Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Wedding planning requires you to consider a million tiny details. The months leading up to your wedding should be spent making memories with your best friend and enjoying the process, not Googling for hours on end. And so, *drum roll please*, Wedding Tip Wednesday was born! Throughout this series, we will be sharing our best tips to make your wedding day everything you’ve dreamed of and keep it as STRESS FREE as possible. If you’re late to the party, you can catch up on the whole series below!
- To First Look or Not To First Look?
- The Great Debate: Indoor Vs. Outdoor Ceremony?
- Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location
- Getting Ready – Essential Details to Bring
- 3 Reasons You Should Write Each Other Letters on Your Wedding Day
- Do You Really Need a Second Shooter on Your Wedding Day?
- Who Should Help You Get Into Your Wedding Dress?
- Make Time To Take In The Moment Together
- How To Dress For Your Engagement Session
You’ll have to make a million little decisions when planning your wedding. The more you can think of in advance, the less stressed you’ll be on your wedding day and the more your day will go exactly as you’d dreamed. I remember not thinking much at all about who would help me get into my wedding dress on our big day, and then when it came time to get ready EVERYONE wanted to help. So I had my mom, sisters, and ALL MY BRIDESMAIDS helping put on my dress. In the end, since we were getting ready in a large two story living room and the photographers were able to shoot from above us to get all the action, they ended up being fun shots of everyone laughing about the hilarity of six people trying to button up one dress at the same time. But I miiiiight do it differently now that we’ve been photographing weddings for years. Here’s some advice on how to decide who should be helping you get ready on your wedding day:
1. Would you value a quiet moment with you mom?
Many of our brides are very close to their moms – I know I am! There are so many special moments with your dad on your big day from the walk down the aisle to your father daughter dance, but often moms don’t have any traditional moments with their daughters built into the day. We LOVE letting the final quiet moments of primping be with your mom if that is true to your relationship with her. It allows you to get some sweet pictures of your mom taking care of you and making you look beautiful one last time before you walk down the aisle, and it makes her feel extra loved and included on your special day.
2. Do you want your Maid of Honor or sisters to be a part of the fun?
If you can’t imagine getting into your dress without one or several of your bridesmaids included, then plan to include them! Even if you have your mom help you get into your dress, you can have your MOH or sister help with your necklace, shoes, bracelet, veil… there are tons of options! You can have as many people help you get primped as you’d like – it’s your day! We typically recommend no more than 2 people help you at any one time so you’re not overwhelmed and we can capture the memories and laughs without you being completed blocked and crowded by a ton of people.
This seems like such a small thing, but it affects a LOT like who needs to be dressed and ready, when and where they need to be, and how large a space you’ll need to accommodate the amount of people you’ll want in the room with you. We include this as one of MANY questions we like to ask on the pre-wedding questionnaire for our brides so we can iron out these types of details in the wedding day timeline and help you avoid any uncomfortable interactions by having answers to questions like this thought out in advance. Even if you decide you’d like your mom to be the one helping you get into your dress, there are lots of fun ways to include your bridesmaids in the getting ready fun, like matching robes, a dress reveal just for them, or giving them special gifts or letters spelling out just how much they mean to you.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Wedding Tip Wednesday. See you next week!
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Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Wedding planning requires you to consider a million tiny details. The months leading up to your wedding should be spent making memories with your best friend and enjoying the process, not Googling for hours on end. And so, *drum roll please*, Wedding Tip Wednesday was born! Throughout this series, we will be sharing our best tips to make your wedding day everything you’ve dreamed of and keep it as STRESS FREE as possible. If you’re late to the party, you can catch up on the whole series below!
- To First Look or Not To First Look?
- The Great Debate: Indoor Vs. Outdoor Ceremony?
- Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location
- Getting Ready – Essential Details to Bring
- 3 Reasons You Should Write Each Other Letters on Your Wedding Day
- Do You Really Need a Second Shooter on Your Wedding Day?
- Who Should Help You Get Into Your Wedding Dress?
- Make Time To Take In The Moment Together
- How To Dress For Your Engagement Session
Weddings are expensive. And when you’re looking for any place to cut those costs down, “Do I really need two photographers taking pictures all day?” is a totally valid question! We may be biased (OK, we definitely are as wedding photographers!), but even for our own wedding, photography was one area we weren’t willing to cut corners on. In fact, one of the top three regrets brides have is not spending a little more to get the wedding pictures of their dreams. So to help you make the most informed decision possible, we are taking some time today to break down just WHY exactly two photographers are truly better than one.
^Looks like a pretty good two photographer team right there, wouldn’t ya say? 😉
1. More Candid Coverage
When you have one photographer focused on getting the posed, traditional shots all day, it’s very hard for them to also capture the candid moments that make up the most authentic memories of your wedding. When you have a second shooter, they are able to get the genuine laughs as you’re talking to your new spouse in between shots, the quiet moments with your dad before you walk down the aisle, and the joy on your bridal party’s faces as they celebrate with you on the dance floor. These fleeting moments will be some of your most treasured to look back on, and they will likely be missed if you have one photographer who simply can’t be everywhere at once.
2. Multiple Perspectives
Want a picture of you walking down the aisle AND your fiance’s reaction to seeing you for the first time? Your maid of honor giving her toast and your tearful reaction? The bride tossing the garter and “all the single ladies” fighting to be the one to grab it? Want the best odds of capturing the exact moment your dad wiped away that tear? You NEED a second shooter!
3. Less Stress
The reality of it is, wedding days are unpredictable. Cameras use technology, and technology isn’t always perfect. Photographers are people, and people can get sick or hurt. In the event anything unexpected happens, you want a second shooter there to make sure nothing gets missed. (You also want a photographer who has safeguards in place to make things like camera or card failure extremely unlikely, so make sure you ask your photographer how they plan for that! They should be writing images to multiple cards and bringing an extra camera body along on your big day to make sure you won’t even notice if something goes wrong.)
4. Double the Return on Your Investment
Two photographers means you’ll get a LOT more pictures. And not just more pictures, but BETTER pictures. Multidimensional views at each special moment of your day – close up and pulled back shots, people focused images and pictures of the venue and details you handpicked with such care, traditional posed images and candids that tell the story of your wedding day. If you plan to create a wedding album, you’ll want to be able to tell the whole story of your day, and multiple perspectives will make a big impact.
We could go on and ON, but suffice it to say that having two photographers on your wedding day is a HUGE benefit to you. A great photography team will make each other better, keep the day running smoothly and efficiently, and put you totally at ease. And best of all, you’ll get the greatest possible pictures back to make sure you (and your kids and their kids and their kids…) can relive the most special moments of your wedding day forever. And when your grandkids can look at your wedding pictures and FEEL how much you two love each other… that legacy of love is a powerful thing.
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Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Wedding planning requires you to consider a million tiny details. The months leading up to your wedding should be spent making memories with your best friend and enjoying the process, not Googling for hours on end. And so, *drum roll please*, Wedding Tip Wednesday was born! Throughout this series, we will be sharing our best tips to make your wedding day everything you’ve dreamed of and keep it as STRESS FREE as possible. If you’re late to the party, you can catch up on the whole series below!
- To First Look or Not To First Look?
- The Great Debate: Indoor Vs. Outdoor Ceremony?
- Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location
- Getting Ready – Essential Details to Bring
- 3 Reasons You Should Write Each Other Letters on Your Wedding Day
- Do You Really Need a Second Shooter on Your Wedding Day?
- Who Should Help You Get Into Your Wedding Dress?
- Make Time To Take In The Moment Together
- How To Dress For Your Engagement Session
Your wedding day is made up of a million tiny details that make your day and your marriage uniquely YOU. One detail we recommend making time for is gifting your new husband or wife with a love letter on the morning of your wedding. There are SO MANY reasons we love this trend, but here are our top three for now!
1. Timeless Memories
Think of your most treasured possessions. If you’re anything like us, at the very top of that list of items are photographs and the cards and letters you received from your love throughout your relationship. You are going to experience so many amazing moments together from traveling to parenting to new jobs and houses and friendships. This moment, the moment you made your decision to spend the rest of your lives together official, this is one you aren’t going to want to forget. Write each other a letter to remember exactly what you were feeling on your wedding day and to preserve the way you see each other in this moment. These letters can add anticipation and connection if you are choosing to wait to see each other until the aisle, or it can add an additional layer of emotion and excitement to a first look. Handwritten notes will NEVER go out of style, and you will be SO thankful to have taken the time to write them to each other when you can pull them out and reread them as you navigate marriage together.
2. Quiet Moments
Wedding days can be hectic and fly by in a blur. Taking a moment to slow down and read some words from your partner will help ease any nerves you may have and allow you to step back from the busyness of the day to refocus on what it’s all about. Your wedding is ultimately about your MARRIAGE… and nothing will reignite your excitement to start the rest of your lives together like a tender letter from your soon-to-be spouse.
3. Photos/Video
OK, we may be a little biased here, but hear us out. The raw emotion captured both in your written words and in your reactions will make for incredibly authentic pictures that will allow you to really see and feel the way you felt on your wedding day all over again when you look back at them. And if you’ve hired a videographer… YOU NEED TO WRITE LETTERS. So often these are our favorite parts of the wedding videos! Your videographer will ask you to read some of the letter aloud and they will be able to include it in your wedding video to make it even more special and personal. It’s INCREDIBLE and totally worth setting aside an extra few minutes to write and exchange love notes!
That’s it for this week’s Wedding Tip Wednesday! We hope we’ve convinced you to write each other love notes, not just on your wedding day but throughout your marriage. We save every letter we have ever written each other, and they are such a blessing!
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Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Wedding planning requires you to consider a million tiny details. The months leading up to your wedding should be spent making memories with your best friend and enjoying the process, not Googling for hours on end. And so, *drum roll please*, Wedding Tip Wednesday was born! Throughout this series, we will be sharing our best tips to make your wedding day everything you’ve dreamed of and keep it as STRESS FREE as possible. If you’re late to the party, you can catch up on the whole series below!
- To First Look or Not To First Look?
- The Great Debate: Indoor Vs. Outdoor Ceremony?
- Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location
- Getting Ready – Essential Details to Bring
- 3 Reasons You Should Write Each Other Letters on Your Wedding Day
- Do You Really Need a Second Shooter on Your Wedding Day?
- Who Should Help You Get Into Your Wedding Dress?
- Make Time To Take In The Moment Together
- How To Dress For Your Engagement Session
You’ve spent MONTHS pouring over every detail of your day, from the shoes you will wear on your walk down the aisle to the perfect combination of florals to the dress that will transform you into a bride. When the day is over and you’re looking back at the pictures of your wedding day, you will want to remember all the perfectly thought out details you incorporated. (Sidenote: If you’ve ever dreamed of having your wedding day published in a print or online wedding magazine to inspire other engaged couples as they plan, the details are EXTRA important!) To make sure the special touches that you weave into your day don’t get missed, you’ll want to make sure you bring a few important items with you to the place you’ll be getting ready!
1. The Rings
This seems like a no brainer, but LOTS of couples don’t think about this in advance. If each of you hold onto your own rings or if a friend or family member is keeping them safe for you and bringing them later in the day, you won’t be able to get pictures of your wedding ring set with the rest of your special details. Bring them along so we can get a frame-worthy shot of your rings in beautiful natural light that will match all of the other “detail” shots we are capturing early in the day.
2. Custom Hanger
Your wedding dress is probably the detail you care about the most. Make sure it looks as timelessly beautiful as it really is in your pictures by hanging it from a custom hanger. Nothing distracts from a gorgeous gown faster than a cheap plastic or metal hanger. Consider a hanger with your new last name, a hanger that sparkles, or a hanger in a color that complements your wedding colors. Even a simple wooden hanger can be beautiful. Such a small detail but a BIG impact!
3. Invitation Suite
Your invitations were your guests’ first impression of your wedding and for this reason, you likely spent hours choosing design elements for everything from envelopes to return address labels. You can save a copy of your invitation, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some pretty pictures of those babies to showcase right in your wedding album? If you bring everything (envelope, RSVP cards, invitations, wedding programs… anything you have!), we can get a gorgeous picture of the complete set. Bonus points if you include any other paper products or textures that match your wedding theme (extra lace from your dress or bouquet, ribbon from the invites, etc.) Nothing ties your details together better than a professionally designed invitation created just for your wedding. We LOVE capturing pictures of your rings and jewelry using your paper suite as a backdrop.
4. Jewelry + Family Heirlooms
Necklace? Bracelet? Earrings? Your grandmother’s wedding ring? Gather it all up and keep it in one place so you don’t have to spend all day tracking it down for pictures and again when you have to actually put it all on! These are special things that you will want to be able to highlight in an album to tell the story of your wedding day!
5. Perfume Bottle
The PERFECT something new. The sense of smell is powerful, and every time you wear it, you and your husband will be taken right back to your wedding day!
6. Florals
Many florists will default to deliver the flowers to the wedding venue, but we recommend bringing them to the hotel or wherever you will be getting ready instead! This allows us to incorporate them into your detail pictures as well as ensures they will be ready to go for a first look or the bridal party portraits. Just keep them in water when they’re not in use and keep some towels handy to dry them off when you are ready to hold them!
There’s so many things to think about on your wedding day. Do yourself a favor and get as many things together in advance as possible. That way, all you have to think about is getting married to the love of your life!
Check back for our next Wedding Tip Wednesday all about why we recommend the bride and groom exchange letters on their wedding day! Happy planning!
