What to expect from a classic wedding day

From getting ready to reception:

Getting Ready (Groom & Bride Prep)

House or Hotel

Couples often wonder if they should get ready in their homes, or in a hotel before their wedding day. Firstly, it is most important to be as close to the ceremony venue and limit your driving distance, as you will feel more relaxed. Hotel rooms are often a good choice as they are usually tidy and bright. This allows for you to really focus on your day, and detach from everyday life. Big bright rooms are best, with plenty of light, have some drinks, fresh flowers, nibblies and play some tunes. Or you can create this atmosphere/space in your home. Its up to you and your budget too of course.

Who Will Be there?

It is important to think about the atmosphere you would like before you head down the aisle.

Make sure everyone who is there with you are people you genuinely enjoy the company of and connect with.

Usually you would have your bridal party members, but also often for brides we can see your Father and Mother there with you, and for grooms, they often have their Mum and Dad too, or any other special family members they may wish to be there with them.

This is entirely up to you and depends on your family dynamic.

Just so you know, i am not there to direct your prep, instead i’m just there to capture things as they happen and capture real emotion. So if you would like that lovely reaction of your family members when they see you in your dress, or reacting to a nice letter , i’m there to capture that.

Allow plenty of time

There is nothing worse then feeling rushed on your day. Brides often start their day very early with hair and makeup, and i would get there while your having your finishing touches done and about to put your dress on. I allow for up to 2 hours to capture bride and groom prep if close by to each other.

Last thing you want is to feel like you need to rush this process, allow for time to relax, talk, laugh, and it is so nice to have family to have react to your dress. I will be there to help keep you on time for your ceremony, but be sure to have your special bits and peices out ready for me to photograph (flowers, rings, invitation, details).

What to wear?

Do you need to wear the same style of clothing and or matching robes? No, no way. You can wear whatever you like. Many people to purchase matchy robes to get ready in, or cute pj sets. But this is not always necessary and totally up to you. As a general rule though, we recommend sticking to attire that is simple so we can focus on you rather then the clothing.

Pick attire that works well together and is visually appealing together or works well in your colour schemes for your wedding.

Think about what kind of colours and look you wish to convey and that will help with the overall look and story.

Space and Light

Pick your space to get ready based on how much natural light and space there is. If your bedroom is too dark for example dont worry if we need to move to getting ready in the living room, it is more important to have space and good lighting then anything else. You want to have room to move about and have your entourage getting ready with you. This also helps as i am able to move more freely around you and capture different angles.

Please take the time to tidy up, I am happy to move things and help with this, but it does help if things are tidy and not cluttered before i get there. It doesn’t need to be perfect and we can always use outside and around your home/the venue if we need to.

Take a deep breath!

Last but not least, you need to relax and take a deep breath. ENJOY IT!

Not everyone chooses to have their bridal prep part photographed, but i do highly recommend it. Do not over think it, i will not get in your way, i’m just there to capture some meaningful moments and fill out the story of your day. The lead up to your wedding is huge and all the planning may feel like a lot, but at the end of the day its for one precious day, and your off to marry the person of your dreams! how wicked is that!

Now lets talk, Ceremony

Take it slow

When it comes to your ceremony, the biggest tip i have is to take it slow on the day. Make sure that before your wedding day, it is all planned out with your celebrant and the timing allows for you to not speed through it. I know you likely don’t want to have the attention on you for too long, but i just recommend slowing down, taking a deep breath and really embrace and take in the moments when you are walking down the isle to the love of your life, when you get there, stair into their eyes, as though there nobody else even there and fully engage yourself in the love. You only get this moment once, so take it all in and enjoy it all.

Speak with your Celebrant

Ensure that you have spoken to your celebrant about your wants and needs, consider hiring a Celebrant that dresses or acts the way you feel would best suit your vibe and overall day. Be sure to ask them about where they stand during your ceremony, you may need to ask them to stand to the side so they are not in the middle of the two of you. Ask them how they usually do this. It is fine if you don’t mind that they stand in the middle of you , but please tell them to step to the side during the first kiss and ask that they don’t stand in front of your bridal party.

It may also be worth while asking them to announce the ceremony to be unplugged, so you do not have all your guests holding up phones in your professional images.

Allow plenty of time for portraits afterwards

When planning your timing with your celebrant and reception. Please try to ensure it is planned at a time when you have lovely afternoon light, however allow yourself at least 30 minutes after the ceremony to cuddle people and get some family portraits with immediate family, then it is recommended to leave between 1-2 hours after that for bridal party and couple photos. Consider if we need to go far for the location in which the photos will be taken and consider when the sun sets.

I can help you with this when you are planning your timeline to ensure you are to get the most out of the time we are given. Again we want to avoid feeling rushed or uncomfortable at all times too so prepare to have some bottles of water/drinks for after the ceremony as well for yourself and your bridal party.

Look at your partner

Please try to stay in the moment, the more you simply enjoy and embrace the moment you wed the love of your life, the better your images will turn out.

I will not speak or direct you at all during the ceremony, so it is important to just remember that the more love and expression you show to your loved one, the nicer your images and moments will be.

Try not to have a serious face, and try not to stare at the celebrant - even though they will be talking to you, keep your eyes on your loved one. It looks much more meaningful and beautiful that way.

Lighting

The best lighting is always early in the morning as the sun rises, or late in the evening as the sun sets. Sometimes we cannot ensure perfect lighting for our Ceremony because we really want to ensure we have enough time for some family portraits and then our bridal shoot before the sun sets. Also, in Daylight savings time, the sun sets around 7-8pm (pending your location) and so, usually your reception has already kicked off at this point. Its a great idea to consider this in your planning, and even consider planning to pop out of your reception for 20-30 mins or so with your new husband/wife and get those portraits done at sunset. Or plan the schedule around lighting and sunset.

Having nice low light can make all the difference in the quality of imagery.

This is an example of midday full sun, blue skies.

Have fun

Once you have had your first kiss, you will usually sign your documents. Feel free to have a little celebration though or kiss again, really just celebrate the fact you got married, sometimes this can be when i really can capture such a fun and happy moment. After signing, i would usually recommend then that you walk down the isle together and i will get everyone to stand and celebrate the newly-weds - You remember to celebrate too - this could be a good time to organise some confetti, petals or bubbles to be thrown/blown as you walk down the isle!

This can really be such a wonderful shot, one of my favorites if done right - so have fun! it will pay off i promise.

The bridal photoshoot that follows the ceremony isnt for everyone, but it honestly can be one of the funnest parts! its all about attitude though, think of it as a fun, break away from the chaos part of the day, to capture the most beautiful photos which will likely be the ones that end up on the wall. It is the first little section of the day as a married couple where you can first, have some fun with your bridal party, and secondly, have some time alone as a couple to really take it in with each other. A break before heading to the party section of the day!

NOW ITS TIME TO PARTY!

Reception Entry

Allow your guests time to get into the reception space, and build up some excitement for your arrival. I recommend entering with some fun and funk, perhaps dancing on entry to some of your favorite tunes. Remind your bridal party that they are vibe setters! the more fun they, and you are having, the more fun everyone else will have.

You want to create an energy in your reception that suits you both as a couple, whether that be a mellow and relaxed vibe, or a high energy party, i suggest creating the vibe that you would most enjoy and then everyone else will enjoy it because you are.

Food

Do the food the way you would like it, do you like a sit down meal, alternate meals, seating plans. Or do you like everyone to be up standing and mingling. You need to select a venue that will be able to serve the food the way you would want it served! Timing of food service depends on the entertainment, speeches and timeline for your evening.

Timeline

It is important to develop a timeline with your co-ordinator, dj, photographer and venue to ensure everything has a time and a place and that way it all can run quite smoothly. If you have people giving speeches, i recommend giving them a guide for how long they can speak, so they can write a speech that doesn’t go on and on and on, unless you like to sit and listen to these of course.

The timeline gives a guide for speeches, cake cutting, dances and when to start the party - d - floor.

Night Portraits

This is not for everyone, but some venues are set out so beautifully, it would be a waste not to pop outside and grab some flash night photography. This is what you can discuss with us, and usually i would have a flash already set up for you, and tap you on the shoulder at some point in the evening to steal you and your partner away for a sneaky 5-15 minutes to take it all in, breath some fresh air and get some cracking good night shots together

You can also co-ordinate a bunch of legends (trustworthy people) for some sparkler exit photos too, recommended 10 - 20 people but can sometimes be more, the larger the group the harder it can be to co-ordinate and get a perfect shot. But this is a photo you can discuss with us to make happen if you like.

Otherwise, just crack on with the night and dancing, you can expect that as your photographer we would be documenting the fun on the dancefloor, sometimes these can be such legendary shots, and we can also sneak around to tables and groups and grab couple, and group shots.

I also have a few sneaky tricks up my sleeve for making it fun to get some photos with your friends and family at the reception too, so if it is important to get photos with friends and family, please do let me know :)

Its the end of the night

Time to go home or back to the hotel room together to enjoy the start of life as husband and wife. Hopefully you have a sick ass honeymoon to look forward to as well.

sneak peaks will come through a day or two after the wedding (sometimes even same night) and the full gallery is expected between 6-8 weeks :)