10 Tips for Your Wedding Day - A Photographer's Advice

You’re engaged! Yay! You’ve got the ring, you’ve set the date - now you and your fiancé settle down to plan the big day. There are LOTS of things to consider, and it can be pretty overwhelming. What are things you’ll regret if you don’t do? Things that aren’t maybe as necessary as some people say they are? I’ve been to my fair share of weddings, as both photographer and guest, so here are my top 10 tips for making your wedding * amazing *

1. HAIR - book at least one trial appointment (you might need two!) with your hair stylist. You want your hairstyle on your wedding to be three things: comfortable, good with your dress, and you want it to look good as it falls out. This last tip is maybe the most important - you are going to be moving, hugging, running, walking, dancing, drinking with this hairstyle. It’s going to loosen, fall out, relax and you want to feel good about it the whole day! Talk to your hair stylist about this, and then test it out - wear it grocery shopping, mow the lawn, have a dance party with your BFF in the living room, go out for drinks, do whatever it takes and make sure that it looks amaaaaaazing from beginning to end.

2. FAMILY PHOTOS - make a family photo shot list for your photographer, and run it by your family beforehand. Make sure everyone knows the set list, the time, and the location. The key part of this tip is to have someone else (NOT a family member) who will assist the photographer in getting everyone there at the right time and help keep the photos moving down the list. Think maybe one of your bridesmaids or a trusted friend! This person will wrangle up everyone, yell out what’s coming up next, and can help keep things moving smoothly! Family photos can be a bit stressful, especially with time constraints so this can keep everyone a bit happier.

3. A FUN ENTRANCE OR EXIT - lots of brides want a fun exit (like with sparklers!) but don’t always have their photographer around til midnight to get those cool shots. Consider having a super fun entrance instead to be sure to get those fun photos! PLUS, you don’t have to use sparklers! You can use confetti, silly string, flower petals, leaves, rice, lanterns, streamers, balloons, bubbles, paper airplanes - there are so many great ideas. It’s a great way to start the party at your reception and get some memorable shots!

4. SCHEDULE TIME - time is precious on your wedding day, and it’s hard to know how much time to allot certain items. Aside from working closely with your wedding photographer to build your timeline, think about what is important to you and your partner. What do you want to spend time on during your wedding day? Do you want lots of time with your family? Consider putting aside an hour for a lunch BBQ before/after your wedding ceremony! Do you want time with just you and your new spouse? Allot 45 minutes to grab a coffee, a sandwich, go for a walk at your park for portraits, stop for a wine tasting at a local winery - whatever is fun for you two! My other tip regarding time and schedules is to make sure you give buffer time for traveling!! Our highway can be a mess on the best of days, so if google maps says it will only take you twenty minutes to get from A to B, schedule in thirty minutes of travel time. You’d rather be ahead of schedule than stressing in your limo/motorhome/party van on your wedding day!

5. SNACKS - Don’t forget snacks on your wedding day!! Lots of brides are way to nervous or excited to eat in the morning, so by the time the ceremony or pictures are over, it’s two in the afternoon and they are starving. Not to mention, you have a bridal party who may have started drinking earlier in the day and is also in need of some substance. Stock your party vehicle with cookies, granola bars, nuts, a sandwich platter, fruit, donuts, bottles of water - whatever you like!

6. PHOTO LOCATIONS - what have you imagined your wedding images looking like? Are you wind-swept, looking out over the ocean? Are you romantic and whimsical in a sprawling field? Are you surrounded by tall trees and patches of light? There are so many amazing spots all over the Fraser Valley that can provide you with your dream wedding images! Work with your photographer to pick a location (or two!!) that you love. Spend a saturday or two looking at parks with your fiancé, look on google for images of weddings at parks you like, don’t be afraid to think outside the box! These wedding images are what you have to hold onto when the day is long over - so make them what you want them to be!

7. SHOES - Brides love wearing heels. Heels look AMAZING in pics, you feel beautiful in them, they add to a classy or elegant vibe - but if you are wearing them for hours, your feet are going to be so, so, so sore. Between events, pack along comfortable shoes! Think sandals, flip-flops, crocs, birkenstocks, your favourite booties - whatever is comfortable for you. You can wear them while walking around the park for pictures and then change them out for your heels when it’s time to be photographed. You can wear them during the standing reception after your ceremony! You’ll wear them while you walk around your reception hall greeting your guests and eating your dinner. You’ll want something comfortable to wear on the dance floor - there are so many different times where you’ll want comfy shoes!

8. DINNER - I have heard from SO MANY BRIDES (and honestly, including myself !!) that they don’t really get to enjoy their reception dinner. Sometimes they are too nervous or anxious to eat, sometimes they just aren’t hungry because of all the adrenaline or drinks in their system, sometimes they just keep getting pulled away to talk to people during dinner; whatever it is, lost of brides just simply don’t get to sit down and really enjoy the incredible food they’ve paid for! So here’s my advice: get your maid-of-honour or the best man or your BFF who is carrying the keys to your getaway car to go through the buffet line and pack a big tupperware container for you and your spouse to enjoy later! She’ll pack it up nice and full and put it in your vehicle (maybe have a little cooler in there for this) and you and your husband can eat it later on your honeymoon! Maybe you’ll want to eat it at 3 AM when you arrive at your hotel, maybe you’ll eat it for lunch the next day - it doesn’t really matter when you eat it, but you’ll have time later to enjoy the delicious food. Even if you DO get to enjoy the dinner at your reception (go you!) it’s fun to have a little extra to eat later on.

9. THE EMERGENCY KIT - you’ve probably heard of this one before, but I’ve seen it be used time and time again! Have a small bag full of emergency supplies. Think of things like chapstick, bobby pins, tide to go, deodorant, band-aids, lipstick for touch ups, mints (get rid of that iced coffee/alochol/granola bar breath before your reception begins), Advil or Tylenol, sunscreen, clear or double-sided tape, annnd the ever-important safety pin. This is stuff for your maid-of-honour to have on hand all day! You might not need any of it buuuuut if someone were to bump into you and spill a tiny bit of red wine on your dress, you’ll be thankful you bought and had some tide to go stain removal in your bag.

10. STAY HYDRATED - drink as much water as you do coffee or alochol. There is a plethora of fun drinks around on a wedding day, but both alochol and coffee are dehydrators! You can find yourself really light-headed (not the tipsy kind either) if you don’t drink a little bit of water during the wedding day. Have some gatoroade (electrolytes!!) or water bottles stocked everywhere throughout your day. Have some in the morning while you get ready, have some stocked in your limo, have some beside your seat at the reception. Have two wine coolers, than down some water. Have an iced coffee, then make sure your next drink is water. When you stay hydrated, you’ll feel better, happier, more energetic, and more present on your wedding day! You don’t want to get cramps, light-headed, dizzy, or sick on your wedding day and water is honestly the best way to make sure that happens (ESPECIALLY if you are getting married in the summer).

I hope this little list of some of my favourite tips helps you as you plan your wedding day! This is going to be such a fun and memorable day as you marry your best friend - the sky is the limit for things you get to do together and celebrate your love for each other.

Should I Have Reception Photos?

“Should I have my photographer photograph my reception?”

YES. Yes, a thousand times YES.

I mean obviously, I’m a photographer so I love photos, I love weddings… sooo maybe I’m a tiny bit biased in my thought process here. But I just think there is something so special and fun and important in having the reception part of your wedding documented.

The reception is the time you truly get to BE with your guests. It’s the time that you guests get to celebrate with you and love on you and your new spouse. You will get photos of you and your BFFs from high school. You’ll get photos of your college friends laughing at the skit your brothers put on. You’ll forever have documented your parents heartfelt speech, your grandma wiping away a tear, your maid-of-honour busting a gut beside you at something someone said. You’ll have your first dance captured. You’ll have photos of things happening you didn’t even realize were happening, like your niece hiding under a table eating her cake, or a group of your friends standing around your propane fire pit laughing.

Getting back your reception photos is a treasure. You did the marriage thing, you did the formal photos, and now you are letting loose with all your favourite people in one room and celebrating and the joy and happiness and relaxed atmosphere is worth remembering - trust me.

You don’t have to have your photographer there for the whole time if you don’t want to! A lot of the time, I’m there for just a bit of the party - but it’s enough to capture the essence of what’s going on (and believe me, I don’t stop shooting until the very last second!)

BUT enough about me talking about the greatness of receptions - let me show you.

Laura and Zach - Mission Engagement Photographer

Well, this is definitely one of my favourite sessions to date!! The weather was perfect (although CRAZY cold; kudos to Laura and Zach for braving it and not complaining at all!!) and the snow was so beautiful. I am super duper not a snow person, I could one hundred thousand percent live without it, I would not ever miss it for one day if it never snowed again - howeeeever, I will admit it does make for magical photos and add something wonderful to the images. So I guess as long as the snow is far away from me and I don’t ever have to drive in it and only have to be exposed to it for photography sessions, I’m okay with it (is that too much to ask lol?)

BUT anyways. Enough about the weather. This is not the first time I’ve photographed Zach and Laura and it was just as adorable this time and just as much fun as it was the first time. They are so in love and at ease with each other and so excited to get married! I loved spending time with them and I’m very, very excited for their wedding and to witness them start their marriage!

Vanlaar Family - Chilliwack Family Photographer

Madeline Zylstra - Richmond Newborn Photographer

I LOVE getting to photograph newborn in-home sessions, and it was extra special getting to photograph my new niece. Welcome to the world, Madeline - you are so loved already! (also how cute is the dress she’s wearing - her mom, Monique, wore it when she was a baby!)

van Rhee Family - Crescent Beach Family Photographer

It’s always so special and an honour to get to photograph returning clients! Plus, the summer light at the beach is one of my favourite places to photograph people and their loved ones.

Abi and Curtis - Swaneset Wedding Photographer

This wedding was SO great to photograph from start to finish. I was 8 months pregnant when I photographed it, and it was the best wedding to end my wedding and photography season on! There were so many things that I loved about the whole day:

• The bride being one of my friends and co-workers

• Abi’s dress!!! And the colours of her bridesmaid dresses

• The venue; Swaneset is gorgeous, full of amazing places to photograph a gorgeous couple all in love with their people

• The sunset light (!!)

• The emotional ceremony - the light was great, the vows were so special to hear, and the love was so evident

• Curtis’ entrance to the ceremony with the ringbearers to the instrumental version of Gangsta’s Paradise

• The stairs we used for portraits - it feels very vogue and royal-wedding-esque at the same time

It was a beautiful wedding to witness and photograph, and I wish Abi and Curtis the best in their married life!

Quik Family - Abbotsford Family Photographer

I’ve photographed this family a few times before, and each time is so great! Their boys are adorable, and we were blessed with some amazing weather and sunshine.

Elise Burgsma - Abbotsford Newborn Photographer

Being pregnant myself makes sessions like these SO special for me; I love getting to document the beginning days of a newborn’s life. They are so tiny and squishable and Elise is especially adorable.

Ronald & Janessa - Abbotsford Wedding Photographer

Ronald and Janessa were married this spring & it was so much fun documenting their day! A few things that I loved about it:

• Their wedding colours! I loved the blue of the bridesmaid dresses

• The detail on the back of Janessa’s wedding dress

• The absolute joy radiating out of the whole church during the ceremony

• The mountain background for their family photos and some of their formals out in Mission

• Even though it rained, Janessa and Ronald were SUPER unfazed and just kept doing pictures!

• Having some of Ronald’s family there, who came all the way from Holland!

• The veil shots of Ronald and Janessa * all the heart eyes *

• Their reception venue at Eco-Dairy; the set-up was beautiful, they could get some fun cow shots, and the food was delicious! The entertainment was also hilarious - both of their families did some great skits and speeches!

Thank you for having me along to photograph your wedding day!