The time has finally come, you’re planning your dream wedding day. A day you’ll remember for the rest of your life, so you’re making sure every single detail has been checked. But years from now when the flowers have faded and your dress lives buried in a cupboard somewhere, the only thing you’ll have to relive the fairy tale memories are the photographs captured by your photography team.  

Apart from hiring a quality photographer, there are so many things you can do to make sure that your imagery turns out just the way you imagined it. From vail choices to incorporating a first look, we’ve made a list of some of the most important ones to do.

Crafting a moodboard 

What is a moodboard you ask? A moodboard is an amazing tool to express the types of photography that are meaningful to you. The basis of this is creating a selection of images that you love or even don’t like, and then giving a short description about each image. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to use Pinterest, Pinterest lets you look for and create boards of images you like all in one easy place. This is an excellent way of visually communicating the look you like.

Minimizing locations

This tip is all about time, arranging too many photography locations can take time away from actually getting the images you really want. Travel time in one of the most underestimated time wasters on a wedding day. A good photographer should be able to make pretty much any location work and still deliver amazing images. So trust the creativity of your photographer, even if you don’t love the background options of your location.

High quality vendors

Great vendors and influence how smooth your day is. This is why we emphasize selecting the right vendors. You don’t want your makeup artist showing up two hours late or a hiring a photographer with no wedding experience, do you? We suggest quality vendors to reduce the stress that might show up in your wedding photos.

Hiring a wedding planner is a great way of reducing any stress on your big day. A wedding planner handles any mishaps or problems so that you or your partner don’t have to stress about them.

With so many options with vendors selecting the right one can seem rather daunting. So before hiring a vendor do your research and most importantly follow your instincts. You must feel comfortable with the vendor and the quality of their service.

Make sure you’ve planned enough time for hair and makeup

Setting aside too little time for hair and makeup can set your entire schedule back. So plan to finish early, this way if it runs late it's not going to throw off the whole day. Many great hair and makeup artists will create a schedule to follow to keep things on track. 

Your creative team will typically ask for one hour to document final touch ups, detail shots and candid moments with family and closest friends. 

Ideal Wedding Day Timeline

Wear a long veil 

Something about putting on a piece of airy fabric can really take the whole experience of being a bride to the next level. And as an added bonus having a long veil can truly make some amazing images, this is why we encourage each bride to have a veil on their wedding day. 

Include toss items

Toss items are amazing because they make people light up whenever they are used. Whether you use them during the first dance, group photos or during your grand entrance, they always make incredible images. There are also so many options to fit every theme: flower petals, confetti, rice, paper places and the list can go on. These pictures emanate pure joy, bliss and always make people smile beautifully. 

Incorporate a first look 

One of the most intimate and special moments at a wedding is when the bride and groom first see each other. In one fantastic moment all the nerves and jitters vanish and are replaced with the pure joy of seeing your significant other. A first look gives the two of you a chance to enjoy this remarkable moment and also makes for some of the most emotional and heartfelt moments of any wedding. This is definitely a tradition worth continuing.

Schedule your couples session during golden hour 

If your venue has a spectacular view, is set in a vineyard or in a lavender field, it is absolutely essential to schedule your couples session 30-45min before sunset. The perfection of the golden hues and soft light make this our favorite time of day to get spectacular photos of the newly weds.

Schedule time for the ballroom 

Set aside time to see your wonderfully decorated reception that you've been dreaming about for months. This is also an amazing change to get photos of you on the dance floor and around the reception without any guests in the background.

Add a sneak away session

A starry night sky makes an amazing background for some intimate images. A break away session is quick, normally not lasting more than 20-30 minutes. This short session is normally scheduled during the reception after dinner has been served. If you’re worried about leaving your guests, another option is to schedule it after all your guests have left. The depth of the night sky adds a touch of drama and romance to your photos, and is absolutely worth having.

End your day with sparkles 

One of the best photographic opportunities of your wedding day is a grand exit. Most weeding have a grand entrance, but many forget to have a grand exit. Not only will a sparkler grand exit be an amazing way of ending your special day but they also make spectacular photographs. The stunning warm glow of the sparklers being held by family and friends smiling as they send off the newlyweds into their new adventure. What an amazing way to make your grand exit even more memorable.

Most venues allow sparkler exits but if the venue doesn’t you can always use something else such as: flower petals, confetti or bubbles - all are excellent alternatives creating a stunning look in photos.