Leaving Time For Details

As you’re planning for your wedding day, you’ll quickly realize (if you haven’t already!) that there are a lot of little details you need to think about! Don’t panic! That’s what we’re here for! We are in the middle of a series talking about tips for your wedding day timeline. We will be approaching this from a photography perspective (since that’s what we know), but these tips always work for our couples and we want to pass them on! We know every wedding is different, and we also acknowledge that everything doesn’t always go according to plan. But creating a timeline with your photographer will not only make your day go by more smoothly, but it creates less stress for you on the wedding day (yay!), and ensures those little details all come together! Catch up on the series here!

Part 1: Traditional Versus First Look
Part 2: Location. Location. Location.
Part 3: Planning For The Light
Part 4: Leaving Time For Details
Part 5: Adding Buffer Time
Part 6: To Exit Or Not To Exit

This portion of the timeline is probably one of our top favorites! All of those details that make your day uniquely yours, the details that express your styles and personalities, are vitally important for us to capture and fully document your day! And these are most easily found in two main sections, in the bride & groom’s getting ready details, as well as in the ceremony and reception. We’ll be looking at both sections in today’s post, so keep reading!

Bride & Groom Details

When it comes to capturing the details of your day, there’s no better place to start than with the bride and groom getting ready details! We typically start with all the girls, since, as we all know, girls take longer to get ready. Ryan’s always waiting on Alyssa every morning! We digress. Starting with the girls details means we’re taking the wedding dress, a bridesmaids’ dresses, the wedding bands, engagement ring, invitations, flowers, garter, veil, perfume, shoes, jewelry, and any other sentimental details the bride has incorporated into her ensemble, and we put them together to create some gorgeous images of the of the most important aspects of her day! We love us some Kate Spade, Jimmy Chou, Prada, Channel, and Badgley Mischka accessories, and we’re waiting to photograph those Louboutins! (Any volunteers?!) We’re also capturing those emotional moments of mom helping her daughter into her dress, the laughter and excitement on her girls’ faces as they’re all getting ready, and some hair and makeup details. We love the craziness, the laughter, the beauty of this part of the day, making these images some of our favorite details to capture! And, these gorgeous details make for some stunning spreads in the wedding album.

And then we head off to see the guys and document the groom’s details as well! Guys are more simple, take less time, and quite a bit more relaxed than the girls room, but we looooove us some groom details! Especially Ryan! Nothing is better than the groom taking some time to look his best! Some of our favorites include custom suits, personalized cuff links, his favorite cologne, boutonnières, Happy Socks (check it out) and statement ties, and his watch and shoes. Documenting the ambiance of the guys’ room during these details and watching dad or the best man help polish off the groom’s look are moments that are a must for our brides. Plus, these images look fantastic in their wedding album as well!

Ceremony & Reception Details

Ceremony & Reception details are best photographed with no one around. This can be tricky and you have to do it after everything is set up but before people show up to the event. This is the easy trick to how we make that happen: we specifically set aside a one hour break before the ceremony to allow us to capture all of the ceremony & reception details. Simple as that! We don’t schedule photos of people for the hour before the ceremony starts. This is perfect time for the bride and groom to rest, eat something and take in the gravity of the day. It’s also a great time for us to be photographing details! In this hour, we’re documenting that gorgeous cake, reception table décor, place settings, escort cards, buffet stations and cocktail tables and trays, as well as the aisle markers for your ceremony, the arbor under which you’ll say your vows, the programs, and the flower girl’s basket and ring bearer’s pillow. We’ll also capture the ambiance of your outdoor ceremony, the indoor chapel and the Oceanside set up. And we’ll be sure to get wide shots of the reception room and cocktail hour before your guests arrive!

We can’t stress the importance of this enough! You put so much work into your wedding. You planned that ceremony and reception out meticulously over months and months to make it just perfect! Let’s be honest. Ten years from now (or even five years from now!) you may not remember how everything looked. Well, we’ve got you covered. Because of your photos, you can remember exactly what every aspect of your day looked like! You get to see every little detail and remember your gorgeous day.

Though it may not seem like the most important thing now, you will be glad you made time to capture the little things on your wedding day. We are photographers. But we are also storytellers. And it’s those little details that tie your wedding day story together. Make sure you choose a photographer that thinks about those little details. You will be glad you did!