Princess Anne Country Club Wedding Photography

Your Wedding

Leading up to the big day

You’re getting nervous as the day approaches. The caterer isn’t calling you back, the car company just informed you the 75-person limo actually only seats 64 people, and your fiancé has decided to fly to Mexico to go skydiving in some sort of macho rite of passage (guys are dorks, I know). I’m certainly not going to jump into the mix and start demanding things from you, but I’ll probably call to find out how you’re holding up and see if there are any additional questions I can answer for you.

The big day!

It’s game time! I’ll arrive before you need me, and I’ll most likely leave after you. I promise I won’t trip you during your first dance.

Preparations

I typically arrive an hour before you get into your dress, which gives me time to photograph the getting ready details and to capture the moment you get into your dress. If you’d like coverage of your make-up or hair session, feel free to inquire.

The First Meeting

It’s a longstanding tradition for the bride and groom to wait until the ceremony to see each other. I totally understand and respect that. But I encourage all my couples to consider scheduling time for a photo session before the ceremony.

When I talk to my couples, they aren’t so much concerned about the tradition of waiting to see each other, but rather the moment of seeing each other for the first time. And if that’s the case, we can create that “big reveal” moment for you and make it just as special as seeing each other on the aisle. The added benefit is that you’ll have more photographs of the moment, better photographs of the moment, and you’ll be able to immediately enjoy your reception that you’ve paid so much money for.

If they’re game for it, I ask my bride and groom to be ready three hours before the ceremony. (Yes, I know. That’s asking quite a bit. I promise it’s worth it.) You probably haven’t seen this at other weddings, so here’s how it works:

Hour 1. The couple: We create an intimate moment, free of any other guests or family, for the couple to see each other for the very first time, and we document it extensively. After this, we take the couple elsewhere in the venue (or somewhere nearby) for candid and formal elegant portraits. All this time, your wedding party is still getting ready – giving plenty of time for the bridesmaid that is always late to arrive, and enough time for the groomsman who always parties too hard to get past his hangover.

Hour 2. The wedding party: After making some great portraits of the couple, we invite the rest of the wedding party out for more photos. As this is going on, Grandma and Grampa and your parents are arriving at the hotel and starting to get ready.

Hour 3. The family: After photos of the couple and the wedding party, we bring in the family for the traditional family portraits.

The beauty of this arrangement is that you are totally free for the rest of the night as soon as you two share your first kiss. And isn’t that the way it should be? You’ve worked so hard just to get to the altar! Let the first kiss be the climax of your day, and let everything else be relaxing and fun.

Here’s a sample first meeting arrangement, and the photos we were able to create in the time before the ceremony. Waiting until after the ceremony to create photos like these is possible, but it usually requires sacrificing your cocktail hour and time with guests.

First Meeting Example First Meeting Example First Meeting Example First Meeting Example First Meeting Example

The Ceremony

My ultimate goal for the ceremony is to document the moments as quietly and elegantly as possible. If you’re getting married in a church, please know that most pastors have a laundry list of rules that they make photographers adhere to. Flash photography is almost always prohibited of the professional photographer (of course, most guests will still flash away with their point & shoot cameras throughout the ceremony). This shouldn’t pose problems because I rarely use flash during the ceremony. Additionally, many pastors have strict rules about where the photographer must stand during the ceremony (usually all the way in the back). If certain photos are important to you, make sure you communicate with the pastor before-hand because although I work for the couple, we’re all at the mercy of the pastor.

The Reception

Depending on scheduling, I like to arrive before the guests to photograph tables and decoration details (before they get stained by Uncle Bob’s prime rib). Then I spend most of my time photographing people on the dance floor. My main focus throughout the day is always the couple. I don’t spend too much time going from table to table taking guest photos mid-bite – I’m more concerned about the energy and vibrancy of the dance floor. If guest portraits are especially important to you, the best way to document them is to have me bring along the photobooth.

Event milestones