Award Winning, Asheville, NC based Destination Wedding Photographer reveals top 10 Wedding Moments that you definitely do not want your photographer to miss:
One could argue that every moment is an important moment that you don’t want your photographer to miss but there are a handful of really distinct, meaningful and powerful moments, that are like TOP of the TOP on that list of moments that you’ll regret not preserving for eternity!
When I shoot a Wedding Day, I’m shooting to tell your story, completely and authentically. I want to tell that story in its entirety so that the details aren’t lost or forgotten with time. I’m thinking about the Wedding Album that you’ll look at on every anniversary from now until forever and that your children will one day love looking through and will cherish long after you’re gone from this earth…
On that note, girlfriend, please tell me that you’re not investing this much money on wedding photography only to download your files and keep them on the computer forever or just print a couple to frame!? A Wedding Album is the very best, timeless way to preserve this milestone moment in your family’s living history beautifully and completely. I work with an amazing professional print lab who’s albums are handmade and they make the most luxurious wedding albums with thick, metallic, beautiful pages, they’re heavy and substantial and come with an album box for safe keeping! You’ve seriously gotta see one of these babies to truly get it, I’m happy to show you one! All ya gotta do is set up a consultation with me! You can do that here:
#10. The Send Off / Last Kiss
You’ve just had the BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. Your Wedding Day has finally come and gone after months and months of planning and anticipation and it was even better than you could’ve imagined it would be! You’re leaving your reception flying high on endorphins & wedding cake, sweaty and in love, with a giant smile that you couldn’t wipe off even if you tried! You’ve just had the most fun ever and danced your ass off with everyone you love all in the same room! What better way to end then night than to have them send you off with all their well hydrated, enthusiasm, love and well wishes… and a sparkler exit! 😉 That Send Off / Last Kiss image is always the most appropriate and beautiful final page of your wedding album! Regardless of whether or not you do a Sparkler Exit or some other type of exit (we’ve seen Chinese Lanterns, Rice, or Glow in the Dark Balloons, etc.
Hot Pro Tip:
You need to hire a photographer who has has high end equipment that can perform well in low light with minimal grain/noise. You need a photographer with a lot of experience shooting sparkler send offs and the skill and ability to capture a sparkler exit in low, ambient or sometimes no light at all…
#9. The Party
You have nearly everyone you love in the same room, eating, drinking, dancing, toasting, and celebrating the two of you and this milestone moment in your lives together. This party will never happen again. Not like this! There’s a lot of people and a lot going on and these few hours will fly by in the blink of an eye! You definitely don’t want to feel like you missed it! You want to to remember this party & the very best way to do that is to have fun party photos to tell the story even when your memory is a little fuzzy from the whirlwind of it all!
#8. Newlywed Portraits
You will never be this young, vibrant and beautiful again… Not like this!
There is only one opportunity to photograph two newlyweds in love on their wedding day. Sure, you can book a newlywed mountain top session with me after your wedding day but it’s not your wedding day and you won’t remember that experience with the same nostalgic fondness that you’ll remember the images of the two of you: young, beautiful and sooo in love on your wedding day!) 🙂 Make some time for this. Especially if you have a super sick venue with some really amazing features/details/locations! You’ll never be sorry that you did!
#7. Ceremony Exit
#6. Kiss the Bride
#5. The Laughs…and the Tears.
A Wedding Day can be a real roller coaster ride of emotion from start to finish. It’s arguably the biggest, most meaningful day of your life. You’ve spent months planning and preparing for it and inevitably, there’s a lot of emotion wrapped up in this day. In my professional opinion, the importance of hiring a photographer who has the skill and ability to tell your story completely and authentically cannot be understated. Wedding Photography is not just about perfectly posed, pretty pictures where everyone is smiling and looking directly at the camera. Of course we all love those but there’s a real art to capturing beautifully authentic, real moments. You want a photographer who can to tell your whole story including the less than perfect moments, the messy moments, the moments when you think no one is watching — in a disarmingly beautiful way. Those moments are arguably more meaningful and powerful in visual storytelling.
He’s ugly crying, not laughing. <3
#4. The Crew
These are your people. They’ve probably watched, supported and cheered from the sidelines as your relationship has blossomed. They’ve been rooting for you, for this moment and for your happily ever after, for a long time. When you told them that you were Engaged and asked them to be part of your Wedding, they chose to give you their time, their money and likely their vacation time to walk beside you, again, during this special season & for the very best moment of your life, thus far! You want these photos to say something about them, about you, and about what their friendship means to you. Its about more than just a pretty picture. These are the images you’ll look back on with incredible fondness when you’re 70. These are the images that you’ll send to your dear friend with a handwritten note, to remind them of this incredible day and how much they still mean to you, long after the memories of this day have faded by a lifetime of living…
#3. The Littlest Ones
#2. The Details
You have spent months (if not a year or more) planning, preparing and obsessing over every tiny detail of this day including the invitations, wardrobe, shoes, jewelry, perfume, rings, floral, cake, desserts, presentation, decor, centerpieces and table design…These are the details that will flush out your wedding album and help to re-tell this story for you so that you can remember the details which will surely fade with time! I shoot details (because it’s fun) but also because I want you to remember how those flowers smelled, how that cake tasted, what your invitations looked like, those awesome shoes that you wore, the way the perfume you were wearing that night smelled, the season, what the temperature was like that day, the favors you sent home with your guests and the clever little details that made this day uniquely (you guys)! Photographing the details is how we do it. It may not seem all that important, but it is. I agree 1000% that you don’t need 100 detail shots but you definitely DO need a handful of really great ones! Make time for it, when you’re 60, you’ll be glad you did! 😉
#1. Intimate Moments with your Parents + Grandparents
Here’s the thing: you don’t know this… until you know this.
Our parents and if you’re lucky enough to still have grandparents living when you get married, these special people will not be around forever.
This. This is what’s truly important. This is what’s priceless and what you will hold onto and will treasure someday.
Sure, maybe you’ll like the picture of your mom helping you get dressed on your wedding day when I return your gallery but I am 1000% certain that in 30 years or so, you’ll treasure that image of your young, healthy, vibrant mama helping you get dressed for your wedding, looking at you adoringly, holding you lovingly, in only the way that your mama can.
I know this because I’ll never get that moment with my mama. After loosing both of my parents suddenly two years ago, I became intimately aware that our parents won’t be around forever and I have to accept the fact that I’ll never get these wedding day moments with my parents or grandparents. As an artist, I channel that pain into my art. Because of my life experience, I take extra care to be sure that I capture these moments for you. Because I know how much (I) would treasure them and I want to give that to you!
BONUS:
because ten sounded better than 12 but there’s actually a couple more really important moments! 😉
The First Look:
Some of you have been dreaming about this moment for your entire lives (or at least, for a very long time). The moment when your beloved sees you in your wedding attire for the first time. So much love in their eyes, maybe a few tears… It’s a big moment and one that you’ll definitely want to preserve for eternity! Regardless of whether choose a first look or meeting at the alter, I am certain that this image will help you to vividly remember the way that your partner looked at you on that very special day — forever.
A Bridal Moment:
Not only are these anticipatory images of you alone, waiting on your Wedding Day vital in helping to tell your wedding story, they’re also incredibly beautiful. Making time for a Bridal Moment is especially important if you’re not planning to shoot a Bridal Portrait Session ahead of your Wedding! You’ll want to be sure that you allow enough time pre-ceremony for your photographer to shoot these types of images for you!
