding breakfast – time for me to take a break as I don’t photograph people whilst they’re eating. After the meal I’ll shoot the speeches and then on to the first dance.
By now it’s around 9 pm and my day usually finishes here unless there’s something else that the couple have requested. For example, there may be a firework display. Rest assured I don’t leave without checking that everything has been covered.
0 Responses to “Wedding Photography – Planning Your Day”