One of the busiest wedding seasons of the year is almost upon us but it’s not too late to ensure the true meaning of the day is captured by incorporating these three easy tips.
Print your vows and any readings using a nice, readable font on high-quality paper.
Your photographer is going to capture a lot of gorgeous details on your wedding day, but the *most important* thing is those words you say to each other. Whether you write vows yourself or use traditional ones, take ten minutes to print them out and have them ready for your photographer. Incorporating the vows into a few details shots makes pictures of your flowers and rings not just beautiful, but meaningful too.
If you’re incorporating religious readings or favorite poems into your ceremony, print out a few copies of those, too! Your officiant and readers will appreciate having them handy in an easy-to-read format, and those can be just as meaningful as your vows (after all, you chose them for a reason!).
Make sure your photographer knows about any special jewelry (or other details).
Lots of bridal jewelry is quite pretty, but there’s a big difference when it comes to how sentimental you feel about pretty earrings you bought at Nordstrom versus the pearl necklace your soon-to-be-spouse bought you or your grandmother’s ring you’re wearing on your right hand (or your school rings if you met in college, or that bracelet you bought on your first trip as a couple, etc., you get my point). Communicate these important details to your photographer ahead of time. I have my couples fill out a questionnaire the month before where I specifically ask about any special details.
Identify important people.
During weddings, it’s easy to identify those people closest to the couple. Best friends and sisters are wearing bridesmaids dresses, families are in group photos and parents are often walked down the aisle seated at the front.
But are there other people serving a role other than “guest” who should be identified to your photographer? Are your musicians a hired trio or is the guitarist actually your freshman-year roommate? A good photographer will get some photos of the musicians, but we’ll pay special attention to them if we know there’s a personal connection. Is your new spouse’s sister singing your first song? I’m going to photograph that differently than I would photograph a lovely-but-random hired singer.
Do you have any ideas for how to capture meaning on your wedding day? Share them in the comments!
