I am SO excited to be capturing your wedding day and will never be able to thank you enough for choosing me as your wedding photographer.
This wedding welcome guide is designed to assist you in the planning process to get the best possible photographs on your wedding day. I always say the two most important things that go into creating beautiful wedding photographs is a great timeline that allows natural moments to unfold and great light - structuring the day as best we can to maximize the best possible use of light for your event.
Great pictures ultimately come down to the quality of light I have to work with. My favorite time to shoot, hands-down, is the final hour before sunset, which is commonly known as “the golden hour”. The light is warm and soft, and everything looks amazing. We would much prefer 15 minutes of this golden light than one hour in the harsh glare of early afternoon. But if there’s no choice, we will do my best to avoid putting you in the sun. If it’s a cloudy day, on the other hand, I will be a very happy photographer. Clouds act like giant soft-boxes over the sun, reducing harsh shadows so that everyone looks amazing.
CHOOSE A CEREMONY TIME - Picking a ceremony time is the first thing to schedule. Everything else on your wedding day is dictated by the ceremony. It will determine when you should begin getting ready and when you should plan to serve dinner. While picking a ceremony time, you should consider how the ceremony time will affect the time you'll be taking bridal portraits. For most weddings, directly following the ceremony is family and bridal portraits. The absolute best time to photograph bridal portraits is during "the golden hour." While it's not always do-able, planning your ceremony time so that you will be taking your bridal pictures in the evening is best. While picking a ceremony time, you should also consider if you are doing a first look or going the traditional route. First looks are usually for later ceremonies. If you're having a church ceremony, these usually happen between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. The last thing to consider, is if you are planning an outdoor ceremony to avoid early afternoon ceremonies to ultimately avoid bright light, hottest temps of the day, harsh shadows, and squinting. If you're unsure as to what is a good time to begin the ceremony, ask me!
CEREMONY LENGTH - Now that you have chosen a ceremony time, it's time to consider the length of your ceremony. A short and sweet ceremony might last 15 minutes where a church service can be 30-60 minutes. Whichever you choose, allow ample time to greet guests afterwards unless you plan for a quick exit.
GETTING READY GROOM (approx. 20-30 minutes) - Some grooms prefer not to be photographed at this stage of the day for location reasons or otherwise. When I meet up with the groom, the groom and groomsmen should be nearly dressed. I will simply capture the finishing touches like putting on the shoes, tie, cuff links, watch, suspenders, vest, and jacket. The groom should also have the boutonnieres ready to be placed on. If you wish to have the mother of the groom to put on the boutonniere, plan for her to be present. We will also do the letter/gift exchange between bride and groom and finish up with photos of the groom alone and the groom with his groomsmen.
GETTING READY BRIDE (approx. 1.5-2 hours) - I like to arrive at the bride’s prep location just as she’s finishing her hair/makeup—that way, we can get a few photographs of the final touches. The bridesmaids, MOB, etc. should already have their hair/makeup done and should be starting to get dressed upon my arrival. Once that’s done, we will document any meaningful accessories or items present, so remember to gather everything so that they’re ready for me to photograph when I first start (stationery, jewelry, flowers and any family heirlooms you are incorporating into the day).
FAMILY PORTAITS - The amount of time devoted to family portraits can vary widely depending on size and family/group combinations. I recommend keeping the different combinations to a minimum—any more than 10 can start to eat into cocktail hour and/or the time allotted to couple portraits. I usually recommend setting aside 2 minutes (give or take) for each combination. Some combinations will be quick while others can take time if it’s a large group we are trying to rally together. Another option is to do all formal photographs prior to the ceremony which would involve doing a first look.
BRIDAL PARTY PORTRAITS - Depending on the size of your bridal party, I usually recommend setting aside 30 minutes (10 minutes for bride with bridesmaids, 10 minutes for groom with groomsmen, 10 minutes for full bridal party). Another popular option is to do the bridal party portraits prior to the ceremony so you can spend more time at cocktail hour with your guests.
BRIDE + GROOM PORTAITS - Timing depends on how many locations you’d like to visit (around 30 minutes per location is ideal). Consider how much time you’re willing to spend away from your guests—some couples prefer to keep personal portraits to a minimum so they can be with friends and family during post-ceremony cocktail hour. You might also consider sneaking away from your reception for about 15 minutes and capturing additional portraits at sunset.
RECEPTION (2-6 hours) - Every wedding reception is unique and really depends on what matters to you--your first dance, cake cutting, dancing, friends and family sharing your joy, etc. I recommend deciding whether you’d like complete reception coverage or would prefer to have me stay just until the dance floor gets moving. Typically, I only need to stick around for open floor dancing for about 30 minutes as you don’t want half of your gallery to be reception photos unless you are doing a grand exit. Finally, the grand Exit! If you choose to have me to stay for a grand exit, great! I love sparkler exits! If you plan on doing a sparkler exit, get the long sparklers so they last longer and don’t run down the aisle, go slow!
2:00pm - Morgan begins coverage
2:15pm - Bride's hair & makeup complete
2:30pm - Bride into dress
3:15pm - Bride + groom first look
3:45pm - Wedding party photographs
4:15pm - Family photographs
4:50pm - Family photographs finish, couple into hiding for guest arrival
5:00pm - Guest invite time for ceremony
5:30pm - Actual ceremony time
5:50pm - Ceremony concludes, guests make way to cocktail hour
6:00pm - Cocktail hour
6:15pm - Bride + groom photographs
7:00pm - Reception
10:00pm - Morgan ends coverage
Before the wedding, I recommend asking family members what portraits are important to them. If there are any unique family dynamics I should be aware of, please let me know in advance. This will help ensure the family portraits are as smooth and stress free as possible. Below is a list of the most common family portraits combinations. I generally recommend keeping the number of combinations to 10 or less. Although, as every family is unique and requires different groupings, just give me a list of what's important and I'll make it happen. Allow 2 minutes for each combination so if you ideally would like to keep this portion of the day to 20 minutes max, only choose a total of 10 combinations.
FAMILY PORTAIT TIPS:
First Client’s family:
- Couple with parents
- Couple with parents & siblings
- Couple with parents, siblings + grandparents
- Couple with immediate + extended families
- Couple with mother
- Couple with father
- Couple with siblings
- Couple with grandparents
- First Client with mother
- First Client with father
- First Client with siblings
- First Client with grandparents
Second Client’s family
- Couple with parents
- Couple with parents & siblings
- Couple with parents, siblings + grandparents
- Couple with immediate + extended families
- Couple with mother
- Couple with father
- Couple with siblings
- Couple with grandparents
- Second Client with mother
- Second Client with father
- Second Client with siblings
- Second Client with grandparents
Both Families Together:
- Couple with all parents
- Couple with all immediate families
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Light is the most important part to creating beautiful images, along with a great venue with character, it really has a big impact on the quality of images I can create for you.
First, decide whether you prefer a nature background (trees, water, etc.) or one that’s more urban (buildings, streets, sidewalks), and consider what’s most practical based on the location of your wedding. If there’s travel between your ceremony and reception, think about what’s in close proximity to each place and whether there are sites in those areas that you like—it’s always nice to find locations along the way so we lose as little time as possible traveling.
If your ceremony and reception are at the same venue, we can make the most of what’s available to us there. Just let me know what you’re drawn to about that particular place, whether it’s the natural beauty or the architecture, and we can work from there.
CHOOSING A GREAT GETTING READY LOCATION
If you are getting ready outside of your own home or venue and need to book additional accommodation for where you will be getting ready, my recommendation is to choose an Airbnb / VRBO over a hotel room. Hotel rooms can often be small and dark, whereas renting an entire home for you to get ready in makes for a more relaxed experience, as there is space for everyone to spread out and there will be more choices in terms of rooms to photograph in. Think big windows and light + airy!
If you are wanting getting ready coverage of both the bride and groom, please keep the getting ready locations within reasonable driving distance of each other and your ceremony location.
IF IT RAINS
Always have a plan B. Bring CLEAR umbrellas (1 umbrella per couple in the bridal party) and weather-appropriate shoes.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Ackerman + Co. Wedding + Lifestyle Films
Golden Hour Film + Photography
If you decide to hire a videographer, it’s important to choose someone whose aesthetic works well with my style of shooting. In the past, I have worked alongside videographers whose visions differed greatly to mine, and that separateness has had an impact on the final photographs. When our styles match, however, we each complement and enhance the other’s work.
That said, you might be wondering what’s most important to look for when reviewing your options. Generally, I find I work best with videographers who take a relaxed, documentary-style approach to shooting, and who opt for understated storytelling with minimal directing. My goal is always to capture the most honest moments of your day; having a videographer with the same mindset is key.
I also find it easiest to work alongside one videographer (two at most) rather than a team of shooters. There’s no way around including a video team in a photograph, after all, if there’s a camera at every angle.
There’s something special about holding a photograph in your hands. It connects you physically to a time, a place, and a feeling—an experience that an image on a screen simply can’t replicate.
Of course, digital files are beautiful and certainly have their place, but a print or custom album are tangible heirlooms you’ll pass down for generations, providing a connection to your wedding day that you and your family will cherish for years to come.
I recommend printing ONLY through ww.mpix.com for highest quality.
Ceremony:
Getting Ready:
Portraits:
Reception:
General Tips:
DJ: Ultimate Sounds Entertainment Group
MUA: Makeup by Ashley, Team Glam Detroit.
Florals: Twigs & Branches Floral
Videographer: Ackerman + Co. Wedding + Lifestyle Films, Golden Hour Film + Photography
Bartending: Rocks on The Road
Catering: Smoke on The Water BBQ