Avoiding a Wedding Disaster - How to Prepare for the Family and Friends Photos at Your Wedding!

The BIG DAY is finally here and just like that you’ve vowed, ringed, kissed, and been pronounced. As you march down the aisle with your brand new spouse, you finally feel like you can relax and enjoy the rest of day. Its a moment of absolute bliss and as rest of the stress melts away and is just replaced by an overwhelming tidal wave of love and joy.

And then you are called back, its time for family and friend group photos. As a photographer, I’ve seen this go very very smoothly and quickly. But I’ve also seen it go very very badly, frustrating the bride and groom, the wedding party, and well, basically both of your families. Today, I want to talk to you about a few ways you can be prepared for the group photos and can make them flow so quickly and smoothly.

Make a List, Check it Twice…

When a bride books with us, its always an exciting time! We talk a lot about colors and plans, I take a lot of notes to help me as the photographer be ready for the big day. And before we leave, I always give the brides I work with a homework assignment: Get me a list of every grouping you want, with names one week before the wedding. I cannot tell you how important this is. This list has made the post ceremony group photography go so much quicker. We can announce a list of names after the ceremony ends of people who need to stay and everyone is then dismissed to the reception. There’s no chasing people down and it gets all of the unnecessary people out of the way. We can also organize the shoot in a way to get the most people done as quickly as possible and get them on their way to the reception.

Without the list, its like trying to herd cats to get everyone in the photos. Well I think it actually might be worse than herding cats…

Here’s the process I advise the brides I work with to follow:

Step 1 - Start with the Guest List

As you build your guest list, begin marking guests that you would like to have in the family/friends photos. You’re already spending a ton of time on this list, might as well use it to help build the group photo list! If you’re using excel or google sheets, just add a column for “Pictures” and add a check-box. It helps because you can share the file with both of your mom’s and make sure everyone needs to be checked for pictures is checked. I’ve actually seen individuals get mad and leave the wedding because they weren’t thought of to be including in the wedding photos. Its an easy to make oversight but it is also something that is easily avoidable using this method.

Step 2 - Build your Photo Group List

This is something that will need to be easily shared with the photographer. I prefer to get the list in soft copy instead of a printed copy. I also don’t want a PDF. I need a file that I can copy and edit and rearrange. Microsoft Excel is great, Google Sheets is great, Apple Numbers, or basically any kind of spreadsheet software will work. Feel free to share this file also with family who can help you revise and edit the list. I would rather take too many pictures than leave someone out and offend them!

Step 3 - Add a Note in their Wedding Invitation

Let people know that you are planning on including them in the wedding family/friends group photos. A little slip of paper included in the wedding invitation is a great way. You can choose your own wording, but it needs to say something like “We would be honored to include you in family and friends photos, after the ceremony ends, please stay for the group photos. Tony, our photographer will be there to give you instructions and help get you in all the photos you need to be in… etc” Its a nice touch and helps to make more of your family to feel included.

Wait Until After the Photos to Get Drinks

Maybe they should have practiced this before the photo….

The stress of the moment has passed and almost everyone is ready to get a drink from the bar and relax a little. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The problem we have ran into is that individuals run off to the bar to grab a drink and sometimes don’t make it back for a little while. Everyone has to stand around and wait. It gets annoying. It doesn’t really annoy me, I’m gonna be there for the whole thing no matter what, but family and friends waiting to get the reception going often get hungry and some people will even leave if they have to wait too long. We want to keep things moving along so people don’t have an unpleasant experience at your big day!

Also, this has happened a lot - people tend to spill the drinks. On themselves. And the people standing around them. It can end up being kind of a big mess. And takes a lot of photoshop to fix later.

Get Ready to Stand in One Spot and Smile A LOT!

You should never let the Best Man carry the cake…

Generally, we try to place the bride and then to allow everyone else to move in and out of the photos. You are the centerpiece of almost every photo and moving your dress and accessories around can sometimes be very time consuming. It also helps us to make sure that everyone is centered for each photo. It is very tiring, especially after everything you’ve been through during the day. But standing in one spot and keeping that smile up with help the process go faster.

A lot of people from your family are going to want to hug you, and that is perfectly ok. Just let them come to you, that way we don’t have to reset your dress or reposition you.

Don’t be Afraid to Call an Audible!

The list we created is a tool to help us be organized and make things flow smoother. But it is not the LAW! If you want to add another grouping, or change it up or do something a little different - GO FOR IT! We are here to photograph you and to capture memories of your day. We can stop at any time and do whatever you want to do. During this whole process, we aren’t trying to limit the photos we take, we are just trying to limit the amount of time that is wasted by standing around and trying to figure out where Uncle Billy disappeared to because he needs to be in this next photo.

Always check the weight limit of the dock you are standing on…

That’s a wrap!

Follow these steps and even with a larger wedding with lots of attendees and family, we should be able to work through all of your grouping photos within 20 to 30 minutes. To contrast, I have seen this take over an hour when no one is organized. Its honestly just painful for everyone.

There’s nothing as exciting as wrapping up the family and friend group photos and moving on the reception where the real fun can begin!

We are here to help you through every step of the planning process! We hope this guide gives you an idea of how to make your group and family photos flow smoothly on your wedding day! Our goal is to make your wedding day something that is fun and memorable and as stress free as possible. If you’d like to know more, click the button below to find out about our wedding packages and pricing as well as availability.