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Ultimate Wedding Photography Timeline Guide

  • The Ultimate Wedding Photography Timeline Guide

    Holding each other under the winspy trees

A wedding photography timeline is a vital part of wedding planning. You spend a fortune to make sure your wedding is something that turely represents who you are as a couple, so it’s best to make sure you get every important part of your wedding documented by your wedding photographer. Having a well-planned schedule helps to do this immensely. That being said though, a wedding photogrpahy timeline does not have to be complex – you only need to make sure it’s clear as to where your photogrpaher needs to be and when throughout the day.

Although wedding photographers should be quick and ready to capture important moments at all times, they also need some time and proper flow to produce quality photos for the couples. I’m not saying you need to say that your photographer should be ‘along the right wall of the barn while Jakod does his speech’ – it’s more about what time your makeup will be finished by in the morning, or when you pan to do your first dance in the evening.

Here’s everything you need to know before putting togtehr a wedding photography timeline.

Wedding Photography Timeline Guide

  1. The Preparation

Prep time is the best time to capture candid moments between the bride or groom and their family and friends in modern wedding photography, it’s become some of the most important photos to take to tell a story.. It is nice to capture moments that show how the whole wedding began. Little snippets of the couple getting dressed or made up will surely be a good reminder of how the preparations went. That will also remind you of your wedding vendors and how you feel at the moment.

Grooms wedding shoes
Helping put on wedding dress
Taking the wedding dress for a spin

What photos are taken: Portraits of the bride and groom. Take photos of the wedding preparations, the wedding details, and conduct group photos for the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Recommended shoot time: I usually budget around 1 hour with the groom and his groomsmen, and between 1.5-2 hours with the bride and her bridal party. Adjust accordingly considering travel time between locations and you may also wish to take into account the possiblity that you may wish to have a ‘first look’ before the ceremony.

 

  1. The Ceremony

It is the most awaited part of your wedding—where the exchanges of vows and the witnessing of the union happen. Make sure to take photos of important moments.

Adelaide Sailing Club Wedding Ceremony
Burbrook forest wedding ceremony
Mt Lofty House Wedding Ceremony

What to take: Photographers should capture as much as they can during the ceremony. Take photos of the crucial moments, such as the bride and groom’s reactions, the kiss, the confetti, and the congratulations and hugs afterwards. It is a nice touch if the photographers have candid shots of the guests’ reactions too.

Recommended shoot time: Allocate around one hour for the whole ceremony – even if the ceremony isnt planned to go that long. Things happen at weddings that cause timelines to change, and the ceremony is not a part of the day you should skimp on. Some religious ceremonies can also go much longer than an hour.

 

  1. The Family and Important Groups

It is the part of the wedding ceremony that should be done as fast as possible – however it hardly ever pans out that way, and if it doesnt, although you’d want to remember your day with the special people in your life, remember that you can always take more pictures later – probably at the reception.

group wedding shot at st francis winery
Guest group shot
Bridal group

What to take: Take photos of the bride and groom with their immediate family and close friends.

Recommended shoot time: Allot around 30 minutes to do this. Since it can take longer, try and make a list of photos you’d want taken before the day and give it to someone who has a loud voice and can organise people. This will help this process become much less painful for all those involved.. It can also serve as the photographer’s guide to capture photos of everyone important to the groom and bride. Sometimes family politics make photos of certain people together something to avoid – so this can also help avoid sticky situations.

 

  1. The Couple’s glamour photos

This is the period of time during a wedding day where you’re able to get the bride and groom alone to capture the ‘pretty shots’ that are usually printed and put on the wall.

Ekhidna wines wedding vineyards
Bride and groom under a fallen tree
Inglewood Inn Wedding Photo

What to take: Take romantic shots of the newlywed and photos showing off the new wedding ring.

Recommended shoot time: I usually allocate about 1 hour per locations you’d like to travel to for this. One hour is probably too long for it, but it makes for a much more cruisey experience. It is best to schedule this session at least before the sunset. This way, you’ll get the best light in your photos.

 

  1. The Reception and Party

This is when the party starts and scheduled formalities like speeches and the first dance happen.

First dance
first dance in blue smoke
best man speech

What to take: Some of the event highlights to capture here are the cutting of the wedding cake, the first dance, and the dance of the bride and groom with their parents. You should also include here the venue shot, the food shot, the bride and groom’s photos with their guests, and other candid shots of guests.

Recommended shoot time: When making a wedding photography timeline, I usually just ask for when the reception starts, as if I’m asked to cover the whole day I’ll be staying until all the formalities have completed. If I was asked to cover a reception in an hourly package, an hour is usually enough to cover the cake cutting, first dance and possibly a speech or two. Consider the travel time to the wedding reception if your location is separated from your ceremony venue.

 

A successful wedding depends on successful teamwork and a well laid out wedding photography timeline helps with this so much!. Beautiful wedding photos come from a well-planned schedule and great quality photographers. To ensure less headache on your special day, make sure to prepare well, and work with professional photographers. Professional wedding photographers usually have a proposed schedule and shoot plans that they relay to the groom and bride. That should help ease the load for you.

If you want a fun and relaxing way of capturing your precious wedding memories, we are at your service! We are Adelaide-based wedding photographers in South Australia, ready to capture beautiful photos that will transport yourself back to the happiest day of your life. Get in touch with us today!

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Star Wars Wedding Photography

Over the years I’ve been asked to photoshop in different Star Wars themed additions to create some Star Wars wedding photography. I’ve been asked to add different things to my photos in the past, including dinosaurs, zombies and even giant gummy bears, but scenes from Star Wars tends to be one of the most popular ‘additions’ to wedding photography. Star Wars wedding photography isnt just about the photoshop skill of the photographer, it also needs a bit of ‘action’ played out by the couple in their photographs 🙂

As it’s May the 4th today – a play on words pun from the famed ‘May the Force be with you’ line from the series, I figured it’d be a little bit of fun to go back over some of the Star Wars wedding photography I’ve put together over the years.

Star wars wedding at Auchendarroch House

The first being what is still my absolute favourite Star Wars wedding photo Ive ever put together. Rebecca and Simon’s Auchendarroch house wedding took place way back in 2016 but people still ask to have me as their wedding photographer based soley on this single image I put together for them. It just works so well witht he towering AT-AT walkers moving away from the carnage they presumably laid down in their wake before coming to crush the house and the wedding party. Classic 🙂

Star Wars Wedding Photography

The next is Chloe and Alex’s Edwardstown Baptist Church wedding where I was asked to photoshop in lightsabers for each of the bridal party as if they were attacking the bride and groom. Just a little bit of fun here, lightsabers are super easy to photoshop into a photograph but it’s the making the whole aesthetic darker than usual thats the tricky bit 🙂

Star Wars Wedding Photo

You might recgnise the AT-AT walkers in this shot I put together for Michelle and Ryan’s Woodstock winery wedding. They are the same models I used in Rebecca and Simon’s. Maninly because they are a high resolution version of the walkers and easy to gain a stock license to use! As far as the pose go, if you ever do a search fro Star Wars wedding photography, you’ll notice that this is a popular pose in many of the results that come up. Michelle and Ryan had seen something like it in the past and asked for it to be replicated on their wedding day 🙂

Wedding couple dodging lasers in forest battle scene

Angela and Josh’s Star wars wedding photography shot at their wedding at St Francis winery was a bit of a silly one to do as Josh’s pride and joy car was on the grass there and I figured I’d have it blown up by the AT-AT walker in the background 🙂

Have some Star Wars Wedding Photography done at your wedding!

I’m pretty sure I’ve done more Star Wars wedding photogrpahy in the past, but it may have been older than this site! Putting together these shots in phtooshop is quite a bit of fun, so if you want something as cheesy as these photos from your wedding day, feel free to ask for something like it. Doesnt have to be a Star Wars themed shot, it could also be giant dinosaurs, or maybe a Kraken leaping out fo the water? I don’t know :). These sorts of photos, as cheesy as they are really make a smile creep onto your face years down the track when you’re looking over your wedding photography.

Happy May the 4th everyone, and stay safe out there!

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8 Unique Stay At Home Date Ideas to Spice up Your Relationship

  • One Tree Hill Engagement shoot

 

Stay At Home Date Ideas You Can Use to Spice up Your Relationship

 

All over the world, going out for a date night is increasingly becoming a challenge for many. This is not about having kids who may insist on going everywhere you go. It’s about staying safe inside your home. More so, if you live in a suburb, driving to the city for a date night can be tricky. Staying at home doesn’t mean you have to forfeit your relationship or allow it to suffer. There are a lot of things you can do to spice it up even during a pandemic like COVID-19, but also for when all this is over and you just feel like having a date night at home 🙂

Whatever your reasons for staying at home; we have researched lots of options for cute stay at home date ideas. All these date ideas are budget-friendly and don’t involve much technology! So you don’t have to run down your credit card to give your date a treat during this time. So below are 8 easy-to-plan, enjoyable, inexpensive  stay at home date ideas you can try at home with your significant other. Stay indoors and have some fun!

  1. Play a Board Game

Game nights are fantastic ways to have a date while staying indoors. You can start it with a glass of wine, then bring out some cards, or set up a cheese board and begin the challenge. The truth is that you will find yourself engrossed in gimmicks, deep conversations, and funny spanks with your date as you have more time playing such games indoors.

Let’s not forget the series of little arguments that may arise when one person decides to play smart on another as the game progresses. Such can trigger the feeling of togetherness and forgiveness.

board game date night
  1. Pretend The Electricity Is Out

You might have tried this when you were a kid. It’s normal to find some kids switching off all lighting in the home and pretending as if the electricity is out. Then they begin to play hide and seek game or tell ghost stories. You can try this too with your date. Amidst the dark corners of your home, you can tell ghost stories, light candles, and play a guessing game.

  1. Have a Tasting Party

This could turn out to be one of your favorite stay at home date ideas. Just create fun tasting stations. You could organise any kind of tasting. From smoothie to wine tastings, the sky is the limit. Pick any theme of your choice, and it could be cookies, ice cream, whiskey, and even chocolate. Just ensure there are a lot of options available for you and your date.

Food platter
  1. Make Dessert or Dinner Together

Making dinner after a stressful day can be tiring. But not with the stay at home order. Ensure you both have activities cleared up for the day. And fix a time to cook your favorite meal together. It’s an excellent way to reconnect, especially if you haven’t seen each other for quite some time. The meal or dessert should be something you both haven’t tried before. Take pictures as you cook to make it fun and memorable.

  1. Organise a Romantic Quiz Competition

When was the last time you both laughed over a topic or the inability of one person to answer a question correctly? This is one fun way to spice up your date life. There are lots of “questions for couples” articles and books online. If you feel you and your date haven’t sat down and laughed for a long time, or you have trouble discussing anything that doesn’t end in an argument, then this tip could help. Make a list of interesting questions to answer over some glasses of wine or coffee. In the end, you will discover new things about each other.

  1. Turn Your Bedroom Into a Romantic Hotel Room

Staying in a fancy hotel room could make your date night as romantic as it gets. But this is not always within the budget. More so, you can transform your bedroom into a romantic scene for the sexiest date night at home drama.  Here are some ideas to help you:

  • Place a bottle of champagne or other drink in a bucket of ice close to the bed.
  • Turn on soft music and light some sweet-scented candles in different corners of the bedroom.
  • Sprinkle flower petals on the bed and make some chocolate covered strawberries.
  • Make your favorite dish, and serve your date in bed.
  • Watch romantic movies together in bed till when you both doze off.
romantic bed
  1. Paint With each other

When was the last time you both tried your hands-on painting? Perhaps, you can remember how romantic and fun it was for your relationship. But what if you haven’t done so yet, no worries! You can still make it a vital aspect of your staying safe at home date ideas.

Get some watercolor sets and a large paper. Then sit together and paint your favorite masterpieces and make a mess! It can be more fun when you both try to guess what the other party has painted. You don’t have to be an artistic genius to do it correctly. Watch some tutorials on YouTube and practice it together before setting the table for the real game.

As far as stay at home date ideas go, this is the one that will likely stay with you. Even if you’re no good at painting, just the reminder of this activity would be worth framing and putting on your wall forever!

painting
  1. Play The Role of an Interior Designer

This is a perfect date night idea you can organise in a budget-friendly manner. Research some DIY home design ideas together. Take notes of the tips and materials needed. You could redesign the living room, kitchen, or bedroom. Whatever you feel comfortable with, just make sure it suits your style and budget.

Hint: This at-home date idea will make you discover lots of fascinating things about your partner, such as favorite color, taste, and design style.

Stay At Home Date Ideas are fantastic for many reasons. It helps you and your partner to discover things about yourselves that wouldn’t have been possible on a regular date. Staying safe during a pandemic doesn’t mean you should put your relationship on hold. Try these tips and take your love life to greater heights! When we are all aloud outside again I’d love to go out and have a photoshoot together! 😀

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Top Wedding Photo Locations in Adelaide CBD

Over the years of being an Adelaide wedding photographer I’ve been able to explore the Adelaide CBD and find a multitude of spots that are suitable to take wedding couples to to have their photos done without having to worry about having photo permits of permission to do so. So I thought I’d put together this list of wedding photo locations in Adelaide so that other have no need to do the scouting themselves.

I’ve purposely put this list together for those who do not wish to purchase a photography permit to use the area, and are only of those locations within the Adelaide CBD that are considered ‘public space’ and therefore need no prior arrangements to be made to have photos taken there. A good example of a popular wedding photo location in Adelaide that will not be on this list would be the Adelaide Botanic Gardens – as couples need a photography permit to have their photos taken within the gardens.

List of my favourite Wedding Photo Locations in Adelaide

Veale Gardens

If you’re planning on also having your ceremony in Veale Gardens, then you will need a permit from the council, but if you’re just looking to have your photo shoot done, then no such permission is needed. Located in the southern park lands, Veale Gardens boasts beautifully manicured lawns and a man made river sweeping through the whole garden area.

There are a number of different rock pools that also make for a great setting for wedding photography. One of the best things about Veale Gardens though is the variety of photos you can take here, as just behind the gardens is a small gum tree forest and a rather unkempt area for a more rustic feel to your wedding photos – something you’d usually have to travel outside of the city to find.

Couple portrait at sunset in Veale Gardens
UNder the tree in veale Gardens
Veale Gardens wedding photo

Himeji Gardens

The Himeji Gardens are also located in the southern park lands, and right nearby Veale Gardens. Himeji Gardens is  build to commemorate Adelaide’s sister city relationship with the Japanese city of Himeji. The whole area is designed to look pretty as it’s a properly designed garden with the Japanese aesthetic in mind. Wedding ceremonies are not allowed to take place within the gardens, but you are able to walk through and take your glamour photos within.

Just be sure you try to use the gardens during it’s opening times. The best times to visit are during the autumn months as the Japanese maple’s start to show some incredible colours.

Couple in the Himeji gardens doorway
Couple dancing in the Himeji Gardens
Sunset in Himeji gardens

North Terrace

The old buildings along North Terrace, coupled with some of the nice trees and art installations along the road make North terrace one of my go to wedding photo locations in Adelaide. Many of the old buildings along here belong to the Adelaide University campus, but I felt as though the campus itself deserved it’s own mention on this list.

The egg
Under an archway on North Terrace
Under a tree on North Terrace
Wedding couple under flowers
Bonython Hall

Adelaide University

The Adelaide University campus itself has some wonderful spots hidden around the place as it’s such an old campus. One such spot has romenesque columns lining a walkway towards a door. This one spot – quite close to the Torrens footbridge – has become a huge hot spot for wedding photography often having to queue up behind other wedding couples wanting to have photos done there on a Saturday.

Bride and Groom in Adelaide University
Adelaide University
bride and groom at Adelaide University
Adelaide University

Old Police Barracks and Migration museum

The old Police barracks are located right behind the South Australian Museum and library. It’s a beautiful old building which is very much hidden from view and you’d be forgiven for not knowing it was there unless you had specially sought it out. It is public space, however can also be booked for wedding ceremonies so it would be best to enquire before your wedding day if it was being used or not before heading down there to have photos done.

Adelaide museum wedding photography
Behind the Adelaide Museum
Adelaide Museum
Adelaide Museum engagement
Adelaide Museum

Rymill Park

Rymill Park is one of the main venues used for the famous Adelaide Fringe festival held each year in February and March so if you want to have photos in Rymill Park during that period of time, it may be tricky. Rymill Park has a wonderful pond and beautiful trees and path ways meandering about the area which makes the spot one of the popular wedding photo locations in Adelaide.

On the bridge
Rymill Park wedding photo
Together under a tree
Next to the horse and carriage

Rundle Mall

Rundle Mall is the home of Adelaide’s defacto mascot of the Mall’s Balls art installation. Everyone from Adelaide knows the spot in Rundle Mall as an easy point of reference within the city. As a wedding photo location, it’s better suited at night, as there will not be as many random people in your photos, and it allows for the pretty lights that line the area to be used in your photos.

Rundle Mall Wedding by SvenStudios
Rundle Mall Wedding
End of Rundle Mall
Walking down Rundle Mall

Adelaide Arcade

When thinking of wedding photo locations in Adelaide, the oldest shopping precinct in the city fits the bill nicely, with centry old architecture, and the ability to explore above the main shops a bit, it makes for a nicely unique spot to have your photos done.

Wedding
Wedding by Svenstudios
Wedding by Svenstudios
Adelaide Arcade

Old Adelaide Market Area

One of the lesser known wedding photo locations in Adelaide is the old market area on East Terrace. The lane ways off Charlick cct and Vardon ave have some great scenes available for a wedding photographer – particularly during the autumn months as the trees are starting to turn some nice shades of yellow and red.

Looking back
Kisses

Wilson Parking Hindley St

Bit of an odd place to think about having your wedding photos done is in a car park, but the Wilson Park on Hindley street actually opens up onto it’s roof enabling your wedding photographer to get a unique perspective on the Adelaide skyline if that’s you’re thing. Sorry I only have some shots of batman to demonstrate what I’m talking about 🙂

Batman looking around
Batman cosplay looking out over the city of Adelaide

Elder Park

Elder park is the area where every postcard of Adelaide is shot from. The park is surrounded by a lovely stretch of the river Torrens, Adelaide oval, the Festival theater and convention center. One of the main draw cards as one of the best wedding photo locations in Adelaide is the huge rotunda sitting surrounded by beautifully manicured lawn. There is also the King William street bridge and of course the river itself.

Adelaide Botanic Park

Leading straight next door to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens though is the Adelaide Botanic Park. A popular spot to hold wedding ceremonies and have photos taken with the multitude of pretty Moreton Bay Fig trees. The area is often used for live music events so some of the park may be cordoned off, and is a nice spot to hold a family picnic so if it’s a nice day, expect a lot of other people using the area while you’re taking photos.

The fig trees scattered throughout the park have amazing roots that lend themselves well to wedding photos and at certain times of day the sunlight will seep through the foliage nicely.

Adelaide Botanic Park wedding photos
bride and groom in Botanic Park
bride and groom walking between the trees of Darwin’s Botanic Park

Torrens foreshore & footbridge

The Torrens meanders throughout the northern part of the Adelaide CBD and winds past the northern entrance to Adelaide University. At that point there is a pretty footbridge that traverses the Torrens river. You can use the footbridge itself as one of the great wedding photo locations in Adelaide, but there are also some hidden spots nearby like weeping willow trees and some nice footpaths.

Couple on Torrens footbridge
On the footbridge
Next to the torrens bridge
Near the Torrens

Adelaide is a very pretty city, and it was designed to be so! This list is therefore not an exhaustive list of wedding photo locations in Adelaide, but more of a guide to give you an idea of some of the more popular, and in some cases lesser known spots to head to with your wedding photographer!

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What are the most important wedding photos on a wedding day?

As a wedding photographer that has been capturing weddings for almost a decade now, I’m acutely aware of the importance of having good wedding photography done. Everyone has their own idea of what the most important wedding photos you should have captured, but it takes a keen idea and a creative mindset to really think about when and where these situations are going to occur. These are the sorts of shots that evoke emotion in the viewer after the day has ended, the shots you smile and laugh at, or cry thinking about and they happen all day long. The most important wedding photos to capture in my mind are the memories you’ll cherish forever and even look back on, so I’ve decided to put together a little bit of a list to answer the question of ‘What are the most important wedding photos on a wedding day?’ starting right from the beginning of the day.

What are the most important wedding photos on a wedding day?

There are dozens of lists of wedding photos you ‘need’ to have done around the internet, titled like ’87 Wedding Photo Ideas You Definitely Need to Capture’ or ’20 Must-Have Photos on Your Wedding Day’ but really having a list like them and then meticulously ticking each one off on a wedding day just increases tension and stress when it should be a moment in your life where you can be youself with the person you love. I feel as though wedding photography is more about the showcasing of the coming together of two separate personalities into one union, and I capture this by considering all the moments on a day I know is going to happen through experience. I have made a list of some general photos I know will always be treasured, written and explaied in a way that doesnt force you to ‘do this’ or ‘take a shot of the sunset through the veil so that you can see the hairs on the tip of your nose prickup when you kiss’. More moments in time that I’m considering as a natural wedding photographer – not something you should worry about 🙂

My list of most important wedding photos on a wedding day

The invitations and other homemade knickknacks

If there’s anything that would cause you stress like nothing else, only to forget about what you were stressing about the day after your wedding – it’s all the personal and handmade details you came up with for your decor on your wedding day. All the more reason why to capture them in photographs for you to actually remember what you were stressing about leading up to the day!

Invite
Harry Potter Wedding Bouquet
wedding sign
Home made jam
Wedding art
Heart

Accessories

Similar to the made made knickknacks, the accessories you’ve picked out for both yourself and your partner are items you spent painstaking time stressing over – but are perhaps the ones you won’t forget, but are pretty anyway so deserve a photo 😛

Wedding shoes
Wedding Rings
Bridal jewellery
Engagement ring

Getting ready

Leading up to your wedding ceremony is a time of day you’re likely to completely forget if it werent for your wedding photos due to the emotions you’re feeling and simply because it’s just before the biggest moment of your life, soyour mind will completely wipe the part before it in your memory. It’s als the last moments of time you aren’t ‘connected’ to your spouse, so it’s a nice way to remember the last moments you’re not married 🙂

Getting ready
Getting ready
Girls fussing
groom almost ready

Moments showing personality

Capturing the essence of the personalities of the couple in front of me is the absolute essence of what modern wedding photography is all about to me. If I can show an album of a wedding they hadn’t attended to someone, and they can tell me a little about the people involved, that means I’ve done my job in capturing the emotion and ‘story’ of a wedding day in my photography.

The boys getting ready
Having fun in the veil
Fun wedding guest
Silly faces

The portraits

Weddings are full of traditions. One of these is having a portrait done – they don’t have to look like you’re manniquins, but they are expected in a wedding album, just as a nice simple photo documenting what you  and everyone involved looked like on your wedding day. These photos are often the ones people keep as hairlooms, so they may be the most important wedding photos on a wedding day.

Bride looking out over Santorini’s Caldera
Smiling bride
Bride at front door
Groom looking for bride
Smiling groom

Items that wont last

Often you’ll have items at a wedding that are used only once and after that they are discarded. Just as you stressed over your accessories, homeae things, etc. These items need to be documented too.

Helicopter and homemade pinata
Guest gift
Gifts
In streamers

The bridesmaids and groomsmen

Probably the most important people in your life – as you’d want them right next to you for support as you make the biggest desicion of your life. Of course you’d want photos of them!

Bridesmaids
Bride and her bridesmaids
The Groomsmen
Bridal Party
bridal party near cart
Boys walking together

Parent’s first look

This is always a fun part of the day – perhaps geared more towards the bridal side of things, but it’s always nice to see the reaction on the faces of you parents once you’ve been dressed and are ready to make the plunge. It’s traditional for the father of the bride to not see the dress fitted on the bride until her wedding day, so it’s nice to get that reaction 🙂

Dad’s first look
Dad’s first look
Dad’s first look

Bridal approach

Running on from the father of the bride first seeing the bride once she’s fully dressed, it’s then tradition for them to walk together down the aisle towards the wedding ceremony. While weddings have evolved over the years and everyone does their own thing, this is possibly still the most followed tradition.

Bridal approach
Bridal approach
Bridal approach

Groom’s first look

Just as the father of the bride gets to see her all dressed up for the first time, then it’s the groom’s turn as they walk down the aisle. It’s always great fun to see how the groom will react! Sometimes they are smiling, others in tears, and occasionally they can only look everywhere BUT their bride! 😀

Groom’s first look
Groom’s first look
Groom’s first look
Groom’s first look

The venue

The venue is the backdrop to your entire day, and you’ve probably spent a fortune getting it to look exactly how you dreamed it would. It’s important to capture it just as it is on your day. WHo knows? perhaps you’ll revisit the spot in 50 years with your great grandkids and reminice with that photo in your hand?

Santorini Wedding Ceremony
Driving toward Chateau Tanunda
Coriole Winery Wedding
Alm tree arbour in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Emotion during the ceremony

Weddings are an emotional time in your life – the laughter, the tears and smiles are all moments pure of your feelings on the day, and during the ceremony you’re probably only thinking about the person you’re holding hands with! These photos are the type of shots that make you remember that moment in a way that you simply would not be able to otherwise.

Bride and Groom laughing
Smiling bride
smiling groom
Teary Bride

The first kiss

Perhaps the most traditional of traditional wedding photography – the first kiss. The first kiss symbolises your union as a married couple and marks the beginning of your life together. Although this doesnt happen at all ceremonies – in particular the Catholic tradition.

First kiss
First kiss
First kiss
First kiss
First Kiss

Emotion after the ceremony

These are the hugs and kisses, along with the exchanging of gift horse-shoes and knickknacks that guests would place on your arm, or your dress depending on your tradition. Your guests are these as you deemed them important enough in your life for you to invite, so having a photo of them showing actual emotion I feel is more imporatant than the usual ‘stare at the camera’ group shots you might usually get from your guests.

Greeting guests
Mum hugging bride
Hugging guests
Hugs
Hugs

The exit

The exit of the bride and groom as they walk back down the aisle can be one of the most iconic shots from your day, and it can also be a disaster 😛 It’s one of those shots on a wedding day everyone expects to get, but circumstances mean that it’s just not possible unless you make plans for it. Often it’s the case that guests will be swamping the bride and groom for hugs, which means that they are separated from one another when they should be together walking down the aisle. But all that being said, when it is planned and the flower petals are flowing, the shot can be spectacular.

bridal exit at st francis winery
Exit
Exit
Bridal exit
Walking back down the aisle

The ‘pin ups’

These are the shots you print and frame on your wall. The ‘money’ shots, or pinups – the reason why you chose your venue!

Santorini wedding photography
Under Semaphore Jetty
Lightning
Amongst the olive trees
floating veil

The bridal party

Usually around the same time as the ‘pin up’ shot we’d also do a nice bridal party shot with both sides of the aisle now together in a big group shot.

bridal party amongst trees
Bridal party
Bridal party
Bridal Party under a tree
Bridal Party
Bridal party walking about the Middleton Beach Huts

The elderly

The elderly members of your wedding congregation have seen you and your family members grow up – they know the hardships and challenges you’ve gone through to get to this point in life, and they would be feeling emotions within that simply cannot be explained unless you’re a grandparent or elderly youself. Weddings are about families coming together, and remembering who was there with you on your day. When you think about it that way, photos of your elderly guests can be most important wedding photos on a wedding day. The elderly with on on your day may not reach your 20th anniversary, so it’s really nice to have a nice photo of them happy to be at your wedding.

Dancing
Dancing
Drinking tea

The young ones

Similar to the elderly, the young ones probably wont remember that well what hapopened on your day, and from your perspective, it’s nice to have photos of them while they were still little and cute. Kids can really make a wedding day that much more special with them running about doing kids stuff, it’s nice to have them involved.

Kids dancing
Kids running around
Kids being cute
Little one’s tie
Flower Girl in Window
Page boy

The decor at the reception

Much like all the other stuff you’ve stressed over for the last 6 months, the decor at your reception is only going to be set up like this for your night, then will never look as good again – so I need a photo!

st francis winery wedding reception
Darwin Surf Club Wedding Reception
SC Pannell Wedding Reception Hall
Serafinos Wedding Reception
Mortlock library reception

The cake

The design of your wedding cake, and it’s topper represents your combined personalities and taste. It’s a beacon to your guests about how you guys see yourselves as a couple. And they also look amazing, so I need a photo 🙂

Wedding Cake
Wedding cake
Wedding cake
Cake in Olivers Chaff Shed reception hall
Wedding Cake

First Dance

The tradition of the first dance at a wedding dates back to the 16th century when aristocats of Europe would begin their party with a display of their finery by starting the dance before their guests. These days it’s because a romantic notion that the first dance represents the first steps along the life together as a married couple.

First dance
First dance
Serafinos Wedding First Dance
First dance at Mawson Lakes Hotel
First dance

Parents

Your parents have seen you grow up from a little baby to the person you are standing with your loved one on your day. The emotion they are feeling watching you get married can be overwhelming and having that captured in a photo is a treasure that cannot be reproduced.

proud mumma
Mum helping
Dad looking on
Dad looking on
Dad looking on
Smiling Mum

Silly photos

The silly photos are the ones you might have interspersed within your wedding albums simply to make you smile and remind yourself on why you married this wierd person sitting next to you. Weddings arent all about the formalities, it’s about fun, personality and making memories that last forever.

Silly girls
Star wars wedding at Auchendarroch House
Guys having fun
Having fun with the glasses
Laughing bridal party
laughing bride

This list is of course not an exhaustive list of the most important wedding photos on a wedding day, in fact while writing this blog I’ve thought of so many more and every wedding is different and other important photos can be taken! But hopefully this gives you a little idea on what are the most important wedding photos on a wedding day that I have experienced as a wedding photographer over the years!