THIS is THAT email Recap!
Angela Miller
Before Your Wedding - Planning:
The Benefits of a First Look:
In a typical timeline, you both get ready separately and you have your ceremony. Then after the ceremony you look at me and say “Angela …you have an hour “ Sometimes in the hour, the sun is quickly setting and we need to take photos of you and the whole family, your spouse and theirs, the bridal party, AND portraits of the two of you. Yes. It can be done, but you’re hungry and want to spend time with your new spouse and all of this can create chaos in a short amount of time.
Instead, have your first look 2 hours prior to ceremony, right after your makeup is touched up, last pins pushed in your hair and you step in your dress. We set your spouse outside and have you tap them on the shoulder. They turn around and we capture their true emotion with as little amount of people watching as possible.
That’s when we take 30 mins to take photos of JUST the two of you. All the photos that go into your album, on your walls and forever in your family’s hearts are taken at that time. Once that 30 mins is up, we have your bridal party come down for photos. Photos of you and each bridesmaid, him and each groomsman, combinations of everyone – whatever you want we have time for it.
Once those are taken care of, we take 30 mins of family photos. This means your family that you KNOW you want photos with will come one hour prior ceremony. We run down the list without worry and we're able to fly through this!
30-45mins prior to your ceremony we hide you away (the earlier, the better for the guests who will arrive early). So After ceremony, you can have the option to GO to the cocktail hour and enjoy or decide to take more creative photos of you and your spouse while the sunsets.
Knowing When The Sun Will Set on Your Wedding Day:
Weddings during Daylight Savings or early sunset times (Oct.-March) , consider a First Look or early ceremony times to make sure there is enough sun light for portraits post-ceremony. You should have AT LEAST an hour of sunlight AFTER your ceremony ends.
Sunset Times for Seasons in Houston
These sunset times are referring to when the sun is no longer visible on the horizon. Meaning we will no longer have light.
January: 5:30pm
February: 6PM
March: 1st-13th: 6:30pm
14th-31st: 7:30pm
April: 7:30pm
May: 8pm
June: 8:15PM
July: 8:15PM
August: 8PM
September: 7:15PM
October: 6:30pm
November: 1-6th: 6:30pm
7th-30th: 5:30pm
December: 5:30pm
The Time Needed for Photos/Video during Portraits:
Make sure we have at least 30 minutes for bride and groom photos/video. When there is enough time to focus on couple’s portraits, we can get as creative and authentic as possible as opposed-to feeling rushed and not in the moment. The more time allocated, the better!
The Best Time to Schedule Your Exit:
Getting guests to gather their belongings and prepare for the exit outside of the venue is always a time consuming task that most may not realize. Many couples go over their coverage time by scheduling the exit as the coverage ends. To avoid going over your coverage time, schedule your private last dance and your exit 30 minutes BEFORE photo/video coverage ends. (i.e. Coverage ends at 10pm, schedule your exit at 9:30pm)
Consider When the Bride/bridesmaids Take Photos :
9 times out of 10, guests always arrive early. I can’t tell you how many times, we’ve been taking bride/bridesmaids photos and we’ve had to rush inside because guests began arriving. Consider having all of the pre-ceremony photos, that include the bride, completed at least 45 minutes prior to the ceremony to avoid early guest arrival.
Once your timeline is finalized, make sure to send it to us!
On Your Wedding Day:
Prior To Arrival
Have your details in a separate box so when we arrive, we can begin your detail photos right away.
Ceremony
Remember to not face each other and not the officiant so that your family, guests, and photography/video team can see your beautiful faces.
After the official kiss and you’re walking back down the aisle together, before you reach the end of the aisle, kiss or dip in the middle one last time. It’s a perfect photo/video moment!
Post-Ceremony
Have your family formals list completed and ready so we can maximize the portrait time we have and make sure that no one is missed.
Reception (The Best Time For Us To Eat)
The Best time for us to have our 30 minute uninterrupted break is when you (the couple) eats. If you’re having a buffet, it is always best for us to to get in front of the majority of the guests in line. This is to make sure that when you (the couple) are eating, most likely, there is downtime between the major events of the day and this is the perfect time for us to take our break so that when the events begin again, we will not miss a beat.
Videography Couples:
Lastly, for my couples with video (make sure you have some personal vows for your film, if not, a personal letter that can be said to your spouse and showcased in finished your wedding video.