Photographing The Morning Of A Wedding

We’ve always loved the morning of a wedding and it remains one of our very favourite parts of the day.  The morning preparations are always busy, sometimes a little bit frantic, but always exciting and fun and we try to capture as broad a range of emotions as we can.

Like most other parts of the day, we want to be in the background, quietly documenting the moments as they unfold with as little recognition of the cameras as possible.

Timings

Typically, we begin photographing ‘the preps’ 2 hours or so ahead of the ceremony time but this can vary with each wedding we see and we often start earlier.  There’s no hard and fast rules, but generally speaking it’s best if the morning photos are given plenty of ‘breathing space’.  Give us the time to capture the details, all the interactions and portraits and you’ll be rewarded with a lovely balanced set of images that really capture the mood during the build up to the wedding ceremony.

Go full-screen, crank up the sound and PLAY

Getting Ready Moments: The Real Deal

The little ‘moments’ are really what we’re looking for during the morning of a wedding.  A groom reading a card from his soon-to-be wife. A wedding dress being fastened by the bride’s mum, or her sister, or her best friend.  The groom and his mates sharing a cuppa (or a pint).  Dad and the bridesmaids’ reaction as they see her in her wedding dress for the first time.  A grandfather’s reaction seeing the gift given to him by his granddaughter.

Some of these moments are fun, some just help flesh out the story of the day.  And others are priceless.

Time For A Quick Portrait

The vast majority of our ‘preparation’ photos are documented naturally and without direction, but we always like to spend a few minutes capturing a great portrait of the bride or groom, along with a quick group or two.  It’s not about being overly-posed, stiff and formal.  It’s about being relaxed, looking fabulous and ready for the day ahead.