Your wedding photos are the most important part of your day, something that you will cherish for the rest of your life, so lets make sure you get the best photos possible in Edmonton with our help.
Before we give you our list we want to emphasize that this should be your wedding photographers job to come up with creative ways to capture your day.
1. Getting ready photos with your parents. With all the hype around the wedding this is one detail that can often get overlooked. Make sure mom and dad are there with you so we can capture their expressions when they see you in your dress for the first time.
2. Bridesmaids jumping on the bed. One of my favourite getting ready images is of a bride and her bridesmaids sitting on the bed eating fast food. Everyone wants the perfect photo but to me this is real life. If you are not into the fast food then lets jump on the bed!
3. Rings on your invitation. One of the first things we ask for when we get to the brides house in one of their invitations if they have on. Most couples have them on their fridge and its a nice way to capture both.
4. Your pets! If you are not a dog or cat person you will never understand this one. If you do have pets I don't have to tell you why this is so important. We recently captured a wedding where there was an elderly dog at the house. I wanted to capture him while the house was buzzing and he was just content watching everyone. It turns out he passed away the day after the wedding. I am so thankful that I was able to deliver some images of him before he took his walk over the rainbow bridge.
5. Your wedding dress hanging somewhere nice. Some brides get a speciality hanger with their name on it, others just have a classic wooden hanger. We love getting the perfect dress photo. You have spent a great deal of time choosing the perfect dress, now all you need is the perfect photo.
6. You looking at your dress. This is usually the next photo we take after the dress by itself. We want you to remember why you picked this dress and how happy it made you feel.
7. If you have a flower girl or maybe you have a daughter we want to get a photo of her looking at the dress as well. My vision is that one day she will be able to replicate this image on her wedding day.
8. Your bouquet with all the bridesmaids bouquet. These are something that don't usually last much longer than the wedding day so we know how important this image will be.
9. First look with dad. Mom is usually helping with the dress so she has already seen you. Your dad has thought of this moment since the day you were born. We don't direct this moment at all we just capture what ever happens when that door opens.
10. Fixing your dads tie. After dad has had a few minutes to recover and either dry the tears from the first look or to slow down his heart from almost beating out of his chest we like to ask you to fix his tie. Many of our previous brides have told us that this was their favourite moment of the getting ready.
11. Holding hands with mom. If mom hasn't cried yet this is the one that gets her. Once she holds your hands and looks into your eyes cue the waterworks. Its a beautiful photo and sometimes the tears make it even better, unless mom goes immediately into ugly crying then its time for a break.
12. Groom getting ready with his groomsmen. All we need to get some natural smiles is to ask the boys to give him some posing tips. This will always guarantee to get some laughs going.
13. Mom and dad helping with the grooms tie. Just like the bride and mom photo holding hands, the mother of the groom gets very emotional for this photo. Like I said earlier emotions are good on a wedding day.
14. Individual photos with each member of the wedding party. The day goes by so quickly and unless we ask this moment doesn't get thought of until after the wedding. Luckily we have a ton of experience and will make sure that none of these important moments get missed.
15. Bride holding a photo of her parents wedding, groom holding a photo of his parents wedding. We have had this request a few times and its a nice way to tie in your parents wedding with yours.
16. Family photos! Most couples plan for this anyways but we take it a step further and ask you to come up with a list ahead of time. This makes sure that you don't miss anyone and helps to keep things organized for your wedding. Make sure you talk to your parents and ask if they want to add any groupings. We will never tell people to shorten this list because we are super efficient at getting your guests in and posing them. You may never get this opportunity again so take complete advantage of it.
17. Generation photos. If you are lucky enough to have this option this will be something you cherish for the rest of your life. I have one with my great grandfather, grandfather, dad, and myself. It's one of my favourite photos. A unique take on the generation photos would be just putting your hands together.
18. Boy in grooms shoes. If your son is in the wedding party this gives such great nostalgia when they are older. If the ring bearer is your nephew it can also work nice too.
19. Oldest couple with bride and groom. This is such a great way to recognize any of your guests that have been married for many years. It all starts at your reception when the DJ asks all the married couples to come to the dance floor. He plays a song and then asks anyone that has been married for one year to sit down, but everyone else keep dancing. This continues for 5 years of marriage, 10 years of marriage, and keeps going until only one couple is left on the dance floor. We have met a couple that was married for 65 years at one wedding! They were so adorable. They even gave a little speech when the DJ asked what was their secret to staying married for so long. It was such a memorable moment.
20. Fun Flower girl photos. We like to have the flower girl or flower girls sit in a chair with sunglasses on and a juice box while the bride and bridesmaids fix their makeup. Super cute way to get the little girls involved. They will love being pampered by the wedding party.
21. Group action shots. This one depends on your wedding party and how adventurous they are. Maybe a little kung fu fighting in slow mo? Bridesmaids love the jumping photos unless someone is expecting and then its a no go. We even had a golf course wedding where the groom tee'd up a shot while his bestman was holding the golf ball in his teeth.
22. Bad ass strut. This works well for both sides of the wedding party as well as a big group photo. We tell them to walk nice and slow while fixing their tie or checking their watch. The most important part is to not look at the camera.
23. First Dance. This one seems pretty obvious but there is one small detail that can turn a beautiful moment into work of art. Connection! We make sure to tell our couples to look at each other during the dance. If there is no connection and they are both looking away from each other the moment gets lost and feels prosaic.
24. Cake cutting photos are by far the favourite time for your guests to take your photo. Once we have taken your photo I really enjoy getting the behind the scenes look especially if there are a lot of iPads in the crowd. 20 years from now when you look back at this photo your kids will be asking what are those?
25. Bouquet toss always has the opportunity for capturing something incredible. Single women will be jumping like professional basketball players overtop each other trying to snag that prized possession.
26. Garter Toss. What makes this photo so funny is the exact opposite of why the bouquet toss is so popular. Most guys have their hands in their pockets and are walking away from the garter.
27. Proximity photo. This may sound a little vague but if its possible to have the bride and groom separated by a wall while doing something different it makes for a great juxtaposition. We had the perfect location for this at a recent wedding and seeing it all come together was amazing.
28. First look photos are in demand as tradition changes with younger couples. This used to be something that we were rarely asked about, but now it's around 50% of weddings that are doing a first look.
29. Ceremony. There are a few things that you can do to make sure that your wedding ceremony photos are distinctive when compared to other weddings. The first is connection, make sure you are gazing into each others eyes as much as possible. The last one is when you are walking down the recessional arm in arm make eye contact and show those big smiles. Once you get to the end of the line its time for another big kiss!
30. First kiss as husband and wife, make it count! If you have to count 4 Mississippi's! The longer the kiss the better the photos because we can change our angle and get some unique views.
We hope you find some of our ideas helpful! We would love to chat more about your big day!
Location: Alberta Aviation Museum 11410 Kingsway NW, Edmonton, AB.