Choosing your photographer
Look at two or three complete wedding galleries, not the highlights reel. Check how they photograph dark receptions, skin tones like yours, and rainy days. Ask who will actually shoot, what’s included, when you’ll get photos, and how files are backed up. The photographer questions guide has the full list.
The shot list that helps
Your photographer knows how to photograph a wedding. What they don’t know is your people. Give them:
- Family groupings, in order, with names (the biggest time-saver)
- VIPs who might be missed: grandparents, a godparent, a special friend
- Cultural moments and details that matter to you
- Any sensitivities: divorced parents, someone who uses a wheelchair, an estranged relative
Build yours with the shot list builder, which includes groupings for blended and divorced families, and read the wedding photo shot list.
A realistic photo timeline
| Moment | Time to allow |
|---|---|
| Getting-ready details and candids | 45–60 minutes |
| First look (optional) | 15–20 minutes |
| Couple portraits | 30–45 minutes (plus 15 at golden hour) |
| Wedding party | 20–30 minutes |
| Family groupings | 20–30 minutes |
Add travel time between locations and a buffer. The timeline builder schedules all of this from your ceremony time.
Video: worth it?
Many couples say video captures what photos can’t: voices, vows and speeches. If the budget is tight, a shorter highlight film or a friend recording the ceremony and speeches on a phone (on a tripod, with good audio) is better than nothing.
Your photography checklist
Rain, dark rooms and phones
Rain makes beautiful photos with clear umbrellas and a willing couple. Ask photographers how they light dark venues. And consider an unplugged ceremony so the aisle shot shows faces, not screens.
