Things to think about when selecting your wedding shoes
When meeting with new clients as a wedding photographer, I’m often asked questions regarding tips and tricks to help with your wedding day. One recurring tip I tend to give out is regarding your wedding shoes. It’s usually something that not many people think about when planning their wedding. People are too often caught up in the big decisions such as your wedding venue, who is going to be your celebrant, and your wedding photographer, it’s easy to forget what’s going to be put on your feet. That isn’t to say that wedding shoes gets completely overlooked, I know how important a woman’s shoe collection can be 😉 It’s more to do with the style of your footwear that I’m talking about.
Bridal shoes sneakers
Wedding shoes tips
Think about the terrain
Where will you be holding your wedding ceremony, but also where are you going for photos after? I always suggest that a bride should have with her some form of comfortable flat-style shoe that she can wear after taking off her high heels after the ceremony. There’s nothing less elegant than a bride trying to bush hack through the undergrowth of a forest in high heels because she wants photos done in the Australian bush, similarly on a beach, it’s near impossible to walk in high heels.
Wedding shoes thongs
How long is your dress?
Adding on to the idea of having flats at your wedding, high heels are worn in order to make you look taller, which is fine at your ceremony. You’re not likely to be walking any further than the length of the aisle and usually on a firm, flat surface. But after the ceremony, like I said bushwhacking isn’t elegant. Chances are your wedding dress will be long enough to hide the fact you aren’t wearing high heels any longer anyway. So don’t worry too much about that.
Find some high heel helpers
If you absolutely must wear high heels at all times, high heel helpers may be your best bet. These come in a number of different styles and colours and they simply add more surface area to the pointy end of your stiletto shoes, making your wedding shoes more sturdy and able to traverse less uneven terrain, such as grass.
High heel helper
Wear in your shoes
While worn shoes don’t make the best wedding photos when doing close-up detail shots of your bridal affects, wearing in your wedding shoes can help save you from a days worth of raw, blistered feet as a result of walking about on brand new shoes. This doesn’t mean wearing then out on the town, simply wearing them for an hour or two around home would help plenty. This would also help you determine where to add anti-rub gel packs to help with any rubbing.
Putting on shoes
Don’t forget the boys!
While the bridal wedding shoes is usually the focal point of your wedding style, and can be utterly elegant and a marvel to look at, chances are your men’s shoes are more likely to be seen by guests than your own! Especially if you’re wearing a long wedding dress. Chances are you’ll have the men running about quite a bit, and possibly climbing things when it comes to your wedding photography. So keeping your men happy with good shoes are a must.
Elegant brown leather shoes resting on tree branches, blending fashion with nature.
Do not go cheap
Remember these are the shoes you’ll be wearing all day, and like I said earlier, often these shoes are brand new. This causes huge pain later in the night when you’re trying to dance the night away at your reception. It’s really not uncommon to see brides taking off their shoes all together, which is a shame as they’ve probably put a lot of time and effort into choosing them. A good quality, sturdy and comfortable shoes are a must and they don’t often come cheap.
When it comes to planning a wedding, the bridal party plays a significant role in ensuring that everything runs smoothly. As a wedding photographer in Adelaide, I have had the privilege of working with many bridal parties and have witnessed first-hand how important their contributions can be.
Traditionally, the roles of bridal party members were dictated by their titles, such as best man or matron of honour. However, their responsibilities have evolved over time, with modern-day expectations including acting as a support system for the bride to work through her emotions. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the different roles of bridal party members and how they can make a difference on the big day.
Bridal party standing near gum trees
What are the different roles of bridal party members?
Maid or Matron of honour
First things first, these two titles are not interchangeable, the ‘head bridesmaid’ or the bridesmaid who stands next to the bride is chosen by the bride to help out in any way possible leading up to and during the wedding day. She would be the ‘Maid’ of honour if she was to be unmarried, or ‘Matron’ of honour if she is.
Alternatively if you chose to have a man as your main ‘helper’ then he would be known as the ‘Man of honour’. This person should be someone you have the utmost trust in as they are often tasked with helping plan much of your wedding day and making sure the bride is emotionally in the right place to go through with the marriage ceremony. They are also usually asked to give a speech at the wedding reception, sign the registry and holding the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony.
Maid of honour toast
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids can be seen as assistants of the Maid or Matron of honour when considering the roles of bridal party members. They are there to flank the bride and look stunning, but never better looking than the bride 🙂 As I stated earlier their main role is to act as emotional support for the bride to help her through her day. They also help out with putting on the bridal gown and usually are called upon to dance with the grooms men after the first dance.
Bridal party helping with dress
The Best Man
The history of the Best man does not really paint a picture of what the best man does at today’s weddings. The best man’s role at modern weddings is very similar to the Maid, or Matron of honour, whereby they are to keep the groom calm and collected before the wedding ceremony, but also traditionally is the keeper of the wedding bands, without which there would be no symbolic representation of the bride and groom becoming man and wife.
As such, out of all the roles of bridal party members, his could be seen as symbolically the most important of the lot. The best man is usually one of the groom’s best friends whom he trusts above all others as often they are also in charge of organising rowdy bucks nights where its tradition for the groom to be kind of ‘taken for a ride’ of the last moments of being a bachelor. The best man is always asked to give a speech at the wedding reception and is traditional for that speech to be quite funny, making fun of the groom and complementing the bride.
Groom and best man walking down hill
Grooms men
Typically, grooms men are more friends of the groom, there as the bridesmaids are to offer emotional support. Before the wedding the grooms men usually help pay for the bachelor party and usually will be behind the ‘decorating’ of the get away car at the end of the night. During the ceremony the grooms men would be tasked with seating all the guests before the bride arrives and will also be called upon to dance with the bridesmaids during the reception.
The boys getting ready
Junior Grooms men or Bridesmaids
Generally children ranging from 9 to 16 years old, the junior grooms men or bridesmaids are generally relations to the bride and groom whom are important enough to stand with the others at the ceremony. Usually they are not given any particular role other than looking cute or dapper in their miniature versions of their suit or gown. These members of the bridal party are usually separate to page boys and flower girls.
bride with flower girl in vineyard
Flower Girl
Of all the the roles of bridal party, the flower girl is often seen as the one role that steals focus from the bride, as generally the flower girl is dressed up like a tiny princess and can be very cute running down the aisle in front of the bridal party at the beginning of the ceremony. Her role is to embellish the aisle that the bride will soon walk down with flower petals, hence the name ‘flower girl.
Flower girl walking down aisle
Page boy / Ring bearer
The name ‘page boy’ is taken from the medieval rank of ‘page’ or a knight in training. Usually boys the same age as the flower girl, the page boy can be tasked with carrying the wedding rings instead of the best man, however due to the young age of many page boys, their parents or the best man are often close by keeping an eye on them.
Page boy handing over rings
Mother of the bride
The mother of the bride is usually right there amongst it all when it comes to preparing for the wedding. It’s not at all uncommon for the Mother of the Bride to have her daughter’s wedding plan all sorted by the time they even begin high school and will often start saving for it by then also. The Mother of the bride will also be a huge source of emotional help along with the bridesmaids and will often also help out with details such as bombonieres and choosing of dresses.
Mother of bride grinning
Father of the bride
In an ultra traditional setting, the father of the bride would be called upon to finance the wedding. However, in modern times it’s usually a task for the entire family to pay for the (rather large) cost of a wedding. The father of the bride’s primary role at a wedding is to ‘give the bride away’ at the beginning of the ceremony by walking her down the aisle, also giving a speech at the reception and dancing with the bride.
Father of the bride looking at his daughter
Mother and Father of the groom
The Mother and Father of the groom’s main task is to make sure her son looks the part at the wedding ceremony. Making sure his tie is set correctly, placing the flowers correctly on his lapel and helping out putting on cufflinks. All things grooms and their grooms men have trouble with in my experience as a wedding photographer. Their other roles would include mingling with guests at the wedding, and making sure everything is running smoothly.
Parents looking on at groom
Officiant / Celebrant
Also known as any number of religious titles, such as ‘priest’, ‘father’, ‘padre’ if it’s a religious wedding as is tradition. Of all the roles of bridal party members, perhaps this one shouldn’t really be there, as the Officiant of the wedding is really only a service provider paid for by the couple, and not part of the bridal party at all. However, they do have a big part top play in the wedding… obviously.
They run the wedding ceremony, sort out the procession order and help with writing vows. They will also assist the couple to sign the marriage certificate and help with all the paperwork to make it legal.
Bride and Groom
Ushers
Usually friends, or distant relatives of the bride and groom, of the roles of the bridal p
Champaigne with bridal party
arty, the ushers may well be the most short lived. They will often stand out the front of the ceremony location, most commonly a church, and hand out programs or pamphlets to guests as they arrive. Often also handing out items to throw over the departing bride and groom at the end, such as flower petals or bubble makers.
Celebrating bridal party
Hopefully this list detailing the different roles of bridal party members helps you decide who would be best suited to fill these roles at your wedding, or to fill you in on your own duties! 🙂
The roles of bridal party members are significant in ensuring a successful wedding ceremony and reception. From the maid of honor to the best man, each member has a unique responsibility in making sure that the day runs smoothly and the bride and groom are well taken care of. Understanding these roles and communicating them clearly to each member is essential in preventing misunderstandings and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
By working together as a team, the bridal party can make the couple’s special day an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.
The beginning of my day covering a wedding as a wedding photographer usually sees me at the location where the groom and his grooms men are being prepared and getting dressed in order to get the wedding ceremony. As a result I’m usually asking for the wedding ring to do a bit of wedding ring photography. Doing the wedding ring photography and other product shots affects such as the shoes, or any jewellery like cuff links, and wearables like ties and suit jackets I like to treat as a bit of a warm up for the day for both myself and for the boys, who may not be overly comfortable with a photographer constantly taking photos of them during the day.
It’s usually the case that this sort of photogrpahy requires specialised lenses and photographic equipment that may or may not be common place in a wedding photographer’s kit – but to do the best work, you need the best camera and lenses for product photography.
Wedding ring photography
The goal is really to show any details of the ring or rings while having some sort of a background that speaks to the type of person the groom is. It’s traditional at a wedding for the groom and his best man to look after the rings so I feel having something like his tie, or cuff links, even the flowers he’s wearing on the day as a background really helps portray this personal aspect of the wedding rings.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding Rings
Wedding Rings
It is however coming more and more popular for the bride and her entourage to look after the rings, I’m thinking trust is the defining factor here? 🙂 When this is the case, the rings are often placed nearby flowers, or clothing such as the wedding dress. This is again to show a bit of personality behind the photograph. It’s also quite common to find them tied onto the page boy’s cushion, ready to be presented during the wedding ceremony.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Adelaide wedding photographer
wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding Rings
This being said however, wedding rings are usually very personal items to begin with, so there is a certain charm to wedding ring photography where the background is as plain as possible. I usually try to find a nice clean hardwood surface to produce these types of photos, as the grain fades away in the natural bokeh of my lens in a very satisfying way.
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding rings
Wedding ring photography, I feel is one of the important photographs I must capture on a wedding day as they signify the never ending union of the wedded couple, and as I’m there to capture all the emotion and joy on this most special of days, I figure the wedding rings should also play a major role in those memories! 🙂
Gemma and Ryan’s wedding at Utopia waterfall gully was an absolute blast to be a part of as their wedding photographer, not only because of the amazing wedding venue, but also because Gemma ad Ryan, along with their entourage were really fun to be around and couldn’t have been nicer people. Their affinity with the fantasy genre and their goal to incorporate their fandom into their wedding photos made it even better 🙂 From their preparation photos with weaponry, through to more personal affects such as personal charms and style of their wedding rings.
Preparation Photos
First off, Gemma and Ryan wanted to throw as many wedding traditions out the window as was passable by their respective families. This was apparent right off the bat when I arrived at their preparation location of the old Mt Lofty Railway station in Stirling. It was a joint preparation, where everyone was being prepared within the same space, both the groom’s party and the bridal party. What made it even more fun was the inclusion of larp weaponry, straight from the Lord of the Rings.
Wedding rings
Bridal preparation
Groomsmen playing boardgames
Engagement ring
The bard
Bridal party with weapons
Checking pocket watches
Grooms katana
Groom preparation
Wedding rings
Weapons
Bride smiling
Bridal preparation
Face off
Groom putting on tie
Wedding dress
Bridal preparation
Bride and groom
Bridal Party
Utopia waterfall gully wedding ceremony
Utopia waterfall gully was chosen by Gemma and Ryan as it reminded them of Rivendell, the Elvish city in Lord of the Rings. This was fine with me as I absolutely love the location as a wedding venue, and it’s pretty much second to none in Adelaide. The timing of their wedding was also perfect for Utopia waterfall gully, as the Autumn colours were in full swing, which provided the perfect backdrop to an already beautiful place.
Utopia waterfall gully
The chalet that now makes Utopia waterfall gully was originally constructed as a tea room in 1912. It was built in the style of a Swiss chalet and is now considered Australia’s earliest example of a ‘refreshment room’ set in a national park. Today the heritage listed building still stands, and has been recently updated to accommodate a larger gathering of people for events such as wedding receptions. The inside really is quite spectacular and has a wonderfully homely feel perfect for weddings.
Gemma and Ryan’s wedding ceremony took place on a small patch of grass near a gazebo erected below the chalet, which is where most weddings take place when opting to have Utopia waterfall gully as the venue.
Bride and groom
Wedding rings on certificate
Bridal party
Autumnal wedding
Bride and groom
Utopia waterfall gully wedding
Autumnal wedding
Exchanging wedding rings
Groom looking nervous
Groom
Utopia waterfall gully wedding
Best man speech
Signing marriage registry
Waterfall Gully Glamour shoot
It had been a long time since I last visited waterfall gully, and I can’t remember ever visiting during the Autumn, but the colours in waterfall gully were absolutely amazing for wedding photography. But this also meant that truckloads of tourists were also wandering about in the background of almost every composition I lined up to shoot! The experience was much different to the last wedding I took in Waterfall Gully almost 3 years ago in the winter. Gemma and Ryan were quite adventurous also, which made taking wonderful nature-clad photos that much easier as they were keen to climb about the hills and through foliage as I directed 😀
waterfall gully weding
Bride and groom sitting
Bride and groom under autumnal colours
Bridal party
waterfall gully wedding
Wedding in Autumn
Waterfall gully wedding
Waterfall gully wedding
Bride and groom under autumnal colours
Bride suprising groom
Bridal party throwing leaves
Utopia waterfall gully wedding reception
Gemma and Ryan’s wedding reception filled out the chalet of Utopia waterfall gully, spilling out onto what would usually be used for the dance floor. With that many guests, with varying dietary requirements, Gemma and Ryan also opted for something I hadn’t seen before, which was a selection of two different wedding cakes! One traditional, the other whole cheese wheels stacked upon one another! And if that wasn’t thoughtful enough, they had what I consider to be the best bomboniere idea ever, which was lego men for all! This catered for both the large compliment of children, and the children at heart that were in attendance. 🙂
Wedding cake
Center pieces
Bride and groom cutting cake
Bride and groom
Wedding cake two
Thank you Gemma and Ryan for having be as part of your amazing wedding day. I had an absolute blast, and you even gave me ideas for my own upcoming wedding! Definitely stealing the Lego minifig idea!
Bomboniere gifts, or ‘favours’ to your guests on a wedding day have become quite common place over the years, however it’s usually a bit of a task to find bomboniere ideas that really speak about who you are as a couple and that your guests might actually want. As a wedding photographer I’m in a great position to get to experience weddings of all sorts, of couples of all different personalities, so I get to see a whole heap of different bomboniere ideas. I thought it might be helpful if I gave you a bit of a list of the more unique, or practical I’ve seen.
bomboniere ideas
What is a Bomboniere?
But first, a bit of history behind the idea of bomboniere gifts. The practice of giving bomboniere dates right back to 14th century Italy, when the families of engaged couples swapped small packages filled with sweets as a sign of good fortune. Over time, those horrible sugar-coated almonds became the preferred choice of sweets and are pretty much now the staple of Australian bomboniere gifts… unfortunately. Hopefully this list will give you other ideas! 🙂
Bomboniere ideas
Lolly Bar
This idea I’ve seen a few times at weddings I’ve covered. The idea is that your guests are given a small bag or basket of some description in order to fill up themselves with a selection of sweets. It’s also there to augment your menu during the reception of course 🙂
bomboniere bar
Bridal party deck of cards
This one can be fun, how about printing off a deck of cards featuring an image of the bride and groom, along with their entourage as King, queen, Jack, etc? Doing this is surprisingly cost effective when done on the scale needed for wedding favours, and you can literally personalise it with yourself!
Home made sauce or Jam
I often mention this to new wedding photography clients as an idea to get the older members of your family involved in your wedding day. It’s common to have members of the family who might want to be involved with your wedding, but cant for whatever reason. Why not let them sort out your bomboniere gifts with their cooking skills? This is right up there with the lolly bar in terms of how often I see this at weddings.
Home made jam
A scratchy lottery ticket
While perhaps not the most personal of bomboniere ideas, an instant win lottery ticket would be very cost effective (or expensive, depending on how much you want to spend) and can create a sense of excitement and even delirious joy in the off chance someone strikes it lucky! Could even double as a last minute gift for your guests to give back to you via your wishing well.
A picture frame
If you happen to have a photo booth at your wedding reception, and if it’s like the SvenStudios photo booth, that prints proper sizes prints for your guests to keep, why not keep them in style with their own photo frame?
photo frame
Polaroids
As a bit of a segway from the photo frames, perhaps have a few polaroid instant cameras floating about your reception? your guests can pick one up and create their own little keepsake from your wedding.
Individual caricatures
Or how about even having a cartoon artist wandering about drawing everyone? This bomboniere ideas as it always makes people smile and how awesome is having a piece of art to take home from your wedding?
Wedding Reception Keepsake SketchArtist
Lego minifigs or small toys
For the child in all of us, a recent wedding I was a photographer at had little bags of toys for every guest, and included were lego minifigs. Both young and old had a blast opening their little lego man and spending time building them while waiting for their entrée to arrive. By the end of the night, every table had a small army of little men running about. It was pretty awesome… Because everything is awesome.
Lego
Selecting the perfect bomboniere for your special occasion can be a daunting task, but with a little creativity and thoughtfulness, you can create a meaningful and memorable gift for your guests.
Whether you choose to go with a classic favor or a more personalized option, the key is to keep your guests in mind and choose something that reflects the overall theme and style of your event. With these bomboniere ideas and tips, you can make sure that your guests leave with a special token of appreciation that will be treasured for years to come.
