Do I need a second photographer for my wedding?

There are just so many decisions to make when it comes to planning your wedding day I know it can feel overwhelming. You have to hire all of these different vendors and each requires a different set of questions or details to think about, yikes! So I want to start answering some of the most common questions I get so you can hopefully feel better prepared and more confident that you are getting exactly what you need and want for your wedding day!

1 - Do you want getting ready photos for both the bride and groom?

I know, I know, guys you don’t really care about getting ready photos. But, most of the time those photos aren’t really about you! Getting ready for your wedding day usually involves the people you love the most! Your parents getting to help you get dressed for one of the biggest days of your life and I’m guessing they are just thinking about how they got you dressed for your first day of school or putting your first onesie. Your best friends are there to help you relax, laugh, and calm any nerves. These moments can be so full of emotion and happy tears, but also huge smiles and laughs as the excitement of what is to come builds.

2 - Do you want the detail photos for both of you?

Obviously the bride always has more details to photograph (her dress, shoes, jewelry) but grooms also have their shoes, cufflinks, tie, watch. Getting both of these perspectives help create and tell a full story of your wedding day. The most important part of a day that having a second photographer there for is the getting ready because there is so much going on, so much to capture, and really I can only be in one place at a time and you’re most likely not getting ready in the same room :)

3 - How tight is your timeline and is there enough time for your photographer to capture everything?

While there are a million ways to lay out your timeline and how your wedding day flows, sometimes you just have to schedule doing family, bridal party, and some bride and groom portraits during cocktail hour. If this happens then there is no time for me to get detail photos of the gorgeous reception space that you have planned and created! There are many different scenarios that could happen, but again, depending on the size of your wedding, locations, or how detailed it is, having that additional photographer there to be able to multitask and photograph two things at once can be a must!

4 - How important are your wedding day photos to you?

Haha this may seem like a basic or silly question, but if you want to have a full and detailed story of your day captured then you really need to invest in the time and resources that it takes to make that happen. You have spent months and months planning for this very important day, you have created an experience for your family and friends to all share in, so really sit down and think what you want from that 10 or 20 years from now.

Over the last few years I have actually gotten the opportunity to be a second photographer for some of my friends and fellow wedding photographers! It really is fun for me to kinda take a step back and have fun, but it’s also great to see how other photographers approach and manage wedding days. I thought it would be fun to share the diversity of these weddings as well as they may spark some inspiration as you answer the questions above for yourself!

Images photographed while working for Laurelyn of Laurelyn Savannah Photography - www.laurelynsavannahphotography.com

Images photographed while working for April of Third West Studio - www.thirdweststudio.com

Images photographed while working for Jenna of Jenna LeRoy - www.jennaleroy.com

TIPS FOR A RELAXING DAY GETTING READY FOR YOUR WEDDING.

You've spent months and months planning for this day and now it's finally here! You're excited, nervous, and going over every detail in your head making sure you didn't forget anything but is there a way that you can avoid all of that stress and nervousness? If there is any part of the wedding that is going to run late it's going to be the getting ready or setup. I'm going to share some helpful tips that will hopefully make your wedding day stress free and stay on time!

• Hire a wedding planner or day-of coordinator

I know you're already spending a lot of money on this day and you have to be smart where you spend your money, but when there are a million decisions to be made and last minute details to set up why not have a professional there to handle all of that for you? Your wedding day is also an experience that you don't want your friends and family to miss! If your mom is helping to set up the ceremony site she might be late to help you get dressed in your gown and that could mean less time for beautiful portraits later. Please don't let anything get in the way of you relaxing with a mimosa while your hair and makeup gets done :)

• Plan extra time for hair and make-up for you and your ladies

What can throw off your entire schedule? Hair and make-up! Ladies, we all know how long it takes to get ready for a night out, lets be realistic and assume that a wedding day will take just a bit longer. I like to pad the getting ready schedule with a little extra time but I also like to tell the girls that they need to be ready by 1:00 when really I need them ready by 1:15 and somehow we always need that little time buffer. This works great for the family portraits part of the day as well!

• Have all of your details ready for when your photographer arrives

One super easy thing you can do is to set out all of your details for your photographer before they arrive! I always start the day by photographing your dress, shoes, jewelry, flowers, etc and if I can grab everything at once and not have to interrupt while your make-up artist is applying mascara or your planner is helping to find the groomsmen lost pants (yes, this does happen) the getting ready will just flow seamlessly and on time. Haha if you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of keeping the day on schedule :)

• Schedule time to eat lunch

Lets be real, everybody gets hangry now and then, and when you're nervous and stressed that can get even worse! I know your stomach is full of butterflies, but please take a minute to eat a sandwich and drink a bottle of water before you get in your dress! You might not feel hungry, but when you accidentally don't eat your dinner because you're having so much fun catching up with your guests, you'll be thankful that you've at least had lunch!

• Keep your getting ready space clean of clutter

It sounds trivial and like that's not really capturing the "real" wedding day and what happened, but do you really want to be looking back on these pictures with your kids and them seeing your hot pink panties and bottle of wine in the corner as your getting in your wedding dress? That is one of the parts of the day that it's okay to pretend that everything was "picture perfect" and people don't need to see the pile of curling irons and make-up bags on the other side of the room.

• Write a special note to your future spouse

Getting ready to day "I do" is a whirlwind of events! How awesome would it be to take a few minutes to yourself to relax, take a few deep breaths, and read a little note from the person you're going to marry in a few hours?! Maybe you tell each other how much you love them, maybe you tell them a funny joke to relax, or maybe you tell them what you're looking forward to on the honeymoon (don't worry, I don't read it or judge) but I've found that little time always calms and grounds my couples when nerves and stress starts to rise.

I've learned a lot of things after photographing 125+ weddings, and I know that things don't always go as planned, and problems may happen, but with a little planning and preparation you can minimize your stress and focus on the only important thing which is getting married!