Wedding days can be stressful… for everyone involved. There is so much time and effort involved in preparing for your big day. And, your photographers are not an exception to this rule. We spend hours making sure everything is ready to go for when we walk in the door.

Our job is to capture the moments of your day and tell your story visually through the images we create. The day can be long and at times, very stressful for us. As bride, there are a few things you can do to help make our day less stressful (and in return easier on you)!

We wanted to share our top 5 tips to help your photographers on the wedding day:

1. A Point of Contact: Choose a point of contact on both the bride and groom side and let us know who they are! As a bride (or groom) you do not want to have to worry about the mundane task, such as keeping track of your phone. There are times we may need to get a hold of someone before we arrive and having someone other than yourself in charge of talking to us will only keep stress off you but also ensures we can get a hold of someone right away.
2. Snacks and Water: Our day can be long… often longer than you think. Yes, typically, you will have us for an hour but in reality, our prep starts the night before. We try to eat before we start, as our normal day starts around 2ish, but lunch can ware off quickly. One of the nicest and most thoughtful things a bride can do for us is to ensure there is plenty of bottles of water for us (especially on a hot summer day) and even a snack (things like granola bars or packs of peanut butter crackers). Often, there is food out for the bridal party but having something specifically easy to grab for us would be ideal. No one likes a hangry photographer.
3. Informed Bridal Party: One of the biggest stress points for us while photographing a wedding is a bridal party who does not know what is going on. Our job entails balance many hats and when the bridal party has no clue how the day will be unfolding. This can make our job a slight bit more difficult especially if they are the type of get easily distracted and wonder off. Ideally, your rehearsal or the dinner after, just take about 10 minutes to go over the game plan and how the day will unfold. When everyone is on the same page and knows the game plan, your day will run smoother and efficiently… resulting in more photos!
4. Dinner Time: Have you ever had someone take your photo at while trying to eat? Talk about awkward!!!! Unless you’re an adorable 1 year old who covered themselves in spaghetti… no one wants their photo taken. For this exact reason, we do not take photos during dinner time and will take a small break ourselves. However, what we ask, is to be served at the same time as you if you’re doing a formal sit-down dinner. This ensures we get a moment to rest and refuel. If you’re going to spend the extra to ensure we’re taken care of (food wise) then give us time to actually eat and rest our feet. If we’re eating at the same time as the bridal party, we will be ready to go as the fun times begin! Remember like we said before, no one wants a hangry photographer!
5. Forget We’re There: Ok.. we know this sounds crazy but here us out! The day is about you and your future spouse… not us! There are times where we will step in to help the day roll smoothly and ensure you’re getting the beautiful images you’re expecting from us but for the most part, we would rather you just ignore us. It’s OK to stop and smile at the camera occasionally but remember to experience the moments. Don’t worry, we’ll capture amazing images you’ll love! Those are the photos you’re looking for when it’s all said and done! The moments you felt.

We understand your wedding day is about you. However, these few tips will help make our day run smoother… therefore resulting in your day going better. Your day going as planned and as stress free as possible is exactly what it’s all about!

Happy Planning,

Nicole and Ryan