Step one, done!
If you're reading this then it's probably because we sent it to you after locking in your date, so hiiiiiiii!
Congrats on booking one of the many many people you need to book for your very fancy and legally binding party! We (okay, maybe just Jess) tend to spit out a lot of information and honestly it can be overwhelming (just ask Teagan) so we figured we'd put together most of that info into one spot that you can access as many times as you need to.
Let's not waste too much time up here because you have a lot of things to absorb below. Go on! Get into it (yuh)! We'll start with some sample timelines:
Example Timeline w/first looks
**based on our 8 hour photo package/family included so you can plan to enjoy some of your cocktail hour with your guests!**
2:00 - Getting ready/details/general chillin'/individual portraits
3:30 - First Looks
4:00 - Family/wedding party formals
5:00 - Ceremony
5:30 - Couple portraits (or swap with family/wedding party)/Cocktail Hr
6:30 - Entrances/couple first dance/Speeches/Parent dances/etc.
9:00 - Dance floor opens
9:45 - Cake cutting (or whatever you do here!)
10:00 - We leave <3
Example Timeline w/o first look
**based on our 8 hour photo package**
2:00 - Getting ready/details/general chillin'/individual portraits
5:00 - Ceremony
5:30 - Family/wedding party/couple formals
6:30 - Entrances/couple first dance/Speeches/Parent dances/etc.
9:00 - Dance floor opens
9:45 - Cake cutting (or whatever you do here!)
10:00 - We leave <3
Shot List Ideas
Look, we don't guarantee any shots. A lot goes on during a wedding day and things get forgotten/missed. It happens! We DO do (haha, doodoo) our best to capture things that you've deemed important (please please PLEASE remind us if you think we've missed/are going to miss something you wanted!). We like to ask for a handful of shots that you'd really like when we get a little closer to your date so that it can be fresh in our noggins.
We've listed some shots that we almost always get anyways and some info to spark some ideas for your dream shot list!
Details
Detail shots aren't necessarily the most 'important' but they will fill out your gallery/album and enhance the storytelling from your day.
- Stationery Suite
- Rings
- shoes
- ties
- cufflinks
- pocket square
- garter
- perfume/cologne
- vow books
- jewelry/accessories
- sentimental details
- dress (on a nice hanger)
- bouquet
Getting ready
It may seem tempting to have us start our day at the same time you start yours. Realistically, you'll want us to be there when you're aaaaalmost done getting ready so that you're mostly dolled up. Have us come a little early to get those detail shots covered before you need to head out!
It may not seem like it, but location and good lighting is super important if you want your getting ready photos to be really nice. Make sure the room/area is clear of clutter. On another note, consider having everyone you're getting ready with wear similar or matching outfits!
- Getting hair/makeup done
- Reading letter from your partner
- Gift opening
- Beveraginos with your faves to calm the nerves
- Getting into your attire and doing a 'first look' with your party
First Look
You don't need to go overboard with the first look planning but make sure to pick a location that is private, well lit, and pretty! These photos will be very documentary style with limited direction/posing until after the 'moment'.
We want to make sure your first look photos are just as cohesive and appealing as your post-ceremony formals, so location counts! Make sure friends and family don't see you. This will kinda take away from the sparkle of walking down the aisle plus the whole point of the first look is to have just a moment as a couple!
We recommend giving yourself at least 20 minutes for your first look so you can have your time and also squeeze in some pre-ceremony formals! You may also opt to make this time slot even longer and do all of your family/party photos before the ceremony.
Why we recommend a first look
Long story short: It's a busy day and people aren't going to give you a single second to yourselves. We think people think you want to be asked questions every second of the day and that right now is the best time to have a brief reunion with your extended family members. And like, we know everyone totally means well and they just want to check in on you but you will for sure need a moment alone (with us obviously because we are like flies that can't find the open window right beside them). First looks give you an opportunity to have that breath and to relax with your partner in peace. You get to have a special time for just the two of you. Also you can totally cry like a little baby at the first sight of each other without everyone seeing you.
If you want more reasons, including how it makes things less stressful timing wise, take a look at this blog post!
Ceremony Info
Consider where the sun may be during your ceremony (assuming you're outside!). If you have your ceremony at 3:00pm in a field during August, you and your guests are gunna have a bad time and kinda bad photos. Subjectively bad! As you can see from our portfolio, shade is our (and your) bestie.
Either make your ceremony area in a shaded/covered area, or opt to have your ceremony approximately 2 hours before sunset for a more glowy/sunset vibe. Keep in mind we need to get your post-ceremony formals in before we lose our light so try to accommodate for all of the photo scenarios we may have before dinner!
Portrait Time
Unless you knocked this out right after your first look, you've got to jump into your family/party/couple formals as soon as possible after the ceremony.
Have your officiant or MC make an announcement that your family and wedding party should remain in the area for photos while everyone else can head to cocktail hour. We recommend you basically hide after your aisle walk so that people can't hold you up! Not that you don't want to spend time with your guests, but this is one of the biggest time crunches of the day!
We recommend allotting 1.5 hours for your formals if you didn't do a first look and 1 hr if you did. It sounds like a lot but honestly we'll probably start late and we can always end early. It's better to make sure we have buffer time for interruptions and 'travel' (ya know, from that path to that tree over there) without having to rush through everything.
We always start with family photos so that they can go and relax asap. Full family, extended family, and elderly family are priority boarders for this flight (so dumb. dumb metaphor.) If you want a big group photo including all of your family and wedding party, we'll start with that! We speed through family photos and can get through most families in about 15 minutes. This of course varies depending on family size but that's our average. Once the fam heads to cocktail hour, we move on to your wedding party. This will take 30ish minutes because we'll do a variety of groupings. Once your wedding party heads to cocktail hour to begin a night of totally responsible drinking, the 4 of us will be on our own! We will shoot until we run out of time or until you tell us to get bent in a variety of locations either on the property or close by.
Family Formals
- Full family with couple
- Elderly family with couple and with relevant partner
- Immediate family with couple and relevant partner
- Parents with couple and relevant partner
- Siblings with couple and relevant partner
Party Formals
- Full wedding party with couple
- Relevant partner and party pairings
- Opposite partner and party pairings
- Individual party members with relevant partner
- Some serious, lot's not. Be yourselves!
Couple Formals
It's your time to shine! I mean literally the entire day is your time to shine but it's your time to get some bomb ass photos of yourselves looking fancy as f*ck!
We try to mix up locations a bit so you have lots of variety in your photos. We can either stay on site for all of your photos, or you can plan ahead to head to a nearby location that you like. Expect to hear "look at each other! look at me! look away! NOW KISS" like....a lot.
Most of the photos we do won't really be 'planned' unless you have a plan in mind, but expect to do some of the following:
- Individuals of each partner
- Just hands with bouquet and rings showing
- Portrait styled shots
- Full body/location focused shots
- Veil shots - in the veil, veil blowing, etc.
Dinner & Reception Info
We eat when you eat! And yes, you do have to feed us so we do not perish. If possible, try to have the venue or caterer feed us when the wedding party gets their food. This way, we can be available when you are!
Make sure the venue or your coordinator has us seated in the same area as everyone else. We can be shoved in a corner in the back of the room, that's totally fine! But we do shoot throughout the meal whenever something comes up. We do not shoot you or your guests eating because...well it's unflattering, ya know?
Oh, we get into lighting a little bit later, but make sure this area is well lit! If we see even ONE colourful DJ light outside of reception time we WILL be internally screaming.
Included Sessions
Your collection includes either an engagement session or a boudoir session. This can be arranged either right when you book or, if you're booking in advance, closer to your wedding date. If you're not interested in an engagement or boudoir session, you can also opt to switch into a family session or perhaps photos of the two of you soon-after the wedding. If you do go with an engagement session, try to plan in advance so you can use some images for your save the date.
Engagement session info
If you can, pick a place that resonates with you. Think about your relationship. Do you have a favourite trail? A favourite patio? Maybe you like to cook together at home? There are lots of things that may be special to you so think on some ideas about what you want these to convey!
If you aren't particularly sentimental then we can just find any cute location.
Boudoir session info
Not everyone wants/needs engagement photos but sometimes you might want some spicy photos.
Consider making an album or photobook from your session to give to your partner as a gift on the wedding day! If you want to surprise your partner, you can definitely feel free to go behind their back and email us separately to book.
Weather & Lighting
Imagine we could control the weather?! What a treat that would be. Sadly, we can't so we gotta work with what we're given.
Contrary to what is probably ideal for you, the greyer it is, the better it is for us!
Don't fret if you get raaAAIIIAAAAAAAN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY because we kinda thrive in gloomy weather. We make sure we're dressed appropriately, we make sure our cameras have the necessary weather protection, and we always have a couple of umbrellas in our car for you. We get that not everyone wants to run out into the rain in their most expensive outfit and then spend the rest of the evening wet, but hey, some of you don't mind and we don't either! If you plan on having an outdoor ceremony rain or shine, recommend your guests bring umbrellas and remind them to dress appropriately! Pro tip: tell everyone to bring a specific colour of umbrella or all different colours if you want something more vibrant! Trust us, when everyone has a black umbrella except one person with a lime green umbrella, it'll bother you in your photos!
We can confidently say that the key to appealing photos are a combo of lighting, location, and outfits. It's a wedding so you have the outfits down, the location is probably going to be pretty sick, and that just leaves lighting! We do predominantly shoot with natural light (but don't worry, we will use flash if we have to!) so we're very used to ever changing lighting scenarios outdoors, but there are a few things that you can do to ensure the lighting doesn't suck when we're inside or it's night time! We won't dump ALL of the info here because we've done a blog on it, but our biggest recommendation is to make sure there are absolutely no colourful DJ lights for important things like your first dance!! Seriously!! You will be BLUE!!!! or PINK!!!! Don't do it!!!! Take a look at this blog post for some info on lighting.
Evolving Guide
This guide is currently evolving. We wanted to get some information out pretty quickly for those of you that may be feeling overwhelmed or that have questions that need answering. We want to help out as much as we possible can so that you can really focus on what matters the most; picking which signature cocktails you will be binge drinking at your wedding.
PLEASE let us know if there is anything we didn't cover that you are unsure about. We got you!
You may also find some helpful things in our blog so feel free to peruse that as well!
Not So Frequently Asked Questions
Do we have to tag you when we share our wedding photos?
no but yes but no?
100% of our clients find us through Instagram/word of mouth from their friends and fam. We greatly appreciate tags so that people can easily find us if they like your images! But at the end of the day, you're paying us a buttload of money so if you don't want to tag us you don't have to.
What if we hate what you've done?
Well, damn! We really hope this doesn't happen!
We always send out a sneak peek gallery within 1 week of your wedding date (and usually a highlight video by this time if you've gone with a video package!). This gives you a chance to see the direction we're going with your photos/footage. If on the off chance that you think it stinks, let us know right away what you'd like different so we can re-route the rest of the editing process!
If you like the work you see around our IG and website, then you really don't have anything to worry about! But we are here to help however we can.
How can we help you?
Aside from just generally being communicative and keeping us updated on your plans/changes, there are a couple things that will help us and make your day go smoother!
1) Assign a go-to person and send us their name and phone number ahead of time. Maybe even a backup go-to person. If anything happens on our way to you we want to let someone know without really bugging you. You're going to be busy and you might not even answer!
2) Assign a 'gatherer'. Some families/groups are small and easy to navigate, but some are not! Have someone that knows everyone that needs to be rounded up for photos so that they can collect them when we need them.
3) If you have a vision in mind for some photos (like you NEED that gown blowing in the wind photo) let us know! We're working on mind reading but still suck at it. We don't want you to regret not asking for something you want!
4) Make sure guests and family are aware that you're paying lots of money for people to be your personal paparazzi and if they get in front of us/take flash photos/direct your attention away from us/etc. it will negatively effect your final product! They won't care about our thoughts but they WILL care about yours.