Wedding Day Tips
This page is full of lots of useful information for you to think about and consider for your big day. I am at the point now where I’ve shot so many weddings and have learned so much along the way, so I thought I’d share a few handy wedding tips with you that I’d wish I’d known before I got married. This is purely a guide and not tips you must follow by any means, but I hope you find they will help to ensure those all-important moments are captured beautifully.
Getting Ready
When planning your morning, aim to get ready at least an hour before you plan to leave, especially if you’re doing reveals (this is when your wedding party gets to see you before all the guests). This gives you plenty of time to have some photos, chill out, and enjoy the moment before the ceremony.
When getting ready, keep the area you are using as tidy as possible and choose a hidden area to store any items you don’t want in shot. Trust me, suitcases with pants hanging out of them is not something you want in the background of your wedding photos/video. I have also had clients ask me if I can edit out clutter in photos and as much as I’m a whizz in Photoshop, it’s impossible to remove multiple unwanted items. Brief your wedding party on this and make it their priority so you don’t have to worry about it.
Have all your details in one place, this includes dress/suit, shoes, perfume/aftershave, jewellery, accessories, any stationery (save the dates, invites, menu cards - anything important you have had made for the day you would want me to document) and a veil if you have one. I love to photograph and video your details so having it all in one place for when I arrive means I can get straight into capturing it for you.
Light and Golden Hour Times
When planning your schedule for the day, do consider when you will lose light, especially if you are getting married in the autumn/winter months as you want to make sure you’ve had all your group photos and some couple portraits before that light is gone. You also really want to think about golden hour times - if you’re lucky enough to get a lovely golden hour you don’t want to miss it. Sometimes golden hour falls when you are eating so if you’re happy to sneak out between courses, this works nicely because your guests don’t notice you’ve snuck out. You can use this website here to find out exactly what time the golden hour should be on your wedding day, to plan this into your schedule. Just add your location and wedding date and look for the evening golden hour times in the table.
How to get the Best Confetti shot
Slow-falling biodegradable confetti is the best - it’s not expensive and just floats down perfectly for a really beautiful, full confetti shot, as you can see from the two examples below. ‘Your confetti’ is amazing and was what was used to create the below images but I have added a couple of other shops that I have heard amazing things about as well.
Not allowed confetti at your venue- bubbles work great, I have also created a round of applause line when there was no confetti which also worked really nicely.
Group Portraits
My top tip here is to be strict with your group photos and keep them to a minimum outside of your wedding party photos (parents, bridesmaids and groomsmen) as I naturally include these in my plan for your day anyway. For any additional group shots, I’d recommend sticking to a max of 8-10 people. The reason for this is that group photos are the most stressful bit of the day - people disappear, they’re busy chatting, and you’ll get fed up with standing around smiling for too long. If you think that each group photo can take 5-10 mins to set up, and then times that by how many you want, it can take a large chunk out of your day when you could be enjoying all that you’ve worked so hard to create. When thinking about your group photos, consider the sets of photos you’re going to display at home as this will help refine your final selection. I will always aim to capture a photo of you and all your day guests after your confetti shot, so you know you will definitely have one with everyone from the day in your gallery.
Couple Portraits
I find doing short slots with couple portraits and video capture works best. The minimum I like to do is two twenty minute slots - the first being after your group shots and before you go in for your wedding breakfast. The second will be between courses or after the meal before evening guests arrive, depending on the sun timings. Then just before I leave at the end, I might sneak you away for 5 mins to get an end of the day shot if you’re both up for it - these are usually off camera flash shots in winter or sunset shots in summer. For both photo and video it’s all about the movement in the shots so I will get you to do lots of walking, talking, laughing and chatting and I have some tricks up my sleeve to make these as natural as possible. If there is anything you want to try for the photos or video, please do add it to your question sheet.
Sparklers the Do’s and Dont’s
The do’s
Buy long-lasting sparklers. The small ones don’t last long enough and by the time everyone involved in the sparkler shot has theirs lit, the first ones will be out. They are around 18 inches long.
Buy a big pack of lighters so you don’t have to rely on the venue having lighters.
Sparklers can be a pain to light so having loads of lighters spread out between guests means there is a better chance of all sparklers getting lit. One lighter definitely won’t be enough!
Have buckets with sand to put them in after. You’ll need a minimum of two and again, don’t rely on your venue supplying these because 9/10 won’t want anything to do with sparkler shots.
Check that your venue allows them before planning them into your day. Most venues do but some are really strict.
Keep the number of people you want in a sparkler shot to around 20 - the smaller the group, the better the sparkler shot. I didn’t learn this trick until my last wedding in 2023 when another wedding photographer told me it’s how she gets her best sparkler shots. It’s so true because everyone listens - read on in the don’ts for why this is so important.
The dont’s
Do it at the beginning of your night - the drunker people are the more stupid they are with sparklers and I have experienced accidents because of this: hair singes, burnt hands etc. Luckily no one’s dress has gone up in flames but this has happened to others. Even if you are getting married in the summer, sparklers in light can still look really lovely.
Don’t feel that every guest has to be involved. You cannot see everyone in a sparkler shot anyway as the focus is all on you, so select the 20 most sensible people you would want shaking a live flame in front of you for your sparkler shot.
Walk Slow
Strange tip I know, but there are a few moments throughout your day where you will be walking and want that moment captured, so walking slow really helps with this. The first example of this is walking down the aisle. Slow down, enjoy looking ahead at the person you're about to marry, and keep your flowers down so as not to cover your face as this moment is so special both for photo and video. The second really important one is that confetti shot. Take it slow, smile at each other, cheer with those flowers in the air, and stop for a kiss if you want to - some even do the kiss dip. The third is when you’re announced in for your wedding breakfast. All of your friends and family tend to be super excited to cheer you both in, so enjoy the moment. You could walk around the room high fiving your friends and family, hugging them, having a little dance if you’ve got some awesome entrance music. Don’t just rush straight to your table as this one can be a really fun one, especially if you know your guest are the noisy bunch (my fave kind).
The final one is if you’re doing a sparkler tunnel, the same points as confetti apply - take it slow and enjoy the moment.
I will remind you of all these points on the actual day, but making you aware of them means you’ve already got them in your mind and it helps capture some incredible moments for your video and/or gallery.
Pockets
This one is for the boys. Get anyone in the wedding party to put phones, keys, wallets etc, in their back or jacket pockets. The weird shapes I’ve seen in the front trouser pockets for both photo and video can be super distracting and once you’ve seen it, it’s all you see if every image of that person.
First Dance
If you’re having a first dance, I only have one bit of advice here and that is to move in a circle rather than swaying back and forth in the same spot. Just having that slow bit of circle movement really works brilliantly on camera for both photo and video. A sway back and forth hasn’t got enough motion for a first dance shot.
That’s it, hopefully you have found some of these tips useful. I am so excited to be capturing your wedding day for you.