Six Mistakes Every Bride Makes
Every bride feels like she is loosing her mind when she is wedding planning. Once the big day is here it feels even more chaotic and intense. Throughout my years as a photographer I have seen many different brides handle situations differently. I've compiled a list of different things I've seen through the years that might help you as a bride. These are the six biggest things that are overlooked while wedding planning that if planned for properly can ease your day and make it memorable and less stressful! And we all know what happens when a bride is over stressed!
Here's a bride that was not over stressed and had a gorgeous wedding day, complete with her puppies!
Mistake 1: Not hiring her photographer early enough in her planning process.
You'll see in mistake 2 why this is so important. Those key details of your wedding revolve directly around Mistake 2.
Mistake 2: Not coordinating with your photographer for the best time of day for bridal portraits.
When a bride meets with me for her consultation, my first question is ALWAYS what look she wants for her bridal portraits. I show her samples of different lighting situations to see which one she likes best. Sometimes they don't have a preference or they trust me to come up with what they are looking for. I have a distinct style that most of my clients seek me out for and they also want that on their wedding day. This right here sets the scene for the entire rest of the wedding day. This is why it's so important not to make Mistake 1. If you wait too long, your venue, reception, wedding invitations, cake delivery times and everything else needs to be adjusted or you have to give up your ideal lighting situation.
Mistake 3: Not creating a functional timeline for her wedding day.
My next question after we determine what look she wants for her bridal portraits is now her wedding timeline. I will create a draft timeline based upon what I need to photograph and go over that with my bride. Every detail of what I need to photograph is accounted for. Her detail shots? Accounted for. Groom getting ready? On the timeline. First look? On the timeline. Once this is created, it's very simple and easy for her and her coordinator to plan everything else. They can easily coordinate bridal party and family and locations simply and quickly based upon the timeline I create for photography. This ensures that the bride doesn't try to cram more into her day than absolutely necessary. Being too busy is the killer of joy.
Mistake 4: Not having a wedding planner or day of coordinator.
This is absolutely necessary. There's different levels of wedding planning as far as how detailed you want your planner to get. Hire one that can meet you exactly where you want her. A wedding planner will get all those pesky details in line and planned for instead of you having to remember every detail, every plan, every decoration choice. She handles it all so you can sit back, relax and enjoy your wedding day. Any question from vendors, bridal party and coordinating family all get run through her. This means trying to get family in one place for setting up and getting ready is NOT handled by the bride. It also means the mother of the bride and groom do not have to meet this need either. They can enjoy being together with all the ladies and instead of running around planning details.
Mistake 5: Not bringing a set of your bridal suite to your wedding.
These make excellent props to tell your story in photography. This is not necessary but it brings a personal touch to your wedding album when the invitations and response cards are styled perfectly to match your wedding.
Mistake 6: Not being organized in your entire day, including how decorations are stored and where they need to go.
A lack of organization, no matter where it happens to be, is begging for chaos to follow. Being organized for your coordinator is key and so important. When you can't find the information needed for your vendors quickly it's bad news. Have everything neatly organized in boxes labeled with numbers and then have a key matching those numbers so you know exactly what's in each box and where it needs to go. Have a binder or planner set up with all the details needed and give to your coordinator and she will handle everything else!
