01.

Make a schedule for the morning prep and stick to it. I’ve seen it so many times, things start to run behind and everyone ends up in a mad rush to be on time. When this happens so many beautiful and crucial moments are missed that you won’t then see in your wedding album. I’d say aim to be in your dress 45 minutes to an hour before you’re due to get married depending on if you need to travel to a different venue. This way you can soak everything in and slow down to do all your first looks, fun photos and just generally enjoy those last moments before becoming a Mrs. 

02.

Following on from the last point. If you want to ensure absolutely every moment is captured from bridal prep to the groomsmen getting ready and everything else there on after, seriously think about adding a second shooter to your photography package. This especially makes sense if you’re getting ready in different locations and there’s travel between venues. As much as we’ll try our upmost best to capture everything something things happen beyond our control during a wedding morning meaning we can’t fit everything in. And also, we can’t be in two places at once, sorry! 

03.

Try and keep the clutter to a minimum wherever your bridal prep is taking place. By all means have hair and makeup on once place but try and let your bridesmaids know to keep their things in their room if they can. With so many people to get ready the room can very quickly get chaotic and this makes it so hard when it comes to keeping your photos looking pretty. Not to mention, the more clutter people bring in to your bridal prep, the more chaotic finding things when it’s time to get ready!

04.

Try and keep the clutter to a minimum wherever your bridal prep is taking place. By all means have hair and makeup on once place but try and let your bridesmaids know to keep their things in their room if they can. With so many people to get ready the room can very quickly get chaotic and this makes it so hard when it comes to keeping your photos looking pretty. Not to mention, the more clutter people bring in to your bridal prep, the more chaotic finding things when it’s time to get ready!

05.

Plan for and let your venue/photographer know about anything like sparkler/smoke bomb shots. I can’t stress this enough. I’ve learnt that hard way that some venues will not allow or have certain restrictions on these types of things. Please let us know if you want anything different like this or you might be disappointed on the day if your venue can’t accommodate this. 

06.

Try to have your speeches before your wedding breakfast. I know I know, everyone’s hungry at this point and ready to chow down. But those people doing the speeches will thank you for letting them get it out of the way so they can enjoy their scrumptious meal without the nerves of having to perform after. Also, this will ensure your beautiful tables and decor you spent so long planning are perfectly in tact for the photos of the speeches and not covered in food, plates and everything else.

07.

Don’t stress yourselves and guests out with a list as long as your arm of group shots. Whilst you might want to include every guest at your wedding try keeping your main group shots to your bridal party and immediate family. Trust me you’ll be bored and frustrated a lot quicker than you think trying to round people up and do these. Plus, people will be grabbing you all day to take photos with you as well as the professional ones. 

08.

Don’t be afraid to break some rules and traditions, especially when it comes to the planning of your wedding. It’s so easy to be sucked in to what your mother or mother in law wants and who they think you should invite. But this is YOUR day so don’t be afraid to put your foot down. You don’t want to do anything for anyone else that you might regret once it’s all over.