CEREMONY ADVICE
Phone Free Zone
First and foremost, you're going to want to require guests to keep their phones on silent and in their pockets. Guests taking phone photos will look really bad in your professional photos. Have a sign at the entrance and have the officiant make an announcement before the ceremony begins.
The Set Up
When planning your set-up, please ensure you leave room around the outside of the chairs/pews so we can make our way up and down the sides to be able to get the different angles we need. Keep in mind to capture your guests faces/reactions we will have to be at the front of the ceremony, this may or may not be possible depending on your set up.
Special Events
Incorporating special events during your ceremony is a great way to add your own flare. Think outside the box with this, what speaks deeply to you? Some examples are potting a plant or tree together, sharing a glass of wine, pouring sand, painting on a canvas, etc. The options really are endless, feel free to get creative and make it memorable.
The Exit
It's common to celebrate by throwing your hands up once pronounced married! When you're walking down the aisle together, we recommend stopping half way down and doing another kiss or dip. For the best photos, you could hand out bubbles, flower petals or confetti to your guests before the ceremony to shower you with as you exit!
OUTDOOR CEREMONY LIGHTING
DIRECT LIGHT
DARK
BACKLIT
SHADED
Planning your ceremony outdoors after sunset means your photos will be in the dark. Depending on how much light is left, we'll likely have to use our flashes. Although we understand the allure of this look, it doesn't typically translate well in photos which is why we don't recommend it. *You need to have a first look if you choose to do this.*
Backlit is great for photos because it creates a romantic, even, golden lighting on you. This means the sun is coming from behind the alter.
To achieve this lighting, set your ceremony about 2 hours before sunset with the sun setting behind the alter (use the app Sun Surveyor to view the sun path on your wedding date).
If your location is completely shaded by the time of your ceremony this can be beautiful for photos as well. It will ensure you, your wedding party and guests are evenly lit and there will be no squinting involved. It's important to ensure that everything is shaded, not to have one of you in the light and one in the dark, or patchy light coming through the trees.
We don't recommend having the sun coming from the front of the alter as it can cause uneven, harsh light. It will also cause you to squint, which isn't flattering in photos. To avoid this, use the app Sun Surveyor to see where the sun will be on your wedding date and time and move your ceremony location to have the sun behind you, not in front.
INDOOR CEREMONY LIGHTING
NO FLASH ALLOWED
AMBIENT LIGHT
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
LOW-LIGHT
Natural light falling through windows is perfect for an indoor ceremony. To achieve this look, have your ceremony in a location with large windows and set the ceremony time at least a couple hours prior to sunset.
If there's not enough natural light coming from windows, we recommend having the lights in the room turned up bright to compensate.
Some churches don't allow flash to be used. If this is the case, make sure the lights are turned up as high as they can go to ensure there's enough light for us to capture crisp photos.
If the lighting in the space is not bright enough, we may have to set up external flashes to light the room for the photos.