Hello and welcome! You are about to embark on an incredibly exciting time in your life. You will spend months planning this one day, and may become overwhelmed in the process. Our goal is to provide you with more than just photos; we’re here to help make this part of the wedding planning process simple and relaxed. Not only do you deserve beautiful images, you also deserve an amazing photography experience. T he goal of this guide is to help you plan your wedding day in such a way that will allow us to provide you with the best experience possible.
Alicia + Ronnie
Now that you have picked a date, a venue, and a photographer, it’s time to take a deep breath - those are some of the toughest decisions in wedding planning, and they have been crossed off of your list! All of our wedding collections include engagement sessions because we feel that they are a vital part of the wedding experience. During your engagement session, we’ll have the chance to get to know each other. You’ll get to experience how we handle posing and lighting, and we’ll arrive on your wedding day already knowing how the two of you interact and your most natural poses. al
As you begin planning your engagement session, you will need to start brainstorming about location ideas. We love it when couples pick a location that is
In order to make the most of your session, we recommend planning two outfits. Most couples choose a dressier look to begin, and will change into a more casual option later.
special to them in some way! If you can’t think of a specific location, we will help you decide on one. As long as the light is great, we can make any location - even the gr
L adies, don’t forget to shine up your ring! While you’re busy getting changed, we use this time to photograph your engagement
side of the road - look romantic and beautiful. We shoot in small towns, cities, farms, alleyways - anywhere your heart desires! The more creative, the better!
ring up close. sparkle!
Your engagement session can be scheduled anytime before your wedding day. We suggest booking it at least 3-6 months in advance so you have plenty of time to prepare. Timing will depend on the time of year but typically we aim for late afternoon prior to sunset, which can be anywhere from 3-5pm in the cooler months, to 6-8pm fr
And don’t be afraid to be bold! Scarves, bright necklaces, and fun shoes are a great way to add color!
in the summer months.
Clean rings have more
D on’t try to match; instead, try to pick outfits and accessories that coordinate.
LIGHTING
PORTRAITS
Lighting is super important, and should be a consideration when you are planning your wedding day. Remember that in many cases early on, it is not too late to change the time of your wedding! If you get married outdoors at high noon, the light will be extremely harsh and not only will there be dark shadow on both of your faces, you will also be squinting. We suggest planning an outdoor ceremony two hours before sunset if you are having a first look. If you are not sharing a first look, we recommend starting your ceremony three hours before sunset so that you will have plenty of time for portraits afterward. The lower the sun, the more romantic and flattering the lighting.
You know the beautiful portraits of brides and grooms embracing in a field at sunset that can be found all over Pinterest? They can only happen when there is time scheduled for them during the wedding day. The best time for these is in the few hours prior to sunset, though we can make beautiful portraits at any time of the day as long as there is time set aside for them.
CUSHION TIME
APPROXIMATE PHOTO TIMES
You’d be surprised how quickly your timeline can be thrown off on your wedding day. It’s always a good idea to add ten minutes of cushion time throughout the day just in case.
Details and Prep: 1.5 hours First Look & Portraits: 30-40 mins Bridal Party: 30-40 mins Family Formals: 30 mins Extra Portrait Time: As much as you’ll give us!
TRAVEL If you’re getting ready in the same location as your ceremony and reception, then this won’t apply to you. However if there is any traveling required on your wedding day, we strongly suggest you pad that time significantly.
GROOMSMEN PREP COVERAGE Consider having the groom and groomsmen prep at the same location as the bride, or within 10-15 minutes drive so we can photograph them getting ready. SPECIAL EVENTS Consider any special events you may have planned throughout your day. Are you releasing lanterns toward the end of your reception?
When planning out the start/end times for your photography coverage, keep in mind that typically one hour of reception dancing photos is plenty. We recommend using us for as much as possible during the earlier parts of the day for the unique, behind-the-scenes photos and gorgeous portraits that you’ll want to remember forever.
12:00 PM
Photography Coverage Begins
12:10
Photograph Bridal Details and Bride Preparations
1:00
Bride Gets Dressed
1:30
Bride + Bridesmaid Portraits / Bride + Family Portraits
2:15
Photograph Groom Details and Groom Preparations
2:45
Groom + Groomsmen portraits
3:15
First Look
3:30
Bride & Groom Portraits
4:00
Bridal Party Portraits
4:30
Bride in Hiding / Photograph Ceremony Details
5:00
Ceremony
5:30
Family Formals / Cocktail Hour Begins
6:00
Additional Bride & Groom Portraits
6:25
Photograph Reception Details/Cocktail Hour
6:30
Reception Begins Entrances & First Dance Toasts Dinner Special Dances Dancing Cake Cutting Bouquet + Garter Toss End of Evening Portraits
10:00 PM
Photography Coverage Concludes
1:00 PM
Photography Coverage Begins
1:10
Photograph Bridal Details and Bride Preparations
2:15
Bride Gets Dressed
2:45
Bride + Bridesmaid Portraits / Bride + Family Portraits
3:15
Photograph Groom Details and Groom Preparations
3:45
Groom + Groomsmen portraits
4:45
Bride in Hiding / Photograph Ceremony Details
5:00
Ceremony
5:30
Family Formals / Cocktail Hour Begins
5:45
Bride & Groom Portraits
6:15
Bridal Party Portraits
6:45
Photograph Reception Details/Cocktail Hour
7:00
Reception Begins Entrances & First Dance Toasts Dinner Special Dances Dancing Cake Cutting Bouquet + Garter Toss End of Evening Portraits
10:00 PM
Photography Coverage Concludes
Details are what make your wedding day your own. They are the little things that show off your personality and in some cases, your DIY creativity. Detail photographs help tell the story of your day and make for beautiful album spreads!
We love having ample time to style and shoot all of your important details, from the dress to the rings, right down to your something blue. It’s best to have all of your details gathered before we arrive so that we can give you a hug, greet your girls, and start photographing! Light dictates the best places for photographing anything, from portraits to the tiniest of details. We may ask to take your dress and details outside or to another room to photograph them. We ensure you that we’ll take great care of your dress and rings, promise! It standard to hand over the wedding It’s bands to the best man before the day begins. However, it’s better to hang on to all of the rings until we get a chance to photograph them together! Usually a bridesmaid will hand them back over well before the ceremony begins.
Have your florist deliver the bouquets to the room where you will be getting ready. You may want to consider asking her to include a few leftover single stems for us to use when photographing your details. It always a bonus if you are able to It’s include extra decorative elements when gathering your details. For example, some leftover lace or ribbon that coordinates with your bouquet, or a pretty perfume bottle.
WHAT TO GATHER - BRIDE: Bride’s dress Bride‘s veil Bridemaids’ dresses Pretty hangers for dresses Rings (all three, please!) Bride + Bridesmaids’ Bridesmaids shoes Bride’s jewelry Perfume bottle Bouquets Stationery (invites, envelopes, programs, menu, save the date, anything else printed that you want photographed)
Garter Letter/gift to the groom Heirlooms Something old/new/borrowed/blue Gifts for bridemaids A few single flowers Coordinating details WHAT TO GATHER - GROOM: Tie Cuff links Shoes Letter/Gift to the bride Gifts for groomsmen
It’s the morning of your wedding! Hopefully all of the little details are taken care of and you’re relaxing with your best friends as your hair is getting done. At this point, your friendly wedding photographers will arrive (us!) and will begin photographing your details as well as capturing the process of your bridal preparation. The are so many things to consider about the getting ready portion There of the day. Do you want to share a first look with your dad, or any other special members of your family? Will you and your groom be exchanging gifts? If so, who will deliver them? Who would you like present in the room when you are putting on your dress? Having the answers to these questions prior to your wedding day will ease your mind and allow you to simply enjoy the moment when it arrives.
LOCATION We have photographed brides getting ready in expansive hotel suites, cozy childhood bedrooms, and charming New England farmhouses. When choosing a location to get ready, you’ll want a clean and simple space. Look for neutral colors and lots of natural light! Of course, unique spaces also offer o their own interesting benefits. We love it when we can incorporate pieces of your location into your getting ready photos. By having just one large window in the bridal prep area, we are able to create beautiful portraits. But sometimes a windowless hotel meeting room is what’s available. We can make it work of course, the more windows, the better! PREP By the time we finish with the details, hopefully you will be done with hair and makeup. We say hopefully because more often than not, this is the portion of the wedding day that runs longer than expected! Always schedule more time than you think you will need for this part of the day. da A former bride had zero portraits of herself and her bridesmaids at the adorable inn they where they prepped because hair and makeup went
over an hour longer than expected. Don’t let this be you! It’s much more relaxing to be done with portraits and sipping champagne with your girls instead of rushing around before the ceremony. At this point, if you and your girls are wearing matching robes/tank tops/etc, we’ll snap a few photos of you together before having the girls change into their dresses. Once everyone in the room is dressed, it’s your turn! If you’re not comfortable undressing in front of everyone, you’ll slip into your dress in the bathroom and then shimmy over to the window. I’ll start photographing once your dress is getting laced or buttoned. Once you are dressed, it’s time to put on your finishing touches. I’ll help direct you a bit to ensure that you have flattering photos as you apply perfume, jewelry, and your garter. If you have a necklace or bracelet that is borrowed from a loved one, perhaps ask them to put it on you. Having grandma clasp her wedding necklace onto you makes for a great moment.
PORTRAITS
TIPS
Now that you’re dressed, we’ll use this time to take photos of you with your parents, grandparents, and other non-bridal party loved ones so that they can head to the ceremony early. This is followed up by your bridal portraits, and if you’ve chosen to do one, your first look.
If your gown comes on a plastic hanger, consider buying a nicer looking hanger instead. Many brides use personalized wedding hangers, but a simple wooden one would work just as well.
The first look flows seamlessly into your romantic bride and groom portraits. After a bit of romantic one-on-one time, your bridal party joins you and we take loads of photos of you all together having fun! (If you’re waiting until after the ceremony to see each other, these will happen after the family formals.) Finally, before the ceremony, it’s time to usher the bride away so that the earliest guests don’t catch a glimpse of her before she walks down the aisle!
Decide ahead of time who will be fastening your dress. It also helps to know whether you want all of the girls in the room with you as you dress, or have a big reveal after the gown is on. Ask your bridesmaids to keep their bags and other belongings to one side of the room, preferably away from the window. By keeping the space around the window(s) clean, we can easily move distracting elements out of the frame for your portraits. Don forget to factor in travel time Don’t between venues if everything is not in the same place. Add a buffer in case of traffic!
The First Look can be an amazing part of your wedding day. If you aren’t sure about this new tradition, we hope to explain why it would be a romantic addition to your wedding day celebration that not only adds to the experience, but also reduces stress. When we ask most brides who aren’t sure about a first look why they wouldn’t want one, the number one reason is “I want my groom to cry when he sees me walking down the aisle”. What if we told you that your groom might feel less stressed and in turn, more likely to release his emotions when he sees you walking down the aisle, simply because of the moments he got to share with you during your first look? Consider this scenario: Your groom spends the morning with his best friends cool and calm, maybe playing a round of golf or watching a game on TV. Soon, he will have to start getting ready, in front of a camera, no less. As he arrives to the ceremony location, the reality of the situation hits him: he is about to stand up in front of a hundred people whose eyes will be on him, hoping to catch a reaction as you step down the aisle. The pressure is often enough to make most grooms appear stressed and nervous in their ceremony photos, rather relaxed and happy. happ
Now imagine a new scenario: After getting dressed, your groom is brought to a secluded location away from family, friends, and other on-lookers. As his bride slowly walks up and taps him on the shoulder, he turns to take his first look at the love of his life. He is free to express his emotions without hundreds of eyes on him, which often leads to the most genuine reactions. The two of you can embrace one another, laugh together, cry together, pray together, and have a few private moments before you officially become husband and wife. The First Look is typically scheduled well ahead of the ceremony so that you now have the opportunity to slide right into your bride and groom portraits. There is no one else around, no coordinator announcing “15 minutes left”, and no pressure. It’s just the two of you, and we are there photographing the excitement of your wedding day. There is no other time during your wedding that you will have time together and alone, so it makes for truly special photographs. After your romantic portraits are done, it’s time to meet up with your bridal party. Rather than being rushed and stressed, you and your best friends get to have fun taking bridal party portraits together. You don’t have to worry about missing your cocktail hour, or losing a groomsman to the bar - everyone is relaxed, excited, and looking good!
If we’re being honest, while all of the wedding day photos are important, the real favorites are always the bride and groom portraits. These romantic portraits of the two of you will be the images that you frame beside your bed, over your mantle, or hung on your walls. They will fill your albums for generations to enjoy. Romantic portraits are a done just after the first look, if you’ve chosen to do one. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we’ll choose the location for your romantic portraits based on the light and time of the day. In mid-day when the sun is high and the light is harsh, we’ll need open shade. Whether or not you opt for a first look, we love having time for a few “just married” portraits later in the day when the shadows are long and the sun is golden and magical.
Most brides would agree that they want their closest friends to have an incredible time during their big day, so we will do our part to make that happen! Bridal party portraits can, and should be, a lot of fun!
After you share your first look and romantic portraits, your bridal party will join us for photos. In some cases, you will be able to accomplish all of your bridal party portraits before the ceremony, allowing your guys and gals to mingle at cocktail hour later if they wish. If there are flower girls and ring bearers involved, they can either join us for the pre-ceremony portraits or we can take a few group photos after the ceremony. We’ll usually start with the bride and her girls, and the groom with his guys before bringing the entire group together. In both cases, we begin with a few traditional group poses to get everyone warmed up before moving into more candid and casual shots. In some shots, everyone will be looking at the camera. In others, we’ll do a bit of directing. This can be anything from interacting with each other (think David’s Bridal catalog ad) to cheering and laughing.
For couples who’ve chosen not to do a first look, we will use the time prior to the ceremony to take photos of the bride and groom with their respective parties. Portraits of the entire bridal party will then be taken after the family portraits post-ceremony. Be sure your groomsmen arrive with boutonnieres and your bridesmaids arrive with bouquets! We suggest that instead of talking during your ‘interacting’ poses, you all give your best fake laugh. Sounds cheesy, but what we‘re aiming for is the real laughter that inevitably happens after the fake laugh! The resulting photos are genuine and memorable. Big smiles and group hugs are always encouraged. This part of the day isn’t meant to be stuffy and formal. Don’t be afraid to be yourselves and have fun!
Here it is - the moment you have been dreaming about ever since you knew your groom was “The One”. In a world full of wedding blogs, bridal magazines, and Pinterest, it’s easy to get consumed by the ‘prettiness’ of the event. But in the end, the most important part of the day is about to happen, so take a moment and soak it all in. You’re getting married!
As the entrance music plays, your coordinator will start ushering the bridesmaids down the aisle. Make sure they keep their heads up, shoulders back, and their bouquets about waist level, tilted slightly forward.
If you can remember, during the recessional be sure to stop halfway up the aisle for a kiss! This is a great way to get a “just married” photo with all of your guests still in it, excited and cheering for you.
The doors will close and you will take your position behind them with your dad or other loved one who will walk you down the aisle. Once the doors open, it’s an overwhelming experience. Your guests will rise and all eyes will be on you. Try to lock eyes with your groom as he catches the first glimpse of you at the top of the aisle.
All ceremonies are different, di so in your questionnaire a few weeks before the wedding, be sure to let us know what to expect. We’ll also touch base with the officiant just before the ceremony to make sure we are aware when things will be happening.
Some officiants announce the first kiss, and others do not - so don’t be afraid to keep that smooch going for longer than a one-second peck! We love to provide you with several photos of this special moment!
Speaking of the questionnaire, in it we’ll ask if your venue has any photography restrictions. Some do not allow flash photography, and others have rules as to where we can shoot from.
LOCATION
GROUPINGS
Many brides who get married in a church choose to have their family photos done at the altar, but that doesn’t always have to be the case! Any time we can utilize the natural light of outdoors, we will recommend it.
It recommended to make a list of the It’s groupings you want, and let those people know prior to your wedding day when and where to meet (i.e. side door of church immediately following the ceremony). Choose a person from each family to be in charge of gathering the groups so that you are not left waiting for someone who is elsewhere chatting.
TIMING Family photos almost always take longer than planned due to the harriedness of it. Groups of relatives start chatting, people not in the photo are behind us taking photos, and of the people who are in the photo, there is almost always someone missing. The longer family photos take, the less time there is for romantic portraits of the newlyweds, so we politely ask that you limit the groupings to immediate family, grandparents, and very important loved ones. On average, factor about three minutes per grouping. There will be time at the reception for us to take other group photos, so not to worry!
We kindly ask that guests who are not in the photo refrain from taking their own photos while we are taking ours. People who are in the photo aren’t sure where to look, additional flashes are going off, and sometimes as we’re shooting, we take a step back onto someone’s poor foot. All of your guests will have access to the gallery of images after the wedding.
The party has begun! It’s time to relax, dance, and celebrate - your reception should be a blast!
It’s likely that you’ll be letting a huge weight off your shoulders and ready to party once your portraits are complete. The last thing on your mind is the timeline. Along with your coordinator and DJ, we will help keep you on schedule. Toward the end of the cocktail hour, we’ll sneak into the reception area and take photos of the room before any guests have entered. You put a lot of hard work into selecting the decor of your reception, so we like to document it untouched! You are welcome to join us for your own private sneak-peek. Take your guests into consideration when planning your timeline. If you have a lot of elderly guests that will not be staying until the very end, make sure you schedule the cake cutting at a relatively early time so that they can be a part of it. Everyone loves this sweet tradition!
Make the reception your own! If you want to have a special dance with your grandparents or a mother-daughter dance, do it! Just like the rest of your day, your reception should be a reflection of who you are. If your budget allows, consider professional lighting for your reception. It may be more addordable than you think, and adds a romantic look to your photos. Alternatively, have a variety of candles throughout your reception to add ambiance. If your photography coverage ends before your grand exit, that’s okay! You can plan a fake exit earlier in the evening with just your bridal party and close family, and it will take only a few minutes.
You love your images. You want to be able to look back on them, years down the road, and remember exactly who you were at this moment in time. We know the feeling. That’s why our albums are designed to preserve your most cherished memories for a lifetime. Imagine having your favorite photos at your fingertips, elegantly presented in a fabric-covered, hardbound, fine art album. Our luxurious albums are instant heirlooms that you can enjoy for years to come. This is your story, stor told through art.