These are my Top Tips for things that are a MUST or are very useful to remember in preparation for your Wedding Day. From when is best for your Wedding Portraits, to packing an emergency kit and what should be included in your shot list!

1. A Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Packing a wedding day emergency kit with items like a little sewing kit, extra bobby pins, deodorant, tampons and/or pads, extra boob tape and a little touch-up kit for your lipstick (this is generally provided by your make up artist!) will be super helpful to have in preparation for any emergencies that could happen on your special day. Having this ready-to-go will give you peace of mind knowing that if you do happen to have a button pop off or if your time of month arrives earlier than expected then you can combat these problems easily because you have the kit ready to do so!

2. Confirm the timeline

Confirming your timeline with your vendors and wedding party, making sure everyone knows their responsibilities is a must! You want everyone to know exactly when and where they should be for your Wedding Day because this will ensure your day runs as smoothly as it possibly can 🙂

3. Eat a good breakfast and stay hydrated throughout the day

This is an important tip for your special day. The reason being is you want to last to see the whole day through. You’ve spent a lot of time planning this special day that goes by so quickly and not to mention your hard earned money into it too. Making sure you have a nutritious breakfast at about mid-morning followed by a good amount of water throughout the day will mean you will enjoy your Wedding from start to finish. You don’t want to run out of steam too early, instead you want to relish in every possible moment you can because like I said, it goes by SO quickly!

3. Transportation

Having a plan in place for transportation to and from the ceremony and reception is super important for not only yourself but your guests too.

Most wedding venues are located in more remote areas – so you want to make sure you not only have transportation in place for your guests once the festivities are over but also for your bridal party getting to the ceremony, reception and also various locations you will have planned to go to with me once we have had our wedding photography meeting.

4. Having your invitation, rings and other important details ready for photos to be taken

These kind of detail photographs are done while I am photographing you getting your hair and makeup done. So make sure you have invitations ready along with your rings, any keepsake/special items you are wearing or carrying and lastly your shoes, jewellery and perfume is awesome too!

For the men: Making sure their shoes, ties/bowties, suits, clone, and the wedding bands are ready-to-go is super helpful for when the photographer is coming too!

5. Hiring a professional photographer

Making sure to look for a photographer whose style and portfolio you love with the experience in shooting weddings is very important. Although I would love the chance to document every single persons love story – this is something that isn’t necessarily suitable because I won’t be everyones cup of tea. So securing a photographer who’s style truly resonates with you is one of the most important keys for your special day.

Because this vendor’s work is something that lasts forever.

6. Communicate your vision

If you are the type of person who have been thinking or planning their dream and ideal wedding day since they were young then you want to make sure you communicate all of your wants and needs with your Wedding Photographer, Planner and Decorator.

Talking to your photographer about the type of photographs you want and sharing any inspiration pictures you may have saved on your Pinterest board for example is very important! Baring in mind – you do book your ideal photographer for their already curated style but it is always nice for the photographer to see what you would have in mind and would like captured too!

Being super transparent with your Wedding Planner and Decorator about your desires, wants and needs is the only way you are going to get the day you’ve been dreaming of! These people you hire are the professionals however and they’ll be able to inform you with the ideas that are feasible.

7. Plan your photo timeline carefully

When you have your meeting with me I will be making sure we allocate the appropriate amount of time for photographs while considering the lighting and location of our photo session too. Each wedding day I photograph is slightly different to the next. Some opt for a First Look session while others do it the ‘traditional’ way. Our timeline will also depend on the amount of people there are in your wedding party!

8. Make a shot list

I will request you to create a ‘shot list’ for the photo combinations you want of your family and friends straight after the ceremony. I generally recommend about 30 minutes for this section of the day, so making sure this list consists of your MUST’S is very important because this part of the day can easily drag out unnecessarily if you don’t have this put together.

Ensuring you have a concise list printed out and ready to be read out by your MC over a mic is very important – this means everyone who is needed will be ready for their photo with the newly-weds and everyone who is yet to be called out on the list is standing near by ready to go also.

ALSO: think about the specific photographs you want to have taken, such as a shot of the bouquet, the rings, and the reception decor. Write these down for me to have so I know exactly what you want to see captured from your day. Bare in mind, I will be documenting your special day so I will be capturing these sorts of images anyway. But it is nice for me to see exactly what you’d like to see also 🙂

9. Consider hiring a second photographer

This can help capture different angles and moments from the day that the main photographer may not be there for!

The best time of day for wedding party portraits depends on a few key factors, including the lighting and location. Here are a few things to consider when deciding when to take your wedding portraits:

10. Lighting/Weather

Soft, natural light is often the most flattering for portrait photographs.

If you’re planning on an outdoor ceremony at around 3pm I would consider choosing somewhere that offers a bit of shade to avoid those harsh shadows of the summer sun. Because the summer sun at around 3pm is still quite high in the sky meaning shadows are going to be quite intense on the face! If your ceremony in on the beach or somewhere that can’t avoid the sun don’t worry! I am trained to understand how to best photograph your portraits in any lighting situation. I will know how to work the light in any condition and make it look great!

If you’re having an indoor ceremony, look for a location with plenty of natural light! This will ensure the lighting for your portraits will be nice and even with well exposed lighting throughout your images. Because if it happens to be an overcast or darker day this means your ceremony and reception lighting still won’t be too dark because your venue allows plenty of natural light to come through.

The “golden hour” (the hour before sunset) can provide the most beautiful, romantic and soft light for your portraits. I absolutely am in love with this time because this is where I can offer those unreal and powerful ‘cinematic’ photographs for your newly wed portraits! This is something I will always recommend fitting in to your wedding day timeline.

11. Location

Consider the location of your ceremony and reception in preparation for your wedding photographs. If you’re having an outdoor ceremony in a beautiful natural setting, you may want to consider an area that isn’t too dark or overcrowded with dense foliage/trees. Because if the weather on your day happens to be overcast this may make make everything darker again.

At the end of the day, you want your ceremony and reception to be somewhere that may be special to you or somewhere that resonates with you because this will make the overall feeling in your photographs to be that bit more special. And this is whats most important!

12. Personal Preference

Ultimately, as your photographer I want your day to best represent you as a couple. I want you both to look at your wedding portraits and think “ahhh this is SO us!!!”. This is my ultimate goal so with my expertise and your vision we will come up with the best plan that will fit around all of your needs and wants!

Finally, take some time to relax and enjoy the day with your partner. Some things may not go perfectly according to plan, but it’s important to go with the flow and trust that your vendors have your back and will ensure everything they can control will go perfectly!

Relax and have fun!!! Woohoo! The more relaxed and natural you are, the better the photographs will turn out. Try to enjoy the moment and let your photographer do their thang! 🙂

Don’t forget to have fun! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it’s important to savour every moment ♡