Family Photo Basics for the Bride-to-Be

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.

Who to Include?

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. 

Keep Your Photographer in the Know

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!

Keep Your Family in the Know

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. 

Family Photos – What are Your Options?

Along with the classic family portraits, there are a few other photo options you might want to consider.

• Getting Ready. If your parents or siblings are involved with helping you get ready, don’t forget to capture these candid moments with them. This includes the moment your mother or father see you in your wedding dress for the first time. This goes for both the bride and the groom. 
• Pre-Ceremony. Those moments before you walk down the aisle are ideal for capturing photos of your family. They may be waiting in anticipation or talking and laughing together. These are the moments you don’t get to see, so ask your photographer to capture them. 
• Parents and Sibling Portraits. You don’t need to be in all of your family photos. You can also take a few shots of your parents looking their best or your siblings posing together. Portraits of your grandparents looking their best are also a must. 
• The Little Ones. If you plan to include children in your wedding, don’t forget to take one or two photos of just you and the little ones in your life. 
• The Furry Ones. Including your furry family members in your wedding? Portraits with your pets should definitely be on your wedding shot list. 
• The Toasts. Another way to get more photos of your family members is during toasts and speeches. If you know who will be giving a toast or saying a speech, make your photographer aware of it.

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.