Here at Bride Vs Groom we have a wealth of informative posts to try to help all of you brides and grooms to make your big day practically perfect in every way, and for those of you new to the blog every now and then we like to bring some of the most helpful posts back to make sure there’s nothing you missed. So today we’re revisiting a little post from our ‘Photographer’s Thoughts’ series designed to help you make sure you get all your timings spot on on the big day!
I started this series of ‘photographer’s thoughts’ with the soul intention of giving brides (and grooms!) a little insider info and educating them with some of the knowledge we wedding photographers take for granted. Now that the wedding season is back in full swing ideas have popped into my head of articles I can write to help all soon-to-be brides to be as prepared as possible. Today though I wanted to focus on probably the biggest thing that crops up time and time again at weddings; something that we can’t possibly control even though we do our best… the passage of TIME.
The most frequently uttered sentence I hear at weddings is “is that the time already?” You’d think having seen this happen so many times that I myself wouldn’t have been caught out by the pesky time grabbers on my own wedding day, but I distinctly remember uttering those same words myself when the buffet was being served at 10pm! It seems to catch most brides out, the morning being the most common when you’re leisurely getting ready and then suddenly realise the car is waiting outside, engine on and raring to go! However much you want your wedding day to last forever sadly time is scarcely so considerate, but there are a few things you can do to help make the most out of your day.
So to help you to avoid the contraction of time here are my top tips…
1.Do ensure you schedule plenty of time for hair and makeup in the morning. Try to start it as early as possible as things can take an awful lot longer than you’d expect… well you want to look perfect don’t you? Don’t forget, if you’re going DIY with your makeup then make sure you allow extra time for accidents – like the slip of your hand with that mascara wand!
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2.Consider having your hair and makeup artist come to your house (or wherever you’re getting into your dress) in the morning rather than going to a salon. That way it helps to relive the stresses of having to get somewhere else on the day and means that you have much more time to get into your wedding dress!
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3. Make sure you allow plenty of time to actually get into your dress! It’s an entirely different matter getting into the dress when no longer surrounded by the knowledge and expertise of the bridal shop attendants who made it seem so easy! Wedding dresses are scarcely designed for ease of slipping in and out, and the person who helps you into the dress can often end up as flustered as you on your big day! If it is a complicated lace up then allow extra time to compensate… they really do take a while to get right!
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4. Ask any family, bridesmaids etc. who will be joining you in the morning to get ready before you. This not only means that they will be ready to help you into the dress and it will also look better for the pictures!
5. Carefully consider the distance between the ceremony and the reception before booking your venues. Any more than an hour’s travelling and it can be a stress, a time-sucker and just too much for the guests.
6. There is nothing worse than when the bride is left waiting anxiously for the arrival of her car so once again timing is of the essence to allow a leisurely drive to the service. Always allow time for traffic – things may take longer than you think!
7. Group photo time! Group photos can be great but it can potentially suck quite a bit of time away – it takes a lot longer than you might expect to get really good group shots – there’s always one relative who seems to disappear at the crucial moment and time is easily wasted hunting down a missing relative!
8. Allow time for some portrait shots. – if portraits are something that’s really important to you then perhaps consider having a first look before the wedding. If that’s not an option for you then just remember that If you want epic landscapes and beautiful portraits you have to give your photographer the time and opportunities to do it.
9.Greeting your guests with a line up can take up quite a bit of time, although the line up does give you a chance to meet each of your guests at least briefly which may mean you don’t need to spend as much time making sure you speak to every one of them later on in the evening when you just want to relax and cut loose!
10. Decide on what parts of the day are particularly important to you and make the things that really matter your priority on the day.
11. Don’t spend your day trying to please everyone else. If there are traditions you’d rather forget then do it – spend the time on something you really want to be doing. You only get one shot at your wedding, do it your way!
12. Natural daylight. Light is a photographers best friend, if you are getting married in the winter do consider the time of the ceremony in relation to how dark it’s likely to be when you leave for pictures.
13.Give yourself more time than you think – however well you plan, once you walk down the aisle all those plans will go out the window and that’s what makes weddings so wonderful: the unpredictability, the spontaneous impact of those around you and the excitement of the moment!
14. Make sure you have given yourself enough time between the ceremony and the reception – it’s a common mistake to think you’re giving your guests too much time in between – it’s actually almost always too short once you factor in the ceremony, groups, portraits and the line up! Your guests will naturally chat, drink and amuse themselves, remember: the time tends to fly for the guests as well!
15.Don’t forget to set some time aside for you and your new husband or wife. Even a couple of minutes relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere is something to be truly savoured.
At the end of the day though, however quick your wedding seems to go just get out there and enjoy it. Time may march forward, but If you truly create the wedding of your dreams then the memory will live on forever: your perfect day, frozen in time, enjoyed for the rest of your lives together.
Such a great post and definitely one I’ll be passing on to my clients when preparing for their big days.