WEDDING NOTES™ – Portraits and Pictures

The Fall/Winter 2012 issue of the knot.com did a good job of suggesting new ideas for photo ops at your wedding.  We’ve included some of their ideas as well as suggestions from wedding planners.  Wedding photos are THE lasting memory of your special day.  Making sure that the photographer captures the essence and spirit of the day is so important.  You may wish to review some of these ideas with him/her prior to the wedding.

• ·         Though you may not like standing for posed portraits at your wedding, don’t make the mistake of skipping them.  This is a special day that will only happen once.  Everyone is together looking their best.  Even if you think you don’t want them, “you’ll be glad to have them after the wedding is over.  You can pare down to “five must-take portraits:  the bride and groom together, the entire wedding party, the bride and groom with their parents, the couple with the bride’s immediate family and the couple with the groom’s immediate family.” (theknot.com)

• ·         Consider photos of the groom and his groomsmen getting ready.  The focus of the pre-wedding pix does not have to be on every hairbrush and roller in the bride’s room.

• ·         If you don’t mind having the groom see you before you walk down the aisle, consider “staging” a “first look” photo on a stair case, in a garden or courtyard.  The point is to capture his reaction to the first time he sees you in your gown.  This can be a special shot especially if you won’t have time between the ceremony and reception for many formal pictures.

• ·         Consider having the photographer capture the look on the faces of family members as they see you walk down the aisle.  You may not even have noticed those reactions in the rush of the moment but will enjoy them later.

• ·         Ask the photographer to seek out an unusual vantage point for shooting photos of the ceremony.  Request the same for the reception.  A wide angle shot of the reception area filled with guests will be a wonderful reminder of the entire day.

• ·         Think of your wedding as a “time capsule capturing the context in which your wedding takes place” (theknot.com).  In fifty years, your grandchildren will enjoy looking at the photos.

While wonderful wacky informal shots from your reception may be recorded on the disposable cameras you have left at every table, you will want pictures from a professional photographer who knows how important they are as a record of your incredible day.  Hire the best you can afford.  They are worth it!