The wedding ceremony is the grand moment of your day. All of the attention will be on the couple and the exchanging of vows. Below are some of our tips and considerations to think about when planning your wedding ceremony.
Planning Your Ceremony
Make sure you have plenty of time for all of the things that you want to do. Everyone is different and places priorities on different things. Some couples may value family portraits while others just want to get to the reception and party with their guests. Whatever your priorities, make sure that time is not a factor. Add a buffer to every thing that you plan.
Think about the timing of outdoor weddings. The best times to have an outdoor ceremony would be about 2 hours before sunset. This will provide the absolute best atmosphere for your outdoor wedding as it's generally one of the cooler points of the day as well as closer to the golden hour of the day.
Consider the angle of the sun in relation to where the wedding party will be standing. Try to choose a venue or location that will have consistent lighting during the ceremony. You don't want to have half of your face lit by the sun and the other half in the shade. That would make it difficult to ensure proper exposure on all the entire shoot of your ceremony. Try to plan your wedding ceremony to take place in the shade.
Consider the comfort of your guests. If you wish to have a wedding at a park that has a particular amount of hills, consider if that will factor into your guests comfort. Try the chairs that they'll be sitting in. Whether it's a short and simple ceremony or a full on Catholic mass, you want to make sure that your guests will be comfortable enough to devote their attention to you.
Have a backup plan. Whether it's simply moving the ceremony to the reception area and flipping the room or having a tent area ready, it's good to have a backup to inclement weather.
Be sure that there is ample room to move about. The isle is of course the main walkway for the wedding party, however it's important that there is ample room for your photographers and videographers to roam if need be.
Consider having an unplugged ceremony. We understand that we're in an age of social media and sharing, but we would rather have your guests focused on you rather than focused on their phones. Trust your media vendors to capture those moments for you. We've spoken on this before, so check out that post for more information.
The Day of the Ceremony
Make sure your photographers know of any and all "traditions" that are to happen--jumping the broom, candle lighting, sand pouring, etc. All weddings are different and sometimes couples/planners leave out this detail when discussing with their photographers. We want to be ready when capturing this moment.
Make sure that the ceremony area is set up before guests arrive. We want to capture the untouched setting and beautiful display.
Wear your emotions on your sleeve. The smiles should be big and if you feel a tear, shed it. Your wedding day will be one of the most emotionally happy days of your life and we want to capture that.
Hold that kiss! When you and your new spouse kiss for the first time, make it a nice long kiss. Count to 10 and throw in a smile or two. Embrace each other.
