As you can probably tell if you’ve watched one of our wedding slideshows, MOST of our images are unposed, undirected moments — you know, the REAL stuff that happens on your wedding day.

Documenting these natural moments is what makes us tick, and for a long time we saw portraiture as the complete antithesis of documentary image-making.

Then a few years ago I read an incredibly inspiring statement on a portrait photographer’s website. He described portraits as a way of “documenting” a family, of providing record of their existence for future generations.

This very simple insight was powerful for both of us. For the first time, we saw the VERY important place that portraits could hold in our work as documentary wedding photographers. Portraits didn’t have to be cheesy or awkward; they just had to clearly capture the deep family connection that is so integral to the wedding day.

Joni and Chip with their parents and siblings. Pre-ceremony at the family farm. Family portrait time allowed: 1 hour.

Unfortunately, all too often the portraits are the last thing anyone wants to make time for, and they get shuffled into some hidden, dark, 15 minutes of “might-not-happen”.

We don’t want your important family portraits to get lost in the chaos of your wedding day, so here are a few guidelines:

-Remember what you’re there for! I think most couples will agree that their wedding celebration is about 2 things: 1) the wedding ceremony, and 2) celebrating with the people they love. Even portraits are part of that celebration! Don’t think of the portraits as a waste of time, but rather a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be photographed — happy and beautiful — with the people who helped mold you into the amazing person you are today!

Sarah and Derek with Sarah’s sister and parents. Post-ceremony at the church. Family portrait time allowed: 30 minutes.

-Create a portrait list. This list should include EVERY SINGLE portrait you want taken on your wedding day. Don’t leave anything out thinking, “I’ll remember to ask for that shot at the reception.” Chances are, if it’s not written down, you won’t remember it! 

Share the list with parents, etc., to make sure you haven’t left anyone out. It’s best to thoroughly finalize the list ahead of time so that there are no last-minute requests to throw off your timeline.

Try to narrow your list to only 10-15 family groupings. You may even want to have a “must have” list, and a “time leftover” list. We will take the “must have” photos first, then move on to the “time leftover” list if we are able to finish quickly.

Whitney and Kevin with extended family. Post-ceremony at the church. Family portrait time allowed: 30 minutes.

-Schedule all of your family portraits at one time. Whether you choose to have your portraits done before OR after your ceremony, it’s usually best to have ALL of the family portraits taken at one time. If your family members have to be a part of TWO separate portrait sessions, they may get a little antsy! It’s always better to do everything with the family at once.

Wedding party photographs can take place at another time if that works best in your timeline.

Natalie with her parents, sister, and her sister’s family. Pre-ceremony at the ceremony location. Family portrait time allowed: 1 hour.

-Allow enough time!!! This is, without fail, the BIGGEST obstacle in getting the family portraits you want. We recommend allowing 30 minutes to an hour for family portraits. It can take 5-10 minutes to gather the family for photos to begin, then another 3 to 5 minutes for us to photograph EACH portrait grouping. Groupings larger than 6 people take longer to arrange. Small groupings are easier to swap in and out and take less time.

Heather and Matt with Matt’s Mom, brother, and brother’s family. Post-ceremony on ceremony location grounds. Family portrait time allowed: 30 minutes.

-Location, location, location! It’s usually best to take portraits at a location that’s easy to access by all of your family members (regardless of age), and that doesn’t require too much movement from Point A to Point B. (Too much relocating is the cause of people being late!) Areas with stairs are wonderful for large groupings, and your ceremony location is ideal for pre- OR post-ceremony portraits, since everyone will be at that location anyway.

Last but not least…

-HAVE FUN! There is nothing more important than you ENJOYING your wedding day, so don’t let the details get you down! After all… YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED! And, at least for this one day, you’re kind of a big deal.

Cheers!

My friend Damon over at PhotoInduced is offering ONE lucky newsletter subscriber a chance to win a FREE BODA Bag! SWEET!

BODA Bags are the lens bags we use when we’re shooting, and we LOVE them!

We know a lot of you guys have your own great cameras and would probably love a sweet lens bag, so click **HERE for information on snagging one for yourself.

PhotoInduced is also a great resource for all of you photography-lovers, with TONS of product reviews, giveaways, photographer highlights, and gallery information. Be sure to check it out!

Photo by Tim Harman

Of course if you visit the site you’ll also get to see the nice shout-out Damon gave us, and a photo of me, looking VERY serious, modeling my own BODA.

ENJOY!

**Click HERE to see the slideshow!

We were VERY excited to be a part of Elli and Jason’s wedding day!  We photographed Jason’s sister Jennifer’s wedding back in 2006, and we photographed Elli’s co-worker Cayla’s wedding one year ago this weekend! (Happy anniversary, Cayla! We know you’re reading this!)

But beyond that, I’ve known Jason for YEARS, and it’s always so fulfilling to see our friends find love. YAY!

Elli and Jason created their very own rock-star wedding celebration, complete with a bold black-and-red theme, vintage cars, AWESOME music, and plenty of piercings and tattoos!

I started the morning with Elli at the salon where she works — only this time SHE was the client! Elli’s stylist KIM (thanks, Jen!) said she literally DREAMED Elli’s hairstyle, and convinced Elli that this was THE wedding day updo for her. I absolutely agree. Elli’s hair rocked.

Back at the house… This is Trigger.  Yes, he is wearing makeup.  It was a special occasion, okay?

Jason was waiting on the porch to see his lady all dressed up for the very first time…

Jason and Dan loaded this black leather settee into the car and took it into a nearby field for some pre-wedding portraits.  It was HOT HOT HOT, but it was totally worth it.

The white piano in their living room was too awesome.  And I LOVE that Kenzie decided to participate in this photo — even if she was determined to sit directly on Elli’s dress.

The guys drove from the tattoo shop to the church…

Hellooooooooooooo beautiful!

The ceremony…

Jason gave us the go-ahead to put a flash behind the minister, which created this cool “tail” of bluish light that just added to the theatrical effect of their ceremony.

First dance…

Cake-cutting…

Elli tosses her bouquet…

…and Daniel dives for the garter!  (Watch the slideshow for shots of the catch!)

Last but not least…

We really, truly are SO happy to have shared this day with you guys!  THANK YOU so much!  We can’t wait to get to work on your album!

What do you do when you leave an entire bridesmaid out of the wedding party picture?  Like, the whole girl.  Gone.  Not in photo.  Huh?

Okay, so I didn’t “leave her out.” I’m not actually sure WHAT I did with her. All I remember is the several minutes I spent nudging each guy and girl into his or her very exact spots… “A little to the left — no, not that much — 6 inches to your right. Good. Now you step back a foot. Now you step a little closer to her… a little closer… perfect. Now YOU…” and so on and so forth. Seriously. I swear I did that. And I could see every beautiful face just perfectly through my lens.

Then SOMEHOW between Nudging and Taking-the-Picture the bride’s SISTER disappeared. I would like to blame it on the wedding party and say that they all shifted from their assigned spots when I sneezed, but I’m actually pretty sure I did something DUMB and moved MYSELF into a place where Bri was… well… just no longer part of the picture.

Of course I didn’t KNOW she was no longer in the picture because I couldn’t SEE her.

FOR REAL FOLKS! THIS HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE!!!

And of course when I started editing and saw what had happened I thought I was going to DIE.

Instead…?

I called on my live-in Photoshop genius (aka, Dan) to “FIX IT!” (Imagine me crying and slapping my forehead repeatedly.)

I can tell this story now because A) Jason and Elli are our friends and I think they’ll love this story, and B) because Dan did, in fact, fix it.

A glowing Bri is now in the picture, blended seamlessly among the hotness of the other bridesmaids and groomsmen.

So this post is here to serve three purposes:

1.) To give a shout-out to my fantastic husband, without whose Photoshop skills I would be in very sad shape right now.

2.) To give Jason and Elli a laugh.

3.) To give the collective photography-team-of-us a pat on the back for having the combined skills to make a rockin’ picture. Even if it’s not quite what originally came out of the camera.

Cheers.

We were VERY excited when Lara from Bliss and Southern Weddings Magazine e-mailed to let us know that Laura and Matt’s wedding had been featured by the oh-so-fabulous Style Me Pretty!

The best part is getting to see Bliss’s original inspiration board, then the real-life version of that vision!

Thank you for submitting, Lara!

**Click HERE or on the Style Me Pretty logo below to check out the post.

Making your wedding celebration YOURS seems to be every couple’s goal. But, if you’re like Dan and I were, you’ve probably found yourselves getting sucked into the Giant Black Hole of Wedding Rules (cue Scary Organ Music).

If there was any one thing I would change about our wedding, it would be to have even more completely let go of ALL of our pre-conceived notions of what a wedding should be.

So when you’re planning and preparing, keep the just ONE rule at the forefront of your mind: THERE ARE NO RULES.

Yes, you can wear red.
Yes, you can feed your guests doughnuts instead of cake.
Yes, yes, yes, to anything and everything you can dream up to make your celebration uniquely YOU.

There’s no one way to get married. Just like there’s no one way to fall in love.

Ask yourselves this question: “Why are we having a wedding?” Then make a list of the reasons you are celebrating.

I’m pretty sure that list WON’T include things like, “To make grandma happy”, or “To save money on car insurance.” (At least, I hope not!)

Hopefully, you’ll be listing things like, “To publicly commit our love to one another,” and “To share our joy with our friends and family,” and “To get really awesome presents.” (Just kidding.)

We’re excited to see so many of our fabulous couples choosing to make their wedding day a total reflection of their own personalities and creativity! Keep it up, guys! You make our job wonderful.

Dan and I were peeking out the window when Mindy drove up, and we were so excited to see she had her dog with her!  Ellie is a GORGEOUS white German shepherd, who, I must say, was quite well behaved — especially for a 1-year-old pup!

Mindy’s mom was also along for the ride, as was her boyfriend David.  Everyone braved the heat and tramped around our little corner of Grant Park for a full 2 hours plus, and we really had a BLAST!

These shots aren’t in any sort of accurate order chronologically; this first one is just perhaps my absolute favorite from the day:

Mindy and David:

ELLIE!

Mindy and her mom look SO much alike!  Her mom has such a wonderful energy about her.  I can’t say enough about all the awesome moms I get to know!

The girls at Mindy’s school have to wear white for graduation, and this is Mindy’s graduation dress.  Isn’t she gorgeous in it?

Thanks, Mindy and co., for driving in town for photos!  It was a wonderful evening!

The weather gods TRULY smiled down on Stephanie and Scott on Saturday! While the rest of Georgia got pelted by scattered thunderstorms, Stephanie and Scott’s little corner of Auburn stayed cool and dry. We were so happy that their garden ceremony didn’t get rained out!

An overview of the ceremony by Dan (isn’t this place gorgeous?):

And Anne’s shot of the flower girl spinning on the dance floor:

More to come!