Even though your couple photos are the highlight of your day in terms of wedding photography, you also need to plan your family photos. Since more people are involved, family photos can be complicated and overwhelming but with the right guidance, they don’t need to be. Here are a few guidelines to help keep your wedding day timeline on track.
Your parents, siblings, and grandparents should always be included in your family photos, so start with them and work your way backward from there. You only have your photographer for a limited number of hours, so start with the most important people in your family first. A great way to include all those aunts, uncles and cousins is one giant family photo to start and then dismiss the extended family.
If your parents are divorced and not really on the best of terms, or you have stepparents, you may need to split your photos up. Arrange to take a photo with each parent and their significant others individually. And if you have stepsiblings, you can choose to include them too, but this is not a must if you are not close.
It’s important to not spring additional family photos on your photographer on the day or assume they know which photos you want. Plan your family photos with your photographer to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day and that there’s enough time for all your important shots. Here at Rebecca Anne Photography we have a wedding day questionnaire that covers all of this for you!
Along with ensuring your photographer knows which photos need to be taken, plan the photos with your family too. Some couples even choose to take family photos before their ceremony to save on time after the ceremony. Whatever you decide, make sure your family knows where to be and when to keep things on track. If you want to relieve some of the stress, ask your wedding planner or someone in your wedding party to assist you with this.
Along with the classic family portraits, there are a few other photo options you might want to consider.
Overall, as long as you don’t forget to plan your family photos with the help of your photographer, this doesn’t need to be a stressful aspect of your wedding day.