First let me say WELCOME to today’s topic ~ THE TOP 5 THINGS I RECOMMEND YOU DON’T DO AT YOUR WEDDING ( AND WHY ) ~ I promise it won’t be too lengthy because I’m pretty confident you have planning to do or are at work or binge watching for the 20th time The OFFICE haha. So I’ll keep these brief and too the point so that you can have some ammunition going into the best day of your life.

1. Hair / Makeup set up – Stay away from the orange lights HAHA! 80% of the time a hair or makeup artist will put you in a chair for prep right under those awful orange bulbs either directly above you or on a mirror. Stay away from these bulbs. When you check into your room clear a space near the open light and ask that your prep be done there. There is a huge advantage to this, first your makeup will look incredible because the artist doesn’t have to battle orange tints on your skin and second your pictures will look incredible because we don’t have to battle orange tints on your skin HAHA. It’s a win win. If you want beautifully lit and killer prep shots use this knowledge to your advantage. SIDE NOTE – Also schedule hair / makeup to arrive 30-40 minutes before they recommend…99% of the time they will run over time and this eats into the timeline which = less time for pictures. It’s good to have to this padding.
2. Take into consideration how long it takes to walk/drive and basically go anywhere – in the cases that I’m in charge of putting together a timeline this isn’t an issue ( because I pad good ) but whenever ( most of the time ) I get one from a bride or planner there just isn’t any padding at all. For example if your in a hotel and prep ends at 2pm don’t schedule first look for 2:05pm. The amount of time it takes to get to the bottom floor and set up eats too much time. Consider all of these little things and it adds to a 100% stress free day.
3. Ceremony order – Every so often I encounter this one and it’s just bad. When the wedding party walks down the aisle make sure you are spaced out enough to where your photographer can get a clean consistent shot. When the opposite happens you end up with a great shot of the first person(s) and then a bunch of off angle shots of everyone else. This happens ALL the time when a ceremony runs behind time, pad that timeline so the ceremony starts when it’s supposed too. Don’t rush, the day is flying by already so walk slow, space out and have a great time.
4.  When to serve vendor meals HAHA – I had to throw this one in there. Okay so pretty much every wedding the vendors will get to eat after the last guest is served, don’t do this, don’t let your planner do this, don’t let your venue do this. Here’s why ( and it has nothing to do with us being hangry either hahahaha ) it is pretty much the standard for toasts to start either mid-way through dinner service or immediately after. One of two things happens in this case. 1. We simply don’t get to eat because we have to document the speeches or 2. we get less than 5min to eat which leads to pretty much outcome 1 LOL. Feed the vendors early because we are not taking pictures or video at that time unless you specifically request pictures of people eating HA! It’s a huge downtime that we can use to recharge and plan out how to best rock the reception with you.
5. That Common First Dance Mistake – The first dance is awesome and one of the most intimate moments of the night so make the most of it. I’m not saying you have to have a choreographed routine or bust out in the salsa but don’t stand in one place. The more you move around on the dance floor the more fun you’ll have with each other and the better diversity of photos you’ll get. I set up so that no matter where you are I’m able to get some AMAZING reception shots….but if you stand in one place and don’t move around…you know what I’m saying. Enjoy this moment and embrace each other!

BONUS – FIRST KISS DURING THE CEREMONY –

I understand everyone is watching you….but they’re watching you to see that first kiss as well don’t be shy! HAHA! What I actually want to say is when that time comes for you to seal the deal and get that first kiss on make sure to kiss for more than .01 seconds. Give us at least 2-3 seconds and we can rock that shot.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. This is why I want you to be prepared and know THE TOP 5 THINGS I RECOMMEND YOU DON’T DO AT YOUR WEDDING.

 

 

While you’re here feel free to check out some of the other incredible weddings I’ve been a part of  as well as advice you’ll need when debating that First Look!

May + Mike | FCC Los Angeles Wedding

First Looks. Traditional VS Modern and why you should always choose the latter.

Leslie + Vlad | El Encanto Santa Barbara Wedding

Ryan + Trent | El Matador Malibu Engagement

 Emily + Joseph | Hacienda Heights Country Club Wedding

Gail + Brian | Figueroa Mountain Wedding

I want to tell YOUR story and be you’re BURBANK WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER! Chat with me today to see if your date is still available!