from wedding photographers.

You might be stressed about perfecting details or making everyone happy on your wedding day. Fortunately, these photographers have cumulatively shot thousands of weddings, so they've seen a thing or two, and have learned a lot. Take a deep breath... and let these wedding genies guide you.

It's probably the first time you're planning a wedding.

Dial it down to what's meaningful.

01

Hannah Shea

It’s so important to find those little special moments or special things that you guys share together to really reflect the both of you on your wedding day, instead of feeling like you have to fit this agenda of having picture-perfect table settings or whatever you’re seeing on social media.

Your photos will turn out better if you’re comfortable with your photographer.

02

by hannah shea photo

Take your time really trying to find someone whose work really speaks to you emotionally, that you connect really deeply with, and on top of that, making sure that in your initial emails or FaceTime with this photographer, that you really see that they care about you as a human being, that you connect on a deeper level, that you get along as friends first and not just as a client relationship.

Get creative on your wedding day.

03

Let’s say you have a budget issue or covid-19 is trying to ruin everything. Don’t let that get you down or stop you. If you wanted to have over 100 people at your wedding, and now you can’t, why don’t you have those people send you a video of congratulations or marriage advice for you guys to watch the night of your wedding to have them be included? Or if you wanted to spend more than a couple hours with your guests after your ceremony, why don’t you have the ceremony in the morning instead of at 3pm? You can still have your dream wedding, no one is stopping you, all you have to do is have an open mind and get creative!

get creative

Create space for more community connections.

Catalina Jean

Consider having a family style meal with farm table seating instead of round tables. This creates more opportunity for your guests to meet other guests as they will be surrounded by a greater number of people. Even just the act of passing a plate of yummy food to each other can be an ice breaker. Also, maybe have a second thought about having a private “sweetheart” table. Instead, think about potentially reserving a seat for you both with your guests right in the middle of your community. If you would like some private time, a sweetheart may be a good fit. But if you want to maximize the time with your guests, join them for dinner as well! Lastly, if you are doing most of the photos right after the ceremony, consider having a 90 minute cocktail hour. This way you can join the last half hour and tackle hug your family and friends before everyone is seated at tables for dinner.

By Catalina Jean

Take it slow and have fun on your wedding day. So many people want to rush through things because they only want to book so many hours at the venue or with a photographer, and they end up rushing through the day just to get it done. Then you don’t actually get to enjoy it! I highly recommend planning 15 minutes before & after your ceremony to just be alone with your partner, or alone with yourself if you don’t plan on seeing each other before the ceremony. These 30 minutes give you time to take it slow. If you’ve seen The Office, Pam says that they should take mental pictures; I think that’s a sweet way to say “stop and smell the roses” on your wedding day! So take it slow, have fun, and congratulations!

Zoë Burchard

by zoe burchard

SCOTTIEBE Photo

Don’t over-schedule your timeline! Give yourself a little bit of wiggle room in between each portion of your day so that way you aren’t feeling rushed or overwhelmed with the day. I can tell you right now, nothing is going to go 100% as planned.

by Amanda (scottiebe photo)

Don't forget about

timE

Choose things that are meaningful to you. All the little details you get to incorporate in your day - where you get married, what you wear, who you invite, what you eat, what you spend time doing that day - when they are chosen carefully and intentionally, they far outweigh everything else. Say you choose to get married in the backyard of your parents house, a place that shaped so much of who you are today - it won’t matter if the weather isn’t perfect or if the ceremony is 30 mins late - because your right where you are meant to be and everything that happens is just another part of the story of your day. And don’t forget about time - it’s the one thing that most people feel like they don’t have enough of on their wedding day but I think that’s because they never thought about how they wanted to spend their time that day.

Most people spend all their time getting ready when all they really want to be doing is hanging out with all their family and friends who are surrounding them - think about that. Make time for yourself, make time for your partner, make time to just be relaxed. Don’t forget about time.

By Anni Graham

02

01

Kaley from Kansas

Embrace these micro-weddings.

Stay true to yourselves.

If you do not know the last name of a guest or you’ve never had a conversation with them in person, I would suggest them not being at your wedding. This is just me being super honest; I feel like your wedding should involve people that support you and lift you up and that you know very, very well, especially in the times that we’re in.

& give yourself grace; it’s been a weird year. Just try to find joy. When you’re planning, make sure you’re taking breaks and going on dates and doing things that are fun. There’s so much to book, and there’s so much to know, and it’s your first time. So just give yourself grace. When you are booking vendors, especially photographers, make sure that you see yourselves in their work, that you’re connecting with them visually and emotionally and you DO set up a call with them because you’re spending a lot of time with them. You need to make sure that you guys vibe well.

by Kaley from Kansas

Speak with your photographer beforehand and make sure they get a list of all the family members that you want a photo with and also the combinations. If you want a picture with you and your grandma and your mom, make sure you make a list of that so that the day of, when it’s super hectic, the photographer can just check them off as they get those photos.

Olivia Applegate

By Olivia Applegate

Free the Bird Photography

Think about time. Don’t try to squeeze everything in too close together and you’ve got no time to breathe and stop and have a drink and talk to your friends and things like that. There’s nothing worse than being stressed on your wedding day and you need to hit deadlines. Allow a little more breathing time. If you need to drive somewhere, allow a little bit more time. If you get there with your photographer, allow a tiny bit more time, speeches, allow a little bit more time.

Dawn Charles

Give yourselves grace and permission to have the wedding that feels right for YOU.

It’s been a crazy season and you deserve a medal for planning a wedding in the midst of it! Go with your gut, break traditions, and focus on relationships over the superficial stuff. Invite the people you care about most, hire vendors you have a genuine connection with, and remember that the relationship you’re turning into a marriage is the most important part of it all!

By Dawn Charles

Your wedding day should be all about you and what makes you happy, no matter what that looks like.

Cara Mia

There are no rules! My top advice for all my couples is to plan your day around what you really love and what's true to you.

For example: One of my couples is spending their wedding morning surfing together because they fell in love surfing on the Peruvian coast. I have one bride who loves costumes and dressing up, and she has four wedding dresses because she couldn't pick just one. Hate cake but love sushi? Go out for sushi instead. Or maybe you want to skip the fancy reception and eat your favorite burgers in your car to celebrate. Many of my couples love adventure and travel and choose to start their lives together in a new place they've never experienced before—and each time is different and memorable.

Just because it's traditional doesn't mean it's true to you. Your day will be so much more meaningful when it's spent doing what you already love. As a photographer this makes my job so much more effortless, and I can promise you'll be so much happier. Instead of worrying about a big production or strict timeline or wondering how you look or how to pose or what to do next, you'll already be doing what you love. Then there's no posing at all—just you being you. And in my opinion that's what makes the best photos.

by cara mia

Remember WHY you’re getting married.

Emily Magers

The most simple (and meaningful) yet also the most pushed aside thing on a wedding day in my opinion! Absolutely everything could go wrong and you and your love will still walk away MARRIED. Your story matters and your why does too! Don’t forget that if the cake falls, the flowers didn’t turn out the way you wanted, it rained, the bartender forgot to show up, etc, you still married the love of your life and that trumps everything. So many things are out of our control so with this in mind, TRUST YOUR VENDORS!! You don’t have to worry about a thing on your wedding day except for enjoying yourself and soaking it all in. The people you hired are professionals and will take care of the rest, trust them and instead of worrying, spend your time making out with your boo and dancing the night away!

By emily magers

01

Why not have a wedding weekend instead of just one day?

Emily Woodruff

Your wedding day is going to FLY by, and chances are some people have traveled to be with you. It's so easy to get to the end of the night and wish you'd had a little more one-on-one time with everyone, so why not plan a group activity on the day before like hiking or rafting or wine tasting?

02

Do a first dance with your mom, too.

There are no rules; it's your day! My mom was such an enormous help (understatement) in planning my wedding. I sometimes wish I had done a choreographed dance with her and switched halfway through the song to dance with my dad!

By emily Woodruff

make the day about you

because it is. Make time for the things that you'll look back on when you've been together for 50 years and smile. If one of your favorite memories together is grabbing tacos at that random food truck in Portland after hiking on a rainy day, have that food truck at your wedding. Or stop by after the ceremony.

There's a reason so many of the tips mentioned are very similar! Try not to stress about the perfect eyeshadow or that things are running late or anything else that pulls your focus away from what the day is about: your love story.

by Emily Woodruff