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Last week I was on the phone with a mother of the bride talking about why brides no longer do photos of entire tables. The funny thing is that I’ve never been to a wedding in my life where this was done, but back in our moms’ day, this was certainly the norm.
With couples opting for more photo-documentary style photography, how do we remember exactly who was at our wedding say 5, 10 or even 30 years down the line? Originally, these photos existed for that purpose, even long after the last thank you note was written, you could look through your wedding album and see every table grouped en mass in a single photo.
The conversation kind of got me thinking about modern ways to capture everyone at your big day. Here’s a few ideas that will solve this trick!
The large group shot of everyone at the reception. Many photographers I’ve worked with are not huge fans of doing this. It’s extremely difficult to get large groups of people looking good and able to fit into the camera lens. It’s a great idea for smaller groups - having a destination wedding, this might be a great option for you.
Photobooths are always such a fun way to capture funny moments! Just be sure you have a way to keep a copy for yourself - setup a scanner on-site or ask the photobooth company about digital captures.
Offer a set of polaroid cameras with instructions for guests to snap themselves as they enter. Provide a blank scrapbook with photo corners for them to insert their photo, name and message to you.
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I love the idea of polaroid. I like group shot pictures too but unless you have only 20 people in your wedding, it’s very hard to see who is who.
The polaroid idea is neat, if everyone cooporates. My parents had table shots, the photography teacher at my dad’s school did it. This was 1971.
We had our photographer do table shots - and even put the pictures in the shutterfly album we made. I’m so glad we did it. We had a photo booth too, but not everyone took pictures in it, so I’m glad we had both. At 140 guests, it was just too many people to get everyone in a giant group shot and still recognize people.
We were going to do the Polaroid route for our wedding (my brother and friend had both done it and it was awesome!). However, Polaroid has stopped making their instant film and cameras, so trying to search for the items were both tiresome and expensive! In the end, we settled on a regular guest book (which we didn’t even use!) In leui of the polaroid, there are instant printers that are so small they can fit in your purse. Have a designated camera person, and as soon as the picture is taken, you can print it out and put it in the guest book. It’s really the modern day polaroid.
I love the idea of a photo booth or a large group shot. Our photographer actually captured a shot of almost the entire room at our reception during a toast. The photo has everyone but the head table, raising their glass in a really wide shot. It’s a really cool photo to have, as it shows pretty much everyone who is important to us, toasting to our marriage. 
I also really like the large group shot! My wedding was small enough that we did get shots of everyone, and that was really important to me. Great tips!
I think the only way to make sure you get pictures of everyone is to do table shots. You won’t be able to count on your guests to do it for you, and like other bees have said, if you have a large wedding one group shot just won’t do it. But then again, I know I can’t always count on my friends to be at their table… bathroom, other tables, bar if it’s open…
Oddly enough, we actually did have some old school table shots done at our wedding. I really never thought about it, but our photographer went ahead and did it anyway. Even though it’s not as stylish, it’s really kinda nice to look through our photos and see ALL of the smiling faces of those who attended our special day.
To my surprise our photographer did do group table shots- while I wish we were in them- it makes me happy to know that we have a picture of everyone.
Oh, and we did do the BIG group shot- I love it so much. It’s awesome, but then again our group was only 60.
We asked everyone to pose for a photo just after signing the guest book. In our case they were poloroids that we attached to the guest book next to where they signed. But you could print digital photos later and do the same thing. We were not at the reception yet to see how well this went over with our guests, but we have photos of everyone!
And I have attended weddings where they grouped everyone together for a shot and the photographer was bossing everyone around and it took nearly 1/2 an hour.
I think group table shots would be awesome if everyone is seated at the time the photographer gets there.
Oh, I didn’t know the table-photo used to be a trend! We’re actually planning on doing just that as I’m not a fan of the giant group photo.
I had table shots done at my wedding but they were more candid, not posed. There were also many shots of the guests mingling both inside and outside. I think a good mixture of both is the way to go. We also did disposable cameras and some of our best pictures came from our guests. There were really funny shots taken by them and between all of the cameras, we got a lot of great shots.
I’m a Catering Manager at a Hotel in Orlando and I have a lot of photographers who do the table shots, I’m really surprised you’ve never seen it before. Most of my couples walk around to chat with each of their tables and one of the photographers will get a photo with them at each table. Maybe it’s a Florida thing but I’d say 7 out of 10 weddings have the table shots.
Huh, I never knew table shots were “old fashioned,” almost every wedding I’ve been to, including our own, had done this.
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Kimberly Canale, Brooklyn, NY
Vendor: Event Designer
Website: Inspired Goodness
About Me: From the moment the engagement ring was slipped onto my finger, I've been in love with all-things-wedding. I still get teary eyed reading proposal stories in magazines and love sneaking a peek at a bride and groom glancing at one another for the first time, as the ceremony is about to begin. With each of my clients, I get to know their personality, family background and hear the story of how they met and fell in love. Each piece becomes another element from which I use to build the overall vision for their wedding day.
As the Creative Director at Inspired Goodness, my job is to create the various details that makes each of our weddings come to life. My work incorporates classic elements; engraving, hand calligraphy and vintage typography. Using a mix of found objects and flea market pieces lends a rich history to my work and challenges me to find creative ways to use mass-produced elements, each with a chic and timeless result.
With every new client, I get to explore avenues I've yet to pass and love knowing that the next adventure is just around the corner!
I’d love to get a group shot of our guests — our venue has a wraparound balcony that would make this soooo easy if all the guests stand on the dance floor!