Your photography is all booked
but there is still plenty to do.
Let me say a big thank you for choosing to book Rob Georgeson Photography to capture your special day. I love wedding days so I’m already looking forward capturing all the amazing moments and creating a great set of images for you. The following information on this page is intended to give you a good idea of what to expect on your wedding day and a few things you can potentially do in the build up to your wedding to get the best photos possible on your big day. You'll also find my recommended supplier list who I have either worked directly with or have heard very positive things about within the industry.
WHAT TO DO BETWEEN NOW AND THE WEDDING...
For most couples, booking their photographer is usually fairly high up the list which means there will still be plenty of planning left to do. That means we’re going to need another chat through the final plans and timescales much closer to your wedding date. As I will have pointed out to you during the booking process, the final payment is due one month before the wedding date so I will be in touch with you about 2 weeks before this due date to give you a little reminder that the balance will be due and you can then confirm the coverage time that you will need for your day. It’s at this point that I’ll ask for things like a detailed timeline and a list of family group photos. However, please don't be a stranger until then. Feel free to follow me on my Facebook page and Instagram or even add me up as a friend if I haven’t sent you a friend request already. That way you'll be able to keep up with my latest work and see what I've been up to.
Tell your family & Friends
I’m assuming you booked with me for your wedding photography because of my style of photography which as you will know is very casual and relaxed, some call it a documentary style. So telling your family and friends about the photographer you’ve booked isn't a way to promote me, but simply a way to educate them about my style of working. As a documentary style wedding photographer I encourage keeping family formals to a minimum while the rest of the photos are natural, un-staged photos of you and your guests having an awesome time. As soon as they know this they’ll feel a little more comfortable about me milling around your wedding and capturing them enjoying the wedding rather than asking them to pose for an endless number of formal shots. My style is to capture the natural moments while allowing for some family formals.
HOW LONG DO WE NEED FOR PHOTOS?
While planning your wedding have a think about the timings of the day and what you'd like to get out of it. It’s my job to work the photography around the timings of the day’s events so while you need to consider that photography is part of your day, it’s not something you need to overly worry about. However, here are some of the sections from the day and the timing I'd advise you might need.
Bridal preparations
Personally I love this part of the day as there are so many details to take photos of so I recommend to allow about 90 minutes for bridal preparations so I can get nice pictures of your hair and make-up being done and everyone having a great time. Don't forget to factor in travel time to the service and I'll have to leave before you so that I can get parked up and into place. Groom preparations are generally a lot simpler so it doesn’t necessarily take as much time however the as the groom generally gets to the ceremony location far earlier than the bride, groom prep may only last half an hour before moving on to the church/wedding venue to greet the guests as they arrive.
Family formals
These usually take around 20 to 30 minutes depending on the number of group photos you have requested. As I may have mentioned to you during the booking process, if you allow an average of 2 minutes per group photo to arrange the correct people and take a few photos of them you can see how a list of 20 groups could take more time than you’d think. I recommend compiling a list of 10 to 12 key shots which we will prioritise then if there is time for any additional photos we can add them in on the day.
My recommended shot list is:
1 - Bride and Groom with whole wedding party (if space and weather allow)
2 - Bride and Groom with Bride’s immediate family (parents & siblings)
3 - Bride and Groom with Bride’s Parents
4 - Bride and Groom with Groom’s immediate family (parents and siblings)
5 - Bride and Groom with Grooms Parents
6 - Bride and Groom with Grandparents
7 - Bride with the Bridesmaids
8 - Groom with the Groomsmen
9 - Bride and Groom with Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
10 - Bride and Groom with close friends
Natural photos
Without exception, all the couples that book me say they want natural photos of people having a good time and being themselves. There is no set timescale for this though as it is what I will spend most of the day doing. However, the main period for this will be during a drinks reception between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast. I would recommend allowing at least 30 minutes for this not just to allow time for the photography but also to give yourselves time to relax and talk to your guests. Although there will be opportunities to get more of these kind of photos later on in the day, getting them before the wedding breakfast is usually the best time as there is generally more daylight, people are more likely to be outside (venue and weather permitting) and everyone is greeting you and mingling after the service. Once your guests get to the wedding breakfast, a lot of guests tend to remain seated for the remainder of the day unless they’re at the bar or on the dancefloor in the evening.
Couples portraits
I’m happy to spend as much or as little time with the two of you for your portraits as you’d like but as I like these portraits to be as relaxed as fun as possible I don’t like to overdo it and make it seem forced. I suggest a 10 to 15 minute session straight after the group photos around the grounds of your venue then potentially another couple of quick sessions after the wedding breakfast to break things up a bit and also to potentially get some different locations and light. If weather conditions allow then I love to get a photo of the two of you with a lovely sunset or if your venue is lit up at night then we may go for a final shot outside before I leave. For winter weddings it's always worth doing more earlier while it's light and maybe a little less later on when it's dark. This is the perfect time for you to both be yourselves and for us to have some fun! Being in front of the camera can be a little strange but don't worry, I just want you to be yourselves and to have a good time so there will be as little direction on posing from me as possible, I just want you to be able to make yourselves laugh and smile.
First dance and into the night
The first dance is usually around 8pm once all your evening guests have arrived and hopefully the dance floor will be busy for at least several songs after this if the DJ or band play the right kind of music. This is when I’ll capture images of your guests going crazy and throwing some shapes. Once I’ve got enough of the dancing shots and general shots of the evening guests it will be time for me to thinking about heading home for the night. Obviously if there are any extra events going on later on in the night like fireworks or a sparkler exit then we can discuss this when we run through your final timeline and agree on a finishing point.
ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING...
By the time it comes to the morning of your wedding when I come to see you for your bridal prep, hopefully we’ll have discussed everything we need to discuss and there will be no surprises on the day but if there are any changes, any additional photos you’d like or any special requests at all then you just need to find me and ask. I’m very friendly and accommodating and I want to help you have the most amazing day possible so nothing (within reason) will be too much trouble.
AFTER THE WEDDING...
After the wedding you're likely to be travelling on your honeymoon for a while and I’ll be spending some time in my office busily editing your wedding photos. Turnaround of images is usually up to 4 weeks however this can fluctuate a little depending on the time of year. During the peak summer season I am obviously a little busier but I can assure you you’ll get your photos to you as quickly as possible. Once your final set of images are ready I will send you an e-mail with a link to the online gallery where you can view and download the images. This gallery will be password protected so that only you can access it although you are free to share the link and password with whoever you wish to.
If you've ordered an album as part of your photography package then now would be the time to try and pick your favourite images for the album. If you've not already ordered an album but would like to, then simply get in touch and I can run you through the options of the albums available.
Remember that photography, like any art, is subjective. There’s no guarantee you’ll love every picture I provide to you. As photographers we are artists and sometimes we see something and think it's amazing but then others don't see it. The good thing about having about 400+ digital images to choose from is that you will hopefully love the majority of them and you can simply remove anything that you don't like and keep the ones you love. By booking me after already seeing my previous work, I'm sure that means we're already on the same page and you’ll be delighted with the photos you receive.
STILL LOOKING FOR SOME SUPPLIERS?
If you’ve still got a lot of wedding planning to do and some suppliers you need to try and find, here’s a few that I have worked with in the past and would very highly recommend.
Videographers
www.kevinjosephweddings.com/weddingfilms
Photo Booths
Hair Stylists
www.instagram.com/victorialouisehair
www.instagram.com/oliviamariahair
Makeup Artists
www.instagram.com/rebeccapearsonmua
Florists
Transport
www.broughtonweddingcars.co.uk
Bands / Live Music
Venue Dressers
THAT'S IT FOR NOW...
That was quite a lot of information to read but hopefully at least some of it has been useful and helped you with some of the planning you still have to do for your wedding. Hopefully the time between now and your wedding will be a really enjoyable one and I’m sure you’ll plan the wedding of your dreams. I'll be in touch closer to the wedding but like I said, don't be a stranger! Keep me updated with your wedding day plans and follow me on social media to keep updated with my current work.