Some wedding questions again

[Johnboy2978]

Hi all. I have another wedding coming up next weekend, and while I don't have any questions about technical settings or equipment, I do have some questions about logistics and time management. This will be my second wedding and I do have others booked later in the year.

For this wedding, I am planning on meeting the girls at the salon first thing in the morning (9-11:30) and getting some shots of them having their hair/nails etc done. The wedding starts at 2pm and we decided that the wedding party would be at the church no later than 12. Obviously, there are a list of shots that they would like included before the ceremony, both w/ the bride and some of the groom as well. I would like to spend the bulk of my time getting shots w/ the bride getting ready. I was wondering though, when you pro's budgeted time to get the groom and groom/party shots.

Do the pro's here spend their initial time w/ the groom and getting those shots completed before going to the bride or vice versa, or just jump back and fourth?

What is your general procedure that you follow to get the most coverage at a wedding?

 

[EOS_JD]

Initially with the bride getting ready then getting to the church before the ceremony to get the groom and his party.

Time management can be tough when starting out. Take a list of shots and get through those in an organised way. elps if best man and bridesmaids help you.

 

[THORHAMMER]

use an asistant !!! catch them both getting ready at the same time

 

[Johnboy2978]

I have a list of shots they wanted, and really there are only a few on the groom side they wanted before the ceremony. The bulk of the time before will be spent w/ her. Right now unfortunately, an assistant is out of the question. I have a brother in law who I would like to start incorporating into the process, but he's not going to be available for this one.

 

[EOS_JD]

Take the Grooms first then and get them out of the way quickly. If there's not many it should not take long letting you concentrate on the star of the day.

 

[emogirl]

I visit the bride about 1 1/2 hours before the ceremony..this allows time for candid shots of her and the girls getting ready and then time for more formal stuff before heading off to the church. I dont always do men getting ready....most of my customers dont want it....when they do , I usually see them about 1/2 hr to 1 hr before the bride. I do however get the church in time to do some casual, nervous groom shots prior to the the ceremony.

after the ceremony, I take about 1 - 1.25 hrs to shoot the family shots, the groomsmen, the wedding party as a whole and the the bride and groom. I do family first so they are 'out of the way" and gone to the reception and all the people who are straggling along to take pictures.

When couples are booking their wedding, i tell them to plan 3 hrs from the beginning of the wedding to the time they want to be at the reception. This is not 3 hrs for pix...but it takes into account the 45 min for the church, then 1/2 hr or more of milling around time outside the church....travel time to picture location....doing the pix...travel time to reception.
Of coarse, that time is adjusted for weddings and receptions in one location or for absurdly long distance between church and reception or picture locations...and if the couple has a huge amount of family they want photographed...which, in small towns...is usually alot!!!

 

[photogoddess]

Take care of the girls first. Guys have a tendency to hang out, talk, drink, etc... and then get dressed at the last minute. Also, if you do any formals at the church before, do the bride first again. This will give her time to get back inside before guests start arriving and freshen up. If the guests show up while you're shooting the groom and groomsman, it's fine. Most guests' first look of the bride should be when she enters the back of the church during the processional. Keep in mind that everything works MUCH better if the bride and groom get ready in different rooms of the same building. If you're having to travel across town to do one, then the other, I'd seriously recommend hiring a 2nd shooter.

 

[Johnboy2978]

They will both be getting ready at the church in different areas/rooms, so I won't be traveling to another location. As I said, there really isn't a lot of pics on the grooms side that I need to do before, I was just interested in how others attack the situation. Before the ceremony, I am taking a few of the groom alone, groom w/ parents, immediate family, groom/bestman and some w/ the groomsmen and one w/ the pastor. With the bride, there are several that she wants though, and I don't want to rush them.

 

[JIP]

Always bride preliminaries first. Generally guys don't care all that much wether or when you get them but miss the bride before the wedding because you spent too much time with the guys there will be trouble.