10 Tips to get the most out of your wedding day
Wedding days are awesome, a time of pure joy and celebration surrounded by all of your favourite people. With so much happening in just one day it is totally normal for the experience to feel a bit overwhelming. That is why we have put together our list of top tips to help you stay present in your day, worry less and party more!
1. It’s all in the planning
There are a lot of moving parts on a wedding day, often there are quite a few hired professionals there to serve you, from hair and makeup, to transport, registrars, caterers, photographers and sometimes many more. Every one of these brilliant people will put everything into making sure they do the best job for you. Our tip is to set a timeline for the day so that everyone playing a part knows where and when they are required, where possible add a bit of extra time just in case!
2. Book an engagement shoot
Although it all sounds very formal, an engagement session with your photographer is actually a brilliant opportunity to spend some time together and get to know each other a bit more before your wedding day. Your photographer will be able to get to know you and your personalities which means when they turn up on your wedding day they will already know what is important to you and the best way to approach your day. Knowing your photographer on this level means that when they arrive on the morning of your wedding you are comfortable with them and you can just carry on with your day without any awkward introductions.
3. Avoid the mad dash
You put so much thought into the small details, your jewellery, shoes, perfume, flowers, the list goes on. Have these smaller details all together for when your photographer arrives, this avoids the mad dash around the house gathering everything together as this will be the first thing they will photograph in the morning. Instead you can happily point them in the direction of one group of items and carry on with your morning.
4. Technology free ceremony
This is entirely your choice but it is worth considering a mobile phone free ceremony. The main reason for this is that your guests will be able to stay present in the moment with you instead of viewing everything through their phone screens. Been phone free also makes for brilliant photographs where you can see all of your guests faces as they share this moment with you, the smiles, the laughs and the tears. If a phone free ceremony sounds good then speak with your registrar, they will be able to ask people at the beginning of the ceremony to put their phones away.
Bonus Tip!
We spend so much time online, social media is very much part of day to day life for the majority of people. If you want to be the first to share photographs from your wedding day online then politely request that your guests hold back for a few days to allow you to have this moment! Alternatively, if you are happy for lots of social media activity during your day, encourage your guests to use a hashtag for your day so that you can easily look back at all of the action afterwards!
5. Don’t request too many group shots
Group photographs are brilliant, there are very few occasions that you have your family and friends in one place at the same time so to have photographs of this time together is awesome. Our top tip on this is to be selective on the groups you want your photographer to capture and not request too many. Speak with your photographer prior to your wedding and have a list of must have groups for your day. Having a clear plan for this time of the day will allow things to move quickly, getting you the photographs that are most important and getting you back to the party sooner.
Bonus Tip!
Choose somebody from each side that knows your family well, perhaps a bridesmaid or the best man and have them help gather the right people for each group. This helps to keep things moving without you having to worry about herding people yourself!
6. Enjoy each other
Your portrait time is very often the first time on your wedding day you have spent time together, take a moment and take it all in! Again this is where having a photographer you are comfortable with makes all the difference, a few subtle prompts and they will be able to capture genuine moments as you share this time together.
7. Take advantage of the changing light
Every venue changes as the sun goes down, chandeliers, fairy lights and candles adding that extra sprinkling of magic to your day. Your photographer will be attracted to these like moths to a flame (we can’t help it, they’re so beautiful), ask for some evening photographs and see what creative ideas your photographer has up they’re sleeves!
8. Fun and games
Having activities for your guests to enjoy on your day is a fantastic way to have a wedding day that they’ll remember and it is also a brilliant way to get your guests to mingle and get to know each other instead of staying attached to their table all day. We’ve seen garden games, beer pong, bouncy castles, caricaturist, bingo and many more. You’ll also end up with lots of extra photographs and lots of extra laughs!
9. A party to remember
With the formalities all taken care of, everyone fed and well watered, it is time to let your hair down and enjoy the party! Often you’ll have extra people invited to the evening party that were not at the reception, it is brilliant to have photographs of these people too! If coverage of this part of the day is important to you then check with your photographer how much coverage is included with your package, some will finish after your first dance while others will stay for the party. These can be some of the most fun photographs to look back on afterwards and are sure to be loved by your guests.
Bonus Tip!
Have a backdrop setup for smaller group photographs. This can be a glitter wall or balloon arch specifically for the night party or it could be something repurposed from your daytime celebrations. This is a brilliant way to get more photographs of your evening guests enjoying themselves and to have a background consistent with the colours from your day.
10. Break the rules
Don’t be afraid to break the rules and traditions that are expected on a wedding day. The day is a celebration of your love, how you celebrate that is entirely your choice. Be you, make the day a celebration of who you are, how you got here and where you are going.
Our Top Tip!
Don’t worry about the little things. With months of planning it is easy to build a picture of how your day will go and what it will look like. With all best intentions there will be things that don’t go quite as you imagined, just go with it. Wedding days go by so quickly, our biggest piece of advice is to enjoy every minute with your friends and family and avoid the temptation to get distracted by any small imperfections.
We are a husband and wife team of wedding photographers in Hull with a love of storytelling through images. If you are planning your own wedding day and like our style it would be great to have an informal chat to hear your story so far, your plans, and see if we’re a good fit for you.
