Wedding Portrait tips for Brides and Grooms

CONGRATS to all you newly engaged couples!!  What a fantastic year 2011 was and now it is time to gear up for 2012.  I have some new and fun marketing goodies lined up for my brides and grooms for 2012, so I am excited to share!!

NOTE:  If the blog looks slightly different, I moved my blog over to a WordPress blog rather than my old Moveable Type Blog.  I used my tech-savvy skills and completed the transfer all by myself, so proud!  :-)  For those of you who subscribe to my RSS feed, you may have to update the URL to get the new feed, so just click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the menu above to get the new feed on your Google Reader.

I thought I would I start my blogging off by offering some tips for wedding-day photography that will help your day go as smoothly as possible.

1.  The Golden Hour…the Golden Hour is defined as the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.  This is when we get some BEAUTIFUL light for portraits.  To find out when sunset is on your wedding day, I like to use this SUNSET LINK.  This will allow your photographer to work with the best possible lighting conditions…here is an example of an image taken during The Golden Hour:

2.  Professional Hair and Make-up.  I think it is very important to hire a make-up artist (MUA) on the day of your wedding.  They are very professional and knowledgeable about what looks good on camera.  They know how much is too much!  It is also very important for your MUA to apply your make-up in the best natural light possible because your make-up can look completely different under the florescent lighting of a bathroom compared to outside.  I always like to position my bride close to a large window or sliding glass door when they are applying make-up to get the best possible “getting-ready” shots.

3.  Organized Timeline and The First Look.  I stress to all my brides and grooms how important it is to have a solid wedding day timeline confirmed with all vendors involved.  If you have a wedding planner (also highly encouraged), then he/she will be able to coordinate your day with all wedding vendors.  When meeting my brides and grooms for the first time, I always encourage doing a “First Look”.  Having a First Look before walking down the aisle will allow the bride and groom to have an intimate moment, by themselves, to talk and compliment each other on how fantastic they look and maybe to shed a tear or two.  It alleviates stress and also frees up a ton of time after the ceremony for the bride and groom to enjoy cocktail hour with guests they haven’t seen in a long time.

4.  Relax and HAVE FUN!!  I have had some AMAZING brides and grooms over the past 5 years (wow, 5 years, that is crazy) and I adore each and every one of them.  Take time to pamper yourself, go to the spa, delegate items on your “to-do” list and have some wine.  Fellas, go and get a professional shave, play some Wii and enjoy chillin’ with your buddies.  This will be one of the best days of your lives and I am happy to document everything that you have worked so hard to plan!