Today I wanted to talk about how I work on a wedding day as a natural wedding photographer. Although for the majority of the day I like to be in the background and be able to capture all those fun moments on a wedding day, there are points in the day where I need to be a bit more involved. I thought I would go through the typical wedding day and how I work at each stage throughout the day.

Before the wedding day I will send out a questionnaire to my couples to get all the information about the day that I might need. From that I can put a day plan together so I know what’s happening and where, as well as any important and requested photos. The first thing on my day plan is usually meeting the bride for “getting ready’ photos. I absolutely love this parts of the day, watching and capturing things from the beginning of the day really captures a full story in the photos. I will also get some detail photos of the dress hanging up, shoes, perfume, jewellery etc. 

 

I like to head off to the ceremony before the Bride does so I can capture natural wedding photos of some guests arriving, the Groom and Groomsmen getting ready and looking nervous or excited 😉

I’m then there ready to capture the Brides arrival as well. It’s always amazing when there are a couple of spare minutes before the ceremony as I can then get a few slightly more staged photos of the Bride with her Bridesmaids or Dad, I still try to keep these looking nice and natural.

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During the ceremony I like to stand towards the front to capture the Bride walking down the aisle as well as all those important natural wedding photos during the ceremony: The Father of the Bride giving his Daughter away, those little looks between each other and of course that all important first kiss.

Usually after the register has been signed I will make my way to the back ready to photograph the newlyweds as they walk back up the aisle.

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After the ceremony is the perfect time for confetti and a lovely time to capture some natural wedding photos of guests giving their congratulations. Soon after that is a really good time to do any group photos that may have been requested. I tend to do between 5 and 10 group photos and usually allow about 30-45 minutes for this. By doing 5-10 group photos, couples get the people in who they want but at the same time it isn’t gong to take up too much of the wedding day. As fun as I try to keep the group photos I do find that if couples who choose more than 10 group photos can find it a bit repetitive and they do get to a point where they really just want to go and chat with their guests.

The groups I usually recommend to couples would be:

Bride & Groom with Brides parents

Bride & Groom with Brides immediate family

Bride & Groom with Grooms Parents

Bride & Groom with Grooms immediate family

Bride & Groom with Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

Some couples then choose to add in a few more but after the group photos are done I go back to taking those natural wedding photos of everyone enjoying the day. My aim is to mix in with guests and go as unnoticed as possible in order to capture those natural wedding photos of the couple and their family and friends: see who’s chatting to who, who’s cracking the jokes, who’s chasing the kids around. All the bits that couples may miss while they’re seeing other guests by being a natural wedding photographer I can capture those moment for couples to enjoy.

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At some point throughout the day it’s really nice for the Bride and Groom to take a bit of time away from their guests and have some photos together. I find couples really enjoy a bit of time out from everything and just enjoy each others company. Again with these photos I try to keep these in keeping with my natural wedding photographer theme.

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Those in between moment are just as nice. 

 

I’m always keen to get some photos of all the detials that couples have worked on, to make their venues look so gorgeous. I will always try to get into the room where the meal is taking place, before anyone else has gone in, to get some photos of it looking perfect.

While everyone sits down to eat I tend to not take any photos because no one wants to see a photo of themselves halfway through shovelling food into their mouths 😉

At this point in the day I like to get any extra detail photos I’ve not already got. Maybe photos around the venue or photos of the bouquet, or of the wedding rings if couples have requested for that. Once those have been done I will take a bit of time to rest my feet, have a bite to eat and get ready for the speeches.

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After the speeches I will take natural wedding photos of what ever is going on. The most important bits being the cutting of the cake and the first dance. I then like to stay for about half an hour after the first dance to get some fun party photos to complete the story of the day. After that I leave everyone to enjoy the rest of the night.

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If you think you’d like to book a natural wedding photographer and you want a bit more information feel free to get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.