Your wedding photography guide & questionnaire.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this. I know there’s a lot of things to fill out before a wedding day so I’ve kept my part as short as possible!
I’ve included some suggestions below about each part of the day. These are all tips, not rules - it’s most important that your wedding is about you and what you both want from your day, not just what works best for photos. If in doubt, prioritise what feels comfortable for both of you.
preparation
Pick a clean space with lots of natural light. It’s important to have all the clutter out of the way. I recommend about 1 hour for each partner. For boys & girls, I recommend beginning with boys first. For LGBQTIA and non-binary couples: scissors-paper-rock for who gets to go first.
I recommend hair & make up to be complete, and everyone mostly dressed (or near the time to get dressed) by the time I arrive, including the wedding party.
ceremony
As a guide, most ceremonies are approximately 30 minutes long. Traditional ceremonies with extra formalities (such as a mass) can be up to 1 hour.
Upon finishing the ceremony, I always strongly recommend setting aside some time to be hugged and congratulated. It’s such a wonderful part of the day and allows for lots of beautiful, candid moments.
I recommend setting aside 30-45 minutes for family photos, to include a bit of time for congratulations.
portraits
I recommend about 1 hour for portrait & wedding party photos. You may want more or less - just let me know what your plans are. As a guide, we will spend about 20 minutes with the whole wedding party first, and then we will move on to portraits with just the two of you. The wedding party can leave early.
The absolute best time for these photos is as close to sunset as possible. If the portrait session timing doesn’t line up with sunset (common in summer!), I highly recommend setting aside 10-15 minutes to duck out during reception (you can tick this option box in the questionnaire to let me know).
reception
As mentioned above, if our portrait session doesn’t line up with sunset, a 10-15 minute window for us to ‘duck out’ for some golden hour photos is highly recommended.
This is a great option to get the most incredible photos on the day - the light will be soft and it also gives you a moment to breathe and be together. I will often be conscious of this and give you some time to yourselves during this wonderful part of the day.
I recommend coverage for full day weddings conclude approximately 30 minutes after your first dance. This gives me time to capture some great dance floor moments before I finish up, but also lets you enjoy the last moments with just your friends & family.