Schedule the Morning of your Wedding Day

The Top 3 Ways to Schedule the Morning of Your Wedding Day

Morning Schedule Wedding Day

I really wanted to share my experience regarding the best ways to schedule the morning of your wedding day when you have one photographer. It’s important to get some photographs with the Groom as well as the Bride on the morning of your wedding day, and I have lots of experience as to how to make this work.

I shoot weddings for my Brides and Grooms alone, and I know that you will not be disappointed if you only have one photographer. Believe me, having two photographers does not automatically mean more or better photographs.

This is something that I get asked about a lot, so I have written a separate blog post to explain why I think one professional photographer is ENOUGH!!!

Click here to have a read-through:

  Wedding Timeline? CLICK HERE

Top 3 Ways to Schedule Your Wedding Photographer:

I shoot weddings on my own, and I have three ways to capture both the Bride and the Groom on the morning of your wedding day.

The first option is for me to go to the groom’s house first.  – but if the distance is longer than 10-15 minutes, it’s not ideal as then I will have less time in Bride’s House.

Then I go to the Bride’s house. I need to be at the Bride’s house at around 10/11 am.
In order to make this schedule work, the Groom MUST be ready for photographs by 10 am at the latest. (Ideally before 10 am) Yes! It’s early (which is why it is not always an option ), But if the Groom can pretend to put his suit on in the morning, it can work. Remember, the option is there for him to take it off after I leave his house.

If the distance between the houses is NOT longer than 10 minutes, I can start at the Bride’s house at 10 am and then travel to the Groom’s house at around 12 pm. I will then return to the Bride’s house for the final touches. I then leave the Bride’s house, and I’m in the Church/Hotel 30 minutes before the Mass/ceremony, where I meet the Groom and the Priest – I need to see the Priest before Mass! 

If the distance is more than 10 minutes, I do not recommend travelling between the houses. My reason for this is very simple – I’ll be sitting in my car for 30-40 minutes and not taking photos while travelling. The morning is very short, and I can miss a lot of moments at the bride’s house if I am travelling. In this scenario, I think having more time with the Bride is far more beneficial.

TIP: If the ceremony is at 12 a.m. ( for example, Winter weddings ), I recommend meeting the Groom and Groomsman only at the Church or Venue 30 minutes before the ceremony—please see below, as the morning is very short. 

If both the Bride and Groom are staying in the Hotel, it’s just perfect as I can shoot both of you separately and I will not have to worry about missing anything. There is no travel time between you and it is so easy to float between the rooms while keeping you apart.  You have the best of both worlds.

The majority of my Brides and Grooms get ready in separate locations so from my experience, I recommend the following option to create a lot of special photographs:

I start at the Bride’s house at 10 am, where I capture the Bride getting ready. It’s very important to follow a few simple rules to make the morning getting ready easy and fun to photograph.

TOP TIP!!!

I have often heard the makeup artists want to leave the bride until last so that the makeup is the freshest.

Please don’t agree to do this. If there are more than two or three bridesmaids, it’s best to have your makeup and hair done before one or two of them.

You don’t want all Your morning photos without any makeup….

I then leave the Bride’s house, and I’m in the Church/Hotel 30 minutes before the Mass/ceremony, where I meet the Groom and the Groomsmen. Then, I will have photos of the groom greeting guests and his family arriving, and I always take a few nice moments with the groom relaxing with his groomsmen.

Photos from an amazing day at Ballymagarvey Village

I have lots of tips and advice for a stress-free wedding day here:

Scheduling Your Videographer

If you have a Videographer, I advise you to request that he or she leave your house with enough time to get to the ceremony at least 30 minutes before it is due to start. This allows time to set up cameras and sound so that all the equipment has been tested and works perfectly.

The 30-minute rule before the ceremony works for both me as the photographer and the videographer, allowing for a stress-free ceremony.

I hope these top three ideas help you figure out the best way to schedule your time with your photographer on the morning of your wedding.

Happy planning, and I hope to hear from you soon :)

I always send a Wedding Questionnaire a few weeks before the Big day

Daniel

www.dkphoto.ie