Bridal Portraits
Your bridal party has been there for you throughout your journey leading up to your wedding- now let's have some fun with them!
I like to start off with photos of the whole group. We'll get some formals and some fun ones. After that, we'll break you down and get pictures of each side of the bridal party. Again, formals and fun ones! Then we'll do an individual photo of each of the wedding couple's party member with them. As much fun as I like to have with the bridal party, I try and get through these generally quickly so we have more time for the wedding couple's portraits.
Your bridal party is there to celebrate with you, but also there to help the day move along smoothly. Take advantage of your bridal party by having them help with tasks that need to be done. If we all work together, the day can be absolutely everything you want it to be!
Tip for bridesmaids dresses: I personally feel like mismatched dresses photograph the best. Either subtly different shades of one color, or an assigned color scheme. It gives the pictures more life when you get to see everyone's different styles incorporated. Letting your bridesmaids pick out their own dresses takes a lot of pressure off of the bride as well! Approve their dresses before they buy, of course!
Depending on the size of your bridal party, I'd plan anywhere around 30 minutes for bridal party photos.
Wedding Couple Portraits
These photos are the most important, in my opinion. These are the photos you're going to frame in your homes, send out as thank you cards, etc. This is where I like to designate the most time during the wedding day.
These are my favorite photos of the day. Not only because they're beautiful, but this is one of the only times on the wedding day that you get some time between just the two of you where you aren't surrounded by a crowd of people. You're able to have some one on one time together and take it all in.
A lot of the posing for these portraits will be similar to your engagement session. That's why I include it complimentary so that you can feel comfortable on your wedding day and have a general idea of what will be happening.
I love planning for a little sneak out during the reception to grab some sunset photos. These are generally pretty quick (15 to 20 minutes) so we can get you back to your party, but if there's a beautiful sunset, we should take advantage! Plan for some time during your reception for this. You won't regret it!
Tip: consider bringing a thank you sign that you can use to send out your thank you cards!