Communication is key! Make sure everyone knows your wants, desires, timeline, and who else will be there professionally. I want to discuss a wedding where I had almost no information beforehand, and no clue who else would be there professionally. The wedding was awesome, but it came at a cost.

Regardless of how much you have planned, the day can change in an instant and you have to adapt. I fully understand and get that. This example wedding was unusual in that I was supplied with almost no details but… even if I had a detailed timeline, events unfolded that would have seen that timeline change drastically anyway.

I had emailed and contacted this couple several times asking for more information but for whatever reason, they wouldn’t or couldn’t give it to me. I turned up on the day knowing the time of the ceremony and first dance, but not much else. I have never had this happen before. It was really strange!

The first surprise happened the moment we walked into the venue. We were unaware that there would be a videographer. Absolutely lovely chap, all of us keeping out of each other’s way. He had a drone which was cool. I usually ask the couple which is more important (photo or video) but I would do so before their big day. I don’t want to do or say anything that may have them both say something different. It’s a question that needs to be asked beforehand so it doesn’t risk ruining the day.

The videographer ended up taking 90% of the ‘photography’ time during the different parts of the day. He was new to weddings so was taking a lot longer to get what he needed. He was being over cautious rather than slow.

As an example, I needed the group shot (around 80 people) and I would have liked some Bride and Groom shots before the meals were served at 3pm. The time was 2.30pm. No problem I thought. The videographer took the Bride and Groom away for a drone balcony shot. That should have taken no time at all.

25 minutes later at 2.55pm, he was still doing this balcony drone shot and the Wedding Coordinator was saying everyone needed to start coming in for the meals. I explained they can’t, I still needed to do the group shot. At 3pm, the time of the meal, the Bride and Groom finally emerged. I got the group shot but four minutes was nowhere near enough time to do it properly.

When I realised how long he was taking I started moving people to the spot I’d picked out for the group shot. It’s difficult because some people are elderly and they are not so good on their feet, so it’s trying to juggle their needs and everyone else’s enjoyment, with getting a shot I knew the couple wanted while being pressured to get everyone inside for their meals.

It turned out that a Wedding Album was important to them, but I didn’t know that because they didn’t tell me. Had I known, I would have been much more forceful in getting the time away from the videographer so I could get the photos they wanted. He would not have had 30 minutes to get a drone balcony shot for example.

Some time after their wedding I was getting emails asking for more photos (I had delivered over 500). I explained they had all the best ones, the ones left were duplicates or people blinking etc. They wanted more Bride and Groom shots for their ‘album’, but I didn’t know that because they hadn’t told me they were getting an album (it is really rare these days).

I only had 5 minutes for Bride and Groom shots but the videographer took over 40 minutes. Had I known the Bride and Groom needed photos for an album, I would have told the videographer he’d have to give me more time so the couple had enough choices for the photo album. All of this would have been discussed with the couple and the Videographer LONG before the big day, had we been told. Even on the day, or even while I was taking the Bride and Groom photos, just saying “We’re having an album made, are those three or four Bride and Groom photos enough?” would have been enough for me say “no, absolutely not, we need more time for that”.

I really wish the couple had communicated this with me. If this happened again, it would play out the same way. If I’m not told what’s important, what other media services you have coming, what you have planned for the day, and most importantly, what you’re going to do with the photos, I’m simply a documentary photographer at that point, nothing more.

My Top Tips for communicating your wedding photography wishes

• Tell your photographer if there will be another photographer / videographer etc.
• If you have a videographer, decide which is more important, photo or video, and then tell them both.
• If you want an album, tell your photographer so they have enough time for photos. You also need to make sure there is enough time in the timeline to get album photos.
• If someone or a specific group of people are really important to photograph, point it out and tell your photographer you need photos of that person/group.
• Don’t assume you’ll have 30 photos of every person. In a 200-guest wedding that would be 6,000 photos of just candids. That’s unrealistic. If someone is important, tell the photographer, even if it’s your mum, tell the photographer that you want a LOT of photos of mum. In these cases, I’ll use the second photographer to follow that person around taking photos of mostly that person.
• If you have a sentimental object on you, tell your photographer.
• If a particular photo is a MUST HAVE, please tell your photographer that the photo is the highest priority. For example, if having the rings photographed together on the Brides Bouquet is an absolute must-have, make that clear.
• Don’t assume if you see a photo on my website, that I take that exact shot at every wedding. The wedding rings on the Brides bouquet is a great example, sometimes it just isn’t possible, but if I’m told it must happen, it will.
• Be ‘time realistic’. If you want lots and lots of different Bride and Groom shots, don’t set aside just 6 minutes for it like I had for the one above. Likewise, if you send me a Pinterest board with 200 poses, make sure you set aside a month or more to get all those shots 😉

Communication is key. The more I know what’s important, the more I can be focused on those things. Please supply as much detail as you can. I really do want your day to have all the photos you want!