Your Wedding Photos

If you ask any photographer their tips for getting great photos of your wedding day the perspectives would all be pretty different.  After many wedding seasons I have seen all sorts of weddings with different styles, budgets, timelines and ideas!  Beyond choosing the photographer for you there are lots of things that you can arrange or plan to enhance your photos.  Of course, this is just one gals opinion :)

Speak Up

Before you leave a salon make sure you have your stylist change anything you aren’t happy with.  It’s their job, rarely are they offended and you want to make sure that you love every bit of your wedding hair.

Hire a Makeup Artist and do a trial

Photographers aren’t magical. If you have ever looked at any photo-shoot of any kind in a magazine every model or celebrity takes a long time in a makeup chair getting ready for their photo-shoots and SO SHOULD YOU.  It’s your wedding day and you are the star.  You are about to pose for a thousand photos and makeup artists (especially those specializing in weddings) know how to make your skin smooth and your eyes POP.  Even if you don’t generally wear makeup, it’s worth doing so on the wedding day.  False lashes are a must in my books to (just for that added glamour)

Always Always Always have a bad weather plan

Sounds easy right?  But there are a few couples every year that battle bad weather with no backup plan in place.  Having to take photos in your reception hall will look like photos taken in your reception hall.  Your photographer should know of some sweet spots around the city to take some indoor photos but most locations require a booking- so start thinking about it as far in advance as you can.  And really, even if a bad weather plan costs a bit of money- it will be worth it in the end.  I also suggest making 2 separate timelines, one for good and one for unfavourable weather.  Indoor locations typically take more time, so it’s best to budget a little extra.

 Break Tradition- See each other before the wedding ceremony

Sometimes a touchy subject and despite couples who live together before the wedding, it’s tradition to not see each other on the big day right?  I would say only 30 percent of my couples see each other before the wedding and I can respect those who choose not to.    When there is a crunch for time and you are spending money on a photographer why cram your photos into 2 hours?  Not only does seeing each other first relieve a lot the wedding day stress, it also gets a large part of those photos done and filed away. 

Ditch your glasses (at least for some photos)

No matter how trendy your frames are, glasses date a photo.   They can also cause complications in high sun ad with some flashes indoors.  If you don’t wear contacts, at least be open to having some of your photos without your glasses.

Get the Chair Covers

In my first couple wedding seasons I would have argued that chair covers were just an added expense that was unnecessary.  My opinions have changed.  Nothing adds more to the look of a reception hall then chair covers.  Nothing makes a photo more pleasing in a reception hall than those chair covers.  Available in different colors or a touch of your colors with a tied sash they add a wow cover that you wouldn’t believe until you saw it.

Have a great pair of shoes  

Even if you can’t seem to picture yourself walking around in heels all day, a pair for detail photos and some “hot” photos as you shoot your wedding photos are always a nice touch.  Most modern wedding photos chronicle your particulars such as shoes, flowers and jewellery.  Nice shoes look good in photos and you can always change into those ballet flats when your toes get sore!

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Sounds like a cliché.  In 20 years the color of ribbon wrapped around your bouquet or the bridesmaid that arrived 20 minutes late to the hair salon WILL MEAN NOTHING.  I have always found that when people are worried or have extra stress that’s exactly how they look in their photos.   A wedding is very stressful and I realize that everyone handles stress in all sorts of ways BUT it’s so important to keep in mind that once the big day has arrived it should be your time to relax “whatever will be will be” I always enforce the “you can’t change it now” theory.  It’s just better to BE HAPPY and ENJOY the day.  Before you know it, it’s over...