session details, tips, and answers
wedding day
We all know there are countless details that go into each wedding day to make it unique. I've created this guide so that you have all of the information you need for a stress-free photography experience and so you know what to expect from me in the coming months.
In this section of the lounge you'll find my best tips – from planning FYI's to wedding day action items – that will help reduce your stress and elevate your wedding day photos.
Above all else, try to enjoy your wedding day and be as present as possible -- the more you can forget about the photos, the better the photos will be ;)
YOUR WEDDING DAY
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Gifts & OTher
dj/bands
cakes/desserts
catering/bar
Squiggle Rentals
Peak Event Services
Vermont Tent Company
BBJ La Tavola
Wild Fern Boutique
The Linen Shop VT
Vermont Vintage Rentals
rentals
Hillary Fay Studios
Jennifer Perelli
Vermont Bridal Beauty
Tiffany Martin
Heather Garrow Studios
Vermont Wedding Hair & Makeup
hair/makeup
Juharo Productions
Something Blue Creative
Lucent Wedding Films
Wood & Ether
Align Films
Fox & Sparrow Films
videographers
florals
paper/invites
Kate Dawson Events
Willow Hill Design Co
Randi Nonni Events
Jeannene Lillie Events
Wild Fern Boutique
Lindsey Leichthammer Events
Candice Grace Events
Ehmann Events
planners
a collection of vendors I've worked with and recommend
vendors
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for more referral ideas or other vendor categories, feel free to reach out via email
Note: These are just examples. Timelines vary based on many factors, including: size of wedding party, sunset time, dinner style, etc. I will help you customize this.
first look timeline example ⟶
traditional timeline example ⟶
My top tip for wedding day timelines? Plan for pockets of time to simply enjoy your day and be present. When there's more time for you both to simply be enjoy the day and have fun, there's more time for your photographer to capture those magic unscripted moments. If you've hired a planner for your event, I ultimately defer to their preferences and expertise -- these are just a few tips I've learned in my (almost decade-long) career of photographing weddings.
As soon as you are ready for me to draft your photography timeline, feel free to reach out via email with the following info: your ceremony start time, reception start time, & whether you are doing a first look. Once I receive this info, I'll draft up a custom wedding timeline for your day and reach out via email within a week or so to further discuss details.
As your wedding weekend approaches, I will reach out to schedule a Zoom call for the week prior so that we can walk through this timeline together one last time.
Whether you're wanting to do a first look or go the traditional route, I've drafted two sample timelines to guide your planning, below.
timeline
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BUDGET TIME TO DO NOTHING BUT ENJOY YOUR DAY
give your family a time that's 15 - minutes early
add 15-minute buffer times throughout THE DAY - THINGS TAKE LONGER THAN YOU THINK
first look or no first look?
pick your ceremony time 1st then plan around it
make the most of your timeline by considering these tips
timeline tips
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8: Hair and makeup begins
1: Photographer arrives: detail photos, then candids of getting ready
2:30: Partner #1 gets dressed; Partner #2 gets dressed
3:30: Portraits of Partner #1 and Attendants
3:30: Portraits of Partner #2 + Attendants
4:30: Photographers take ceremony and reception details
5:30: Ceremony
6: Ceremony ends and officiant announces family to stick around for photos
6–6:30: Family formals
6:30–6:45: Wedding party formals
6:45–7:15: Newlywed photos
7:30: Newlyweds introduced to reception
7:35: First dance
7:40: Toast(s)
7:45: Dinner served
8:30: Cake cutting
8:35: Parent Dances
8:45: Open dance floor
10: Send-off
the traditional timeline:
9: Hair and makeup begins
1: Photographer arrives: detail photos, finishing touches of getting ready
2:15: Wedding party gets dressed
2:30: Partner #1 gets dressed; Partner #2 gets dressed
3: First Look
3:15: Immediate Family portraits
3:45: Wedding party portraits
4:15: Photographers capture ceremony/reception details
5pm: Ceremony
5:30pm: Ceremony ends
5:30–6:30: Cocktail Hour
6:40: Newlyweds introduced to reception
6:45: First dance
7:45: Salads served, then toast(s)
8: Dinner
8:45: Cake cutting
8:50: Parent dances, then:
8:55: Open dance floor
10: Send-off
the first look timeline:
any sentimental items
BOUQUET + BOUTONNIÈRE
vows + letters
invites + programs + menus
jewelry + accessories
rings (with Partner 1 please)
veil
shoes (for both partners)
suit/tux with tie + pocket square
dress + dress hanger
example list of what to bring if you're hoping for a set of personal wedding detail photos
detail Photo checklist
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**Please have these gathered together in one place. When I arrive on your wedding day, I'll be photographing these details first. Each partner should have their own box of details ready to be photographed. Partner 2's details might look something like: tie/bowtie, cufflinks, pocket square, shoes, or another dress/jumpsuit, jewelry, etc.
Pro Tip: Ask your florist to save a few extra blooms/pieces of greenery for detail photos - these add an extra wow factor to these images.
The Location: For all of my tips and tricks on booking/preparing the ultimate getting ready space for great photographs, check out this blog post.
The Photos: Once I finish photographing detail photos, I'll start capturing a few candids of you and your friends relaxing and getting ready for the day! The second photographer, if there is one, will be doing the same for your partner.
I typically like to start taking these photos just as you're finishing up hair and makeup. Once we draft your custom timeline, feel free to send it to your hair/makeup artist to make sure that our ideal time for you to get dressed lines up with giving them enough time to finish their work. If we need to adjust, let me know and we can do so!
Pro Tip: Don't forget to wear something that's easy to take off once your hair/makeup is done!
Getting ready
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Pro Tip 4: Asking your officiant and any speakers during your ceremony to read off of paper adds a nice look to your final image gallery. Plus, once in a while the light from phones will cast a strange color on their faces.
Pro Tip 3: For a fun addition to the already joyful "just married" recessional images, ask friends and family to throw petals, rice, biodegradeable paper, etc. These make for some really fun photos of you as you walk down the aisle after the first kiss!
Pro Tip 1: Don't worry if the weather calls for clouds or overcast weather on your wedding day - believe it or not, overcast days produce beautiful lighting with no harsh shadows.
Pro Tip 2: Have an unplugged ceremony! Despite guests trying to be polite, more often or not they clog the aisle trying to get the perfect cell phone shot which hinders the images I'm able to capture for you. Or, if their cell phone flash goes off this can cause weird lighting in my final images. Ask your officiant to announce this, purchase a sign, or both! Most guests are used to this request.
For a longer explanation of indoor vs. outdoor ceremonies and my thoughts as a photographer, check out this section of a recent blog post.
Indoor Ceremonies: Indoor ceremonies are most common with religious ceremonies, or when a backup indoor location is needed due to bad weather. My advice here? As you plan an indoor ceremony or discuss backup ceremony options with your venue, choose the option that has the most windows, as they will let in as much light as possible. No choice here? Don't sweat it - I've photographed many indoor ceremonies!
Outdoor Ceremonies: When it comes to outdoor ceremonies, later tends to be better. Why? Well, the sun is highest and harshest at noon. If you’re getting married in an open field with zero shade, then it’s worth pushing your ceremony to at least the 2 or 3pm mark to avoid under-eye and under-nose shadows from the sun being directly above you.
If you are given a location choice for an outdoor ceremony, it's a safe bet to choose a shady area (they provide even lighting on your face, vs. shadows from the sun at a weird angle). This also prevents you two or your wedding party from having to squint in your ceremony images.
If you don't have control over the location, don't stress! I've photographed many full sun ceremonies, too.
Tip: If you're able to visit the venue during a similar time of year, pay attention to when the light softens in the ceremony location, or simply aim for a ceremony later than 2/3pm.
Ceremony Tips
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Partner #1 with Mom
Partner #1 with Dad
Couple with Partner #1's Parents
Above group + Partner #1's Siblings, Spouses, and Kids
Above group + Partner #1's Grandparents
Couple with both sets of Parents
Partner #2 with Mom
Partner #2 with Dad
Couple with Partner #2's Parents
Above group + Partner #2's Siblings, Spouses and Kids
Above group + Partner #2's Grandparents
sample family photo list:
Although they can be a bit tricky to coordinate and often not anyone's favorite part of the day, family photos are so, so important. Depending on whether or not you do a first look, family and wedding party photos will either happen immediately following your first look, or immediately following your ceremony. Note: On the custom timeline I draft for you, there will be a spot to list family photo combinations to ensure we get all of the ones you're hoping for.
I encourage you to assign a family member, friend, or bridesmaid to be in charge during this time and help me make sure each person is present for portraits.
family photos
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Following family photos, I will then be taking wedding party photos and couple portraits of the two of you! Family, wedding party and you two combined - these portraits take about 60 minutes or so to complete.
WEdding party
Reception Locations: For thoughts on how various receptions locations will photograph can be found in my Ultimate Guide to Your Vermont Wedding - click here to read the relevant section.
During your cocktail hour, I'll be sneaking away for 15-20 minutes to photograph your wedding reception details! This is when I'm able to capture your seating chart, table numbers, reception decor, cake, and other personalized touches while it's still light out. In winter months I bring supplemental lighting for these photos and your reception.
Reception Lighting: My #1 tip for adding magic to your reception images is: add twinkly Italian style string lights around the space. Most reception locations have dark corners that aren't well lit. Adding these lights both fills those darker "holes" with light and create some really beautiful blurry magic to the background of your images. See the largest image to the left, as an example (or above, on mobile).
Pro Tip: Ask the venue to feed your photographers and other vendors while you are eating. Guests hate having their photo taken while chewing, so I prefer to eat while you two do! That way I'm ready to take photos when you've finished eating.
Receptions
09.
Known as "golden hour", the hour leading up to sunset is known as the magic time of day for photography. As the sun hits the horizon, the intensity of light softens to create that beautiful glow that you see in so many wedding portraits and Pinterest searches.
"Blue hour" includes those few moments after the sun has dipped below the horizon leaving us with soft, even lighting that has beautiful tones. A few examples of this are on the right of this section (or bottom on mobile).
I will build time into your custom timeline to hopefully get a little of both lighting scenarios, but please know that these portraits are worth stepping away from the party. Ideally, I would love to have you both for 30 minutes for these, but I'll take what I can get. At most weddings, we get about 15 minutes together - and with 2 photographers, we can capture quite a variety in that amount of time!
Note: Overcast days don't have a "golden hour" - those images tend to photograph more like blue hour with soft, evenly lit tones. It's beautiful, too!
Pro Tip: If you want extra portraits in beautiful light and epic locations in your wedding attire, consider hiring me for a separate wedding portrait session. for these, we spend an hour together on a day other than your wedding day. Not necessary, but a fun excuse to get dressed up in a more relaxed setting!
10.
Golden Hour &
Blue Hour Portraits
“What if there is bad weather on my wedding day?” Don't worry just yet!
1) Vermont forecasts are wrong often. Don't trust it until the morning of (and even then, the forecast can still be wrong).
2) In my opinion? Stay outside as much as you can. Light rain still looks beautiful in photographs! A lot of rain? This is ultimately your decision but just know that outdoor lighting always trumps indoor lighting, so if you don't mind a slight drizzle for your ceremony, then I say stay outside for the sake of your photos.
3) I always have a handful of clear umbrellas with me!
4) Click here to read all of my rainy day wedding tips.
Ultimately, rainy day weddings require a little more creativity and timeline flexibility but there's no reason to worry - they can be just as emotive and beautiful!
RainY Days
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& Snowy days
Just this past March I flew home from an Aruba destination wedding to photograph a Stowe, Vermont wedding IN A SNOWSTORM. Yes, an actual snowstorm. And it wasn't my first. Snow happens here in Vermont, and sometimes a LOT of snow happens.
1) Similar to rainy days, clear umbrellas come in handy keeping your hair/makeup fresh as you move around outdoors for portraits.
2) Hand warmers are always a good idea. I often have extras with me!
3) Take breaks. If you are freezing, say so - we'll warm up for a few minutes. Better safe than frozen!
4) Similar to my advice on rain during wedding ceremonies, outdoors is even more magical in a snowstorm. If you can handle the cold temps, staying outside is worth it.
When it comes to wedding planning, the process and pressure to do things a certain way can be overwhelming. This is a friendly reminder that your wedding day is about you two as a couple and celebrating your relationship.
Not a huge fan of cake? Then don't cut one! Uninterested in other standard traditions? Make your own. Weddings are a large investment, and this is my way of encouraging you to celebrate however you want.
Lastly, I'm here if you need me. Please feel free to reach out at any time during the planning process, whether it's for timeline questions or moral support.
lastly, you do you
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If you have made it this far, thank you for reading! For more tips and tricks, make sure to browse my Ultimate Guide to Your Vermont Wedding - link here.
For an 8 hour wedding day, you'll receive somewhere around 800 images (often more than this). I'm a bit indecisive which means you get all of the good ones, plus a few extras. Your final gallery will be delivered 8-12 weeks after your wedding day.
06. how many images will be in our wedding gallery?
If you're hoping to get your wedding published, let me know. We can work together and/or with your planner to ensure we're making enough time to capture the details that are especially important to certain publications.
05. how do I get my wedding published?
Good question! Usually it's another Vermont wedding photographer! Just know that I wouldn't bring someone with me that I didn't trust to photograph your wedding in the case of an emergency. When we start building your custom timeline, their contact info will be on there as well.
04. who will our second photographer be?
Don't stress! I will remove it for you. I will touch up your portraits but keep them as natural looking as possible. However, if you need heavy retouching there will be an additional charge per image. Reach out with retouching requests after your gallery is delivered and we can go from there.
03. what if i have a blemish on the day of my wedding?
Oh gosh yes, absolutely. Read this section of my ultimate guide, and this blog post for ways to make this as easy as possible for both you and your pet.
02. can i bring my dog to the wedding?
If I haven't, don't sweat it! So much of where we take photos depends on weather, not your venue specifically. If I feel the need to visit ahead of time, I will or you're welcome to add a site visit with me to your wedding package - inquire for details.
01. have you photographed at my venue before?
Have a question? I've got an answer! And if you don't see your question here, please reach out via email: info@jennabrisson.com.
FAQs
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