Back in November, Samantha and I had the chance to flip our wedding day roles from photographers to bridesmaids! Our brother John got married to our new sister-in-law, Naomi, and Sam and I were both in the wedding party. We’ve shot countless weddings, but this was only our second time being bridesmaids! We were able to photograph Naomi and John’s engagement during the summer, but on their big day, we got to spend approximately 15 hours by their side as part of their official entourage.
Being a part of the bridal party allowed us to experience a wedding day from a completely different perspective! Here are some wedding day tips that we finally experienced first-hand.
WEDDING DAY TIPS
1) Getting ready takes way longer than you think.
This is almost always the case when it comes to females getting ready for an event. But with weddings, it almost becomes a law of nature! Whether you go to a salon, have a professional come to your prep location, or do it yourself, getting your hair and makeup done seems to take at least three times as long as any other day! Especially if everyone is helping one another! This is why we always tell our couples to book in extra buffer time! Adding an extra 20-30 min for every activity during the day will help account for things that are hard to plan for like touch-ups, hair adjustments, and traffic!
Annet and Brad
2) Adrenaline will only take you so far when it comes to heels.
Heels are almost unquestionable when it comes to a wedding day, for brides and bridesmaids. But they aren’t the most comfortable shoe to spend the day in. As a bridesmaid, I found the most difficult part wasn’t walking around for photos, but standing at the front of the church. Putting pressure on the balls of your feet without rest for over half an hour is an unexpectedly painful activity.
The first of two things we found incredibly helpful was using Solemates! Not only did they help spread out some of the weight by creating a wider base, but they helped protect our heels from the dirt and mud at the portrait location, and helped us not sink into the grass!
Secondly, I brought an extra pair of flat shoes! Strutting around on 4″ heels while helping to clean up isn’t the most practical. So although we wore our heels for the ceremony and most of the reception, our slip-ons were perfect for packing-up and walking between locations! Not only did they give our feet a break, but we were able to be faster and more efficient in our work!
Jackie & David
3) There is no right size of bridal party.
Both normal-sized and large bridal parties have their advantages! And though I’ve only been in two wedding parties, I’ve experienced the vastly different realities of both!
Samantha and Logan had a fairly average bridal party size: 5 girls and 5 guys. It was a more intimate and cozy experience. Everyone had time to interact and talk with the bride and groom, and bridal party photos were quick and easy! Small parties make for a more intimate experience, where everyone gets to spend some time with the bride and groom.
Naomi and John, on the other hand, had a large wedding party: 17 in all! (Can you believe 12 of us were siblings?) It was a day-long party; there was a real sense of celebration! Plus, there were plenty of hands to help clean up and greet guests.
Truth: You should never pick your bridal party size based on how it will look in photos! There are only two factors you want to consider:
- How large the wedding is. A 20-person party can be hard to coordinate in a small wedding with a 50-person guest list.
- Who you want beside you on your wedding day! What relationships mean the most to you and will mean the most to you in 30, 40, 50 years.
4) The bride doesn’t have to know about everything.
This part of our wedding day tips is all about teamwork. The bridal party is there to serve the bride and groom! And a lot of times, that means taking care of problems they will never even know about. No matter how much planning is done prior to the wedding day, something usually doesn’t go as expected! Maybe the florist sent over the wrong greenery, or the flower girl refuses to put on her dress, or a bridesmaid’s dress rips. We call these no-know problems: the bride doesn’t need to know about it before, during, or after the issue is solved!
This is where the bridal party, planner, and coordinator can step up and solve these problems! Photographers are also great people to ask! They’re there the whole day, and they’ve seen pretty much every problem that can come up. As photographers, we’ve always maintained that our aim is to be a source of information and reassurance during the planning period and on the wedding day!
5) Photos aren’t everything.
Yes, we’re photographers, but we’re also human beings. The whole point of what we do as photographers is to help our couples remember the joy they carry into this new season of life and the love that will sustain the beautiful promises they are making to each other. Those vows are what are most important! Photos help you remember those promises; they point you to the purpose of your marriage. Sometimes, you’ll have to choose between relationships and photography…between being present in the moment and being able to relive the moment in the future by looking at your images.
You’ll want a photographer you can trust to capture these memories, while prioritizing your relationships on your wedding day. This isn’t us trying to convince you to hire us. We don’t want you to have Into the Aisle at your wedding if we’re not the right fit for you. But we do want you to have meaningful priorities! Sometimes beautiful photos will help you remember relational moments- and you’ll want to make sure you have those gorgeous images! Other times you’ll want to be present in the moment, creating the actual memories your images will help call to mind.
We were so grateful to have this reminder as bridesmaids. We were thinking like photographers on the day of John and Naomi’s wedding – we can’t help it – but we also saw that it was the relational moments that made the whole day a celebration!
Tips from Previous Bridesmaids
We hope these wedding day tips are helpful as you plan for your big day! Remember that the goal is to savour your wedding day, enjoy each moment with your closest family and friends, and focus on each other!
Wedding Day Tips
Back in November, Samantha and I had the chance to flip our wedding day roles from photographers to bridesmaids! Our brother John got married to our new sister-in-law, Naomi, and Sam and I were both in the wedding party. We’ve shot countless weddings, but this was only our second time being bridesmaids! We were able to photograph Naomi and John’s engagement during the summer, but on their big day, we got to spend approximately 15 hours by their side as part of their official entourage.
Being a part of the bridal party allowed us to experience a wedding day from a completely different perspective! Here are some wedding day tips that we finally experienced first-hand.
WEDDING DAY TIPS
1) Getting ready takes way longer than you think.
This is almost always the case when it comes to females getting ready for an event. But with weddings, it almost becomes a law of nature! Whether you go to a salon, have a professional come to your prep location, or do it yourself, getting your hair and makeup done seems to take at least three times as long as any other day! Especially if everyone is helping one another! This is why we always tell our couples to book in extra buffer time! Adding an extra 20-30 min for every activity during the day will help account for things that are hard to plan for like touch-ups, hair adjustments, and traffic!
Annet and Brad
2) Adrenaline will only take you so far when it comes to heels.
Heels are almost unquestionable when it comes to a wedding day, for brides and bridesmaids. But they aren’t the most comfortable shoe to spend the day in. As a bridesmaid, I found the most difficult part wasn’t walking around for photos, but standing at the front of the church. Putting pressure on the balls of your feet without rest for over half an hour is an unexpectedly painful activity.
The first of two things we found incredibly helpful was using Solemates! Not only did they help spread out some of the weight by creating a wider base, but they helped protect our heels from the dirt and mud at the portrait location, and helped us not sink into the grass!
Secondly, I brought an extra pair of flat shoes! Strutting around on 4″ heels while helping to clean up isn’t the most practical. So although we wore our heels for the ceremony and most of the reception, our slip-ons were perfect for packing-up and walking between locations! Not only did they give our feet a break, but we were able to be faster and more efficient in our work!
Jackie & David
3) There is no right size of bridal party.
Both normal-sized and large bridal parties have their advantages! And though I’ve only been in two wedding parties, I’ve experienced the vastly different realities of both!
Samantha and Logan had a fairly average bridal party size: 5 girls and 5 guys. It was a more intimate and cozy experience. Everyone had time to interact and talk with the bride and groom, and bridal party photos were quick and easy! Small parties make for a more intimate experience, where everyone gets to spend some time with the bride and groom.
Naomi and John, on the other hand, had a large wedding party: 17 in all! (Can you believe 12 of us were siblings?) It was a day-long party; there was a real sense of celebration! Plus, there were plenty of hands to help clean up and greet guests.
Truth: You should never pick your bridal party size based on how it will look in photos! There are only two factors you want to consider:
- How large the wedding is. A 20-person party can be hard to coordinate in a small wedding with a 50-person guest list.
- Who you want beside you on your wedding day! What relationships mean the most to you and will mean the most to you in 30, 40, 50 years.
4) The bride doesn’t have to know about everything.
This part of our wedding day tips is all about teamwork. The bridal party is there to serve the bride and groom! And a lot of times, that means taking care of problems they will never even know about. No matter how much planning is done prior to the wedding day, something usually doesn’t go as expected! Maybe the florist sent over the wrong greenery, or the flower girl refuses to put on her dress, or a bridesmaid’s dress rips. We call these no-know problems: the bride doesn’t need to know about it before, during, or after the issue is solved!
This is where the bridal party, planner, and coordinator can step up and solve these problems! Photographers are also great people to ask! They’re there the whole day, and they’ve seen pretty much every problem that can come up. As photographers, we’ve always maintained that our aim is to be a source of information and reassurance during the planning period and on the wedding day!
5) Photos aren’t everything.
Yes, we’re photographers, but we’re also human beings. The whole point of what we do as photographers is to help our couples remember the joy they carry into this new season of life and the love that will sustain the beautiful promises they are making to each other. Those vows are what are most important! Photos help you remember those promises; they point you to the purpose of your marriage. Sometimes, you’ll have to choose between relationships and photography…between being present in the moment and being able to relive the moment in the future by looking at your images.
You’ll want a photographer you can trust to capture these memories, while prioritizing your relationships on your wedding day. This isn’t us trying to convince you to hire us. We don’t want you to have Into the Aisle at your wedding if we’re not the right fit for you. But we do want you to have meaningful priorities! Sometimes beautiful photos will help you remember relational moments- and you’ll want to make sure you have those gorgeous images! Other times you’ll want to be present in the moment, creating the actual memories your images will help call to mind.
We were so grateful to have this reminder as bridesmaids. We were thinking like photographers on the day of John and Naomi’s wedding – we can’t help it – but we also saw that it was the relational moments that made the whole day a celebration!
Tips from Previous Bridesmaids
We hope these wedding day tips are helpful as you plan for your big day! Remember that the goal is to savour your wedding day, enjoy each moment with your closest family and friends, and focus on each other!
Wedding Day Tips
Date:
August 8, 2020
Welcome to the blog!
This is where we share recent weddings & sessions, as well as informative articles, wedding planning tips, and a little bit about my life!
When I'm not shooting beautiful people in beautiful places, you're most likely to find me reading, taking walks along the beach, or trying out new restaurants with my husband!
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