Shawn here! Today's blog post is an advice post for people preparing for their wedding, but it also applies to any Maids of Honor, Best Men, or parents who want to help out their friends and family. We have seen a lot of different weddings as photographers, and each one has it's own unique blend of personalities and attitudes. Some of our couples have are very diligent with a schedule and planning, others like to play the day by ear. Families can be extremely helpful and attentive to the bride and groom or they can be more excited about seeing family that live across the country. But when it comes to capturing your day, we want to make sure you get the best quality possible. There are some simple steps you can make before you get swept up in the day that will help us immensely into packing as much as we can into our limited time. Before the Wedding It seems that couples are usually so excited about getting married, they unfortunately overlook the hours before they even prepare to say "I do." It's important to remember that it's your "Big Day" and not just your "Big Few Hours." The time prior is just as critical to the success and enjoyment of your wedding, and it's very easy to underestimate how much time and energy is put into the first few hours of your time with us. Leave Time for the Details One of...

When you think of wedding of traditional wedding day photos, what images come to mind? For most people, they imagine portraits of the bride and groom in a beautiful setting, wrapped up in each others arms, or the groom's reaction when he sees his bride walking down the aisle. These huge moments that deliver the feelings of the day are definitely ones that I adore, but what about all the items and features that shape the look and theme of the wedding? When a bride wears the same necklace that her mom wore to her own wedding, it represents a really great bond between two women. While the object may be small, the meaning and sentimental value is huge, and really help make a wedding special and unique for the couple. It's surprising how the smallest bits of the planning process can help deliver the biggest impact. The first thing that Shawn and I do when we arrive at a wedding is gather all of the little mementos and accessories for detail photos. Those pieces need to have their moment to shine, because without them, the day would be missing that amazing sparkle. To all my couples, I recommend organizing your personal detail items into one place by creating "getting ready bags". Taking all the important and unique items that need to be photographed and placing them together in a bag means that when the photographer arrives, they can grab the bag and get started with the shots. It...

At this point, more than a few of the wedding planning sites you are on may be telling you to do a first look. They give a run-down of what it is and of all of the good that comes from doing one. Some of those sites may even say that your photographer will tell you to do one. Seriously, though, who am I to say "you must have a first look"? I would be a complete hypocrite if I demanded that; Shawn and I didn't do a first look, and even if we had the chance to go back and have one, we wouldn't. One of the things we both wanted from our day was for the first moment we see each other to be when I was walking down the aisle to him. We instead did an alternative to a first look where we held hands and said a prayer while separated by a door frame. I'm so glad that we did it this way because it was a moment I would never take back for anything. It was special and real and -- yes -- there were tears <3. We knew in our case a first look wouldn't work. Shawn and I talked about it, we made our photographer aware of our alternate idea, and we planned our timeline accordingly. I had where we would be during that last hour of light for sunset all mapped out. I think the most important thing, if...