Lessons Learned from Photographing A Big Wedding Party
Darcy Preece Photography
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Darcy Preece Photography

Lessons Learned from Photographing A Big Wedding Party

It’s not often but sometimes we get the opportunity to shoot massive wedding parties. We’re talking 6-8 on each side plus 4-6 flower girls and ring bearers. We have also shot many weddings where the family dynamics are not so straight forward - like multiple step parents, step siblings, ex partners, new partners, the list goes on. Without meeting with our couples beforehand (we schedule a meeting at least one week before your wedding to go over a timeline and all the above mentioned “stuff”) we really would have no way of knowing your family dynamics. There is no way that any photographer would know that Uncle Bob and Aunt Judy don’t like each other and refuse to be in the same photo as each other, or if you don’t really care to have a photo separately with each of your parents. When we meet, we discuss the importance of having a prepared wedding family photo list. This is something that helps us on the day of so that we aren’t making any awkward mistakes. This also helps make the family portrait session run a lot smoother. This brings us to:

Tip Number 1: Prepare a family list for your photographer

If you choose to have a large wedding party you’ll want to be considerate of locations you choose for your bridal portraits. If you don’t have a limo or bus to get around, then coordinating many different vehicles can be tricky. Maybe stick to somewhere close or consider not bringing the adorable flower girls and ring bearers as they may get bored and tired. Ideally, we like to have 1.5-2 hours for bridal party portraits (including bride and groom portraits).

Tip Number 2: Be considerate of your timing with locations and large wedding parties

We will always ask our couples what percentage of photos do they want with their wedding party and what percentage do they want with just the two of them. Every couple is different and we don't want to assume anything on your wedding day. We want to make sure you get exactly what you want. The way we do this is by constant communication throughout the day.

Location: 10528 108 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5H 2Z9 .