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Photographer's Tips | Photo & DVD checklist | Invite Wording

A Photographer's Tips for a Smooth Wedding Day

I'm sure all photographers will say that wedding photography is both an art and a science. You need to capture the right emotions during key times that can not be recreated.

What do you look for when choosing your wedding photographer?

You cannot redo the whole day if you are not happy with the amount or quality of the photographs that you get after the day is over
When all the guests have gone, your dress is hung up and the honeymoon begins, what do you have to show for all that money spent? That’s right, your photographs
You may have a partner that does not like having his or her photo taken, but you still want flattering shots of your special day- a professional Wedding Photographer will be able to capture natural photos, because they have the equipment and the experience in doing so.

Here are some things to consider when choosing your wedding photographer:

Their personality- do you feel comfortable with this person? Arrange to meet them and chat about your needs.
Their work, of course- do their images in their portfolio appeal to you? Do you see lots of images from the same wedding to show consistency in quality, or is your photographer just showing you the one best image taken from each wedding they have shot?
Flexibility – can they capture the style of photography you have in mind, or do they have one set style?
Price – affordable doesn’t guarantee quality and expensive doesn’t guarantee quality either! Find out exactly what you are getting for your bucks. Are the artistic effects and any editing included in what you are paying for or are there hidden extras?
A Wedding photographer will have no problem answering all your questions however many you have.

In summer the light lasts longer than in the winter which may sound obvious, but plan the time of your ceremony with your photographer to get the best lighting for your photos

Choose a venue with archways, lapas and coverings of any nature just in case it rains. No one predicts rain on their wedding day, but if it should happen, these make romantic and beautiful DRY places to have photos taken.
There will be a queue of guests trying to have their photo taken with you, at the time you want to have your fairytale shots taken, so instead of missing out on these photos with your friends, assign a family member (maybe your keen uncle) to take these photos of you with your guests at the reception. This leaves the little precious time you have after your ceremony, to get the best results from your photographer and means your guests (and your uncle) feel special too.

Pre-shoot

This is a huge time saver, if you have a photo session straight after getting ready (before your walk down the aisle). By getting some of the family and bridesmaid shots out of the way, they won't have to be done after the ceremony, when you have less time to spare.

Lateness

Do I really need to speak to you about this?! Being late for your man is not the best start to a marriage. A pre-arranged “lateness” is fine, for example: you decide together that you will be 15 minutes late walking down the aisle to allow late guests to take their seats. That's fine! But being 2.5 hours late (oh yes, I have experienced this), 1. throws off schedule which is a problem with available light left for photos, 2. is rude, 3.in the heat of our country leaves your husband-to-be and guests very sweaty and thirsty, 4.guests get fed up and leave early and 5. your reletives are highly embarrassed.

Guests in the aisle/ Guests in the way

No one has control over their guests at their wedding and the fact that they want to stand in the aisle to take a picture on their cell phone whilst you are walking down the aisle, BUT fortunately there are preventative measures you can take. Hire an MC. Your MC can advise guests politely, to refrain from photography until AFTER the ceremony. (do you really need their cell phone pictures?)

Walking down the aisle

When you walk down the aisle, take your time! Don't run! If your bridesmaids are walking in first, wait until they have lined up until you enter.

Do things slowly

Whether it is putting on the rings, or your first kiss, do it slowly, to guarantee it being captured!

Dark Chapel

A lot of lovely chapels are dark, which is a shame. Bear in mind that your videographer /photographer may need to set up studio lights, which can also look a bit intrusive.

Open-side Chapel/ Many windows

If you choose to get married in on open sided chapel, although the scenery may be beautiful, it is likely to get lost in the photos/video. The camera will either allow for you OR the background to be exposed for, so remember that what the eye sees, the lens does not necessarily capture.

General

Hold your bouquet low Don't bunch your shoulders Your dress will get dirty, stop trying to prevent it because it will show in your face and make you uptight. Remember good posture. Don't use glitter as it ends up on your man's face and doesn't look very flattering.

Weather

We all hope that it doesn't rain on your wedding day. Prepare in advance for such eventualities by having a shawl, a pretty umbrella etc. Choose a venue with arches or a lapa, to use in such cases.

Speeches

When your family member decides to make a speech, a word of advice would be to tell them that they are at your WEDDING and not your funeral! The speech that talks about you from birth 'til the age of two and takes 30 minutes will bore everyone. Guests get hungry, bored, and inevitably will leave early, spoiling your party atmosphere. Never say “I am paying for this wedding so I will take as long as I want”. Try not to look moody or bored during your speeches.

Your reception lighting

Receptions are usually very dark places. This sets the atmosphere, bus is not a camera's best friend. To best capture your first dance, it is better to increase the lights so that your movements flow on video and are perfect in photos.

Wedding Photo & DVD checklist

This is a handy list below to use when guiding your photographer and videographer,

“Behind the scenes” before the wedding. (Getting ready, photo’s etc.)
Shots of the Chapel and Reception before the guests arrive.
Guests arriving and entering/ waiting at the chapel.
Bride arriving in the car.
Bride and Bridesmaids entering the Chapel.
The full ceremony / sermon
Highlights of ceremony / sermon only
Exchanging of vows and giving of rings.
Signing of contract
Shots of photos being taken.
Shots of guests waiting / cocktails during the photo session.
Reception as the Bride and Groom arrive.
All the speeches.
Only highlights of the speeches
(If Buffet): Food before being served.
(If no buffet): Food as it is carried out toward the guests.
Guests eating.
Opening of the dance floor.
Shots of the guests dancing.
Cutting of the wedding cake.
Throwing of the bouquet
Anything else that you would like to have on your DVD? – Please state
below and when during the wedding this will happen.

Tips on Invitation Wording

To get the best advice about your wedding invitation styles and wording, please contact the Wedding Quotes' suppliers!

It may seem like a simple thing to do, writing a wedding invitation, but it can often be a daunting task. Let's just go through it step by step.

Complete the following information and see the notes on each one below:

Your full name and your partner's full name:

**insert lovely sentence**

*on* Your wedding date:

The time you want guests to arrive:

*at*Your venue name:

Your venue address:

Now you have completed the above information, you can arrange it to make your invitation wording.

Your Full Name and your Partner's Full Name

You do not have to put your middle names if you don't want to, it just makes it look a bit formal if you do. You may wish to put your parents' names here and say that they invite you to the wedding day of

The lovely sentence appears under your names

“request your presence at their wedding ceremony”

“would love you to join them on their wedding day”

“cordially invite you to witness their marriage ceremony”

Or you can go for an informal approach:

“would love you to join us on our wedding day”

“Invite you to our wedding ceremony”

You may even decide to put your parents' names first

Mr and Mrs Smith & Mr and Mrs Jones...

“Invite you to witness the marriage of.....

The DateThe TimeYour Venue

As simple as it sounds, include the DAY you are getting married e.g. Friday 16th April 2010.

Some people assume all weddings are on a Saturday and that may not be the case.

Put the time you would like your guests to ARRIVE, NOT the time you are walking down the aisle. The time on the invitation is usually 30 minutes before you plan to walk down the aisle. This is so that your guests can be seated for your arrival and hopefully will allow time for lost guests to be on time!

It is best to include a map with your wedding invitation, GPS coordinates and worded directions, to avoid last minute phone calls asking you for directions!

Wedding invitation Wording

If you are having a casual wedding, you may want to use words like

"We would love you to join us on this special day"

instead of

"You a cordially invited to the Marriage Celebration of..." etc etc

Here is an example of a formal invitation including parents of the Bride (hosting the wedding) but with a mention of the Groom's parents out of respect.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Evans Smith

request the honor of your presence

at the marriage of their daughter

Jane Smith
to
John Murray

Son of Mr and Mrs. Simon Murray

on Saturday, the tenth of December
two thousand and eleven
at two in the afternoon
Grace Chapel 265 Main Street,
Sampletown, Muldersdrift

Please RSVP no later than (DATE)

If you would like to get us a gift, A Wedding Gift registry has been set up at Sampleshop ref ABC1234

Wedding Invitations are usually sent out 3 months in advance. Most guests already know the date because you have been talking about it for a long time. There are many ways to word your invitation, some formal and others relaxed wording. Choose what fits your personality and theme.

Thankyou for this article by Danielle Pretorius, Wedding Angel Photography

To submit your planning tips and professional advice, please contact us on info@weddingquotes.co.za

Question asked: I'm wondering who pays what for a wedding?
Does the bride's family pay for everything? If not please help me to narrow it down...

Answer: There are no rules anymore. I would see what u can afford and ask both sets of parents if they would like to contribute anything towards the wedding. I think its a polite thing to do. If they give you cash, use it in your budget, if they offer e.g to pay for the DJ and cake, ask them what their budget is so you can shop around accordingly.

NB Prices vary according to province so do a search for your area!

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