Wedding Day Family Formals
For most of your wedding day photos, you’re going to be strictly thinking about those cute, candid photos with your partner, right? Well, have you thought about your family photos? These pictures are just as important in showcasing your special day. So during your wedding timeline, be sure to include time for family formal pictures. With all this in mind, here are some things to keep in mind to help you plan for family formals and a photo list!
LOCATION
When picking the locations for all your photos, be sure to think about where the sun is going to shine the best for sunset or midday pictures. You don’t want to choose a spot where shadows are cast over everyone’s face and it looks super gloomy. It’s a good idea to brainstorm ahead of time where you would like all the family formals to take place. Try going for something more simple, with a plain background, to not distract from the family itself.
INFORM YOUR PEOPLES
To keep your timeline flowing correctly, you need to make sure everyone who is involved in family formals knows when/where they need to be to be there on time. Consider asking your officiant to announce after the processional that anyone who has been asked to stay for photos to please stay seated.
GIVE ME NAMES!
Obviously any seasoned photographer is going to ask that you create a list. But I take it a step further and always remind couples that when you are creating this list to use everyones first names. That way instead of calling for “grooms mom” “brides dad” etc. etc., their names can be called instead. You should also give that same list to a member of the bridal party or wedding guest who knows everyone and could track them down if need be.
TIMING
Like I said previously, family formals need to be included in your timeline to give yourself some time while the sun is still out. Be sure that you are giving yourself enough time to get through everyone along with some buffer time in case you can’t find Grandpa when he’s needed. Family formals in general can take up to 30 minutes.
REDUCE REDUNDANCY
When creating your list for family formals, pay attention to dupes!! You are not going want to do a: 1. Bride (B), Groom (G) groom mom, groom dad, groom siblings, and then 2. Groom (G) groom mom, groom dad, groom sibling. It is your wedding day!! It's about the two of you becoming one family!! Doing these types of dupes over and over only takes away time from couple photos, alone time, and time with guests.
BONUS TIP
Try to keep your family formals list to a minimum and the bare necessities of photos for the time being. If time allows for other photos, your photographer will let you know and you can get some of those bonus shots.
WHERE TO PLAN AND HOW TO SHARE
If you are already one of my couples, you know that I’m a little bit of an organization freak when it comes to your big day! To help you create a killer list that will be easy to follow and quick for us to check off as we complete them, I’ve created a list building spreadsheet. Trust me! It would even impress Monica Geller-Bing herself! Using this spreadsheet you will be able to quickly build as many groupings as needed. It will also keep count of how many groupings we have to complete. You can snag your free copy of this list builder below.
