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Paige Hiller for Paige Hiller Photography gives great advice on formal photographs. Check out some of her work below or you can visit her website: Paige Hiller Photography
The dreaded formal photograph…
Formal photographs are traditionally thoses images that capture the bride and groom with immediate family and the wedding party. As a photographer, I like to start with the formal more traditional photograph and then see how far I can push the envelope and create some fun, out of the box images that are not what are traditionally expected from the formal photo session. Such as how high can the groom really jump, or the laughter between two best friends or look of joy on the nana’s face. There is so much you can do with a formal photograph. The sky’s the limit!
![[gallerybride-2.jpg]](http://www.weddingbeepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gallery05.jpg)
Joanne McDonough from Joya Beauty answers some very important and popular questions brides have when thinking about makeup applications on their wedding day. Q. Is there a difference in makeup for digital photographs?
A. Lights…camera…pixels! The expression “what you see is what you get” is more accurate than ever in the world of digital photography. As the years have passed, cameras, lighting and makeup products have all become more sophisticated. Photo quality and detail is so precise that your makeup must be clean, color correct, meticulously blended, and lightweight -yet still offer the coverage needed to make your skin look natural and feel great..
Q. How do weather conditions impact my makeup?
A. Rain, heat and humidity all affect how makeup not only lasts throughout your event, but also how it needs to be applied. Cream products such as eyeliners, eye shadows, blushes, lip pencils, and lipsticks all have melting points. They will crease, run and smudge before you can say “I do”. Choose powders for eyes and cheeks as well as the new long lasting formulas for eye liners and lip products to make sure you look as fresh at the end of your reception as you did for the pre-ceremony photos.
Q. How to convey your ideas about makeup looks to your makeup specialist.
A. Here are a glossary of terms to make sure your makeup specialist gets a clear picture of what you mean by natural, dramatic, smoky, etc., use photos - good and bad etc., search the Internet to find examples of what you like and don’t like.
Liesl Clark from Claris Photography gives some great advice on scheduling your wedding day formals.
One of the most important but sometimes least favorite parts of the wedding day are the “planned” photos - the “formals” as some may call it. This portion of the day, while essential, is often looked upon as a “grip and grin” section of the wedding that a bride and groom want to just “get through”. At the same time, most everyone will agree that without this part of the day, some very valuable photographs of family and friends would be overlooked and later one may have regrets that they weren’t captured.
This part of the day doesn’t have to be dreaded. With proper planning (ie. scouting of the locations, a thorough shot list provided by the bride and groom, and a detailed photography schedule) the photography needs of the couple and their families can be met without any headache, frustration or confusion.
Photographer Matthew Lomanno shares some insight and advice about how and when to schedule your wedding photographs. Here are some of his thoughts on the subject.
- Take time to think about your formals before the wedding day and include your parents in the discussion. And if you have grandparents, it’s always nice to include them in the process, as well.
- It’s helpful to get a list beforehand of what the bride and groom are looking for and who they’d like to include in their formal photos. I will then take the list and organize it the night before the wedding to get through things quicker on the day of.
- Large group photos can be done right after the ceremony before everyone makes their way to the reception. For example, ask the Officiant to make an announcement to have guests join the bride and groom in front of the church when the ceremony is over.
- I usually suggest taking pictures right after the ceremony before the cocktail hour or sometimes at the end of the cocktail hour right before dinner.
Megan Farley from Megan Dey Photography gives some great advice when booking a photographer!
- Don’t shop based on price. There’s a reason for the price difference, I promise. When looking at the photographer’s work, do you see relaxed, posed photos or stiff people? Do they look like they’re having fun?
- Take a look at the shadows. Are they harsh? If it was a bright day, are the person’s eyes dark? A true photographer knows how to avoid or correct these situations.
- Look at the quality of the album. Are they hard bound or soft bound? The nicer the book the more it’s going to cost, but with that, the more ooohhh and ahhhs you’re going to get when people see the finished product.
- Ask how long it will take to see your photos and receive your album. My clients see their photos when they return from their honeymoon. I also have an album design all done, so when they get back, their album is ready to view. I do allow for my clients to make changes; it just depends on how long they take to make those changes.
- Don’t forget about the details. You (the bride and groom) put a lot of thought and planning into the big day, so make sure your photographer will key in on all of the details. You shouldn’t have to tell them, but as you hunt around for the right photographer look at their work. Does it show some of the smaller stuff such as the DIY projects you spent time on? Or if you hired an event designer, you want to remember what it looked like as I’m sure you won’t have time to take it all in.
- And, make sure you connect with your photographer. This person is going to be with you for a long time on your wedding day and you want to make sure you get along; and for most of my clients, become friends. 
Also, check out some of Megan’s incredible photos!
Lara and Kate from Studio Nouveau share their advice on how to schedule your wedding day photography. Take a look at what they have to say!
Kate and I usually arrive to the bride one hour before she leaves for the ceremony. This gives us enough time to capture the details in the room, last hair and makeup touch-ups and bride putting on her dress and veil. Depending on the couple and time of year of the wedding determines when we do the formals and shots of the couple alone!
Option 1: If it’s summer in high gear and the sun is up until about 8 p.m. we usually do the formals immediately after the ceremony, usually the first 15 minutes of the cocktail hour, and then we use the last 45 minutes for the couple alone.
Meagan Gilpatrick from Maine Seasons Events gives some advice to brides about wedding planning!
Image by Sharyn Peavey Photography
Some current trends in weddings:
Lena Hartford from Hair That Moves talks about choosing the right hair style for the big day!
Above photo by Emilie Inc. Photography
When choosing a hair style for your wedding, some brides like to follow “wedding trends” from magazines and there are thousands of options to choose from so picking the right style for you can be daunting. Here are some pieces of advice when thinking about a hair style:
Classic vs. Trendy
-A classic style will look the best in photos when you look at yourself years down the road. If you are choosing a hair style that is trendy - great! But it also needs to compliment your dress and overall look and feel of the wedding -not overpower them. For instance, if you are having a formal ceremony, a formal updo with a long veil and several pieces of decor is appropriate. However, a formal style may not fit a beachside or outdoor ceremony. I would recommend a soft look to go with the natural background.
Consultations and Trial Runs
-The most important part of choosing a style comes at your consultation. This appointment includes talking about these details and asking a professional for their take on what may work for each situation. For instance, a style that is not secure to withstand the windy elements of a beachside ceremony may not be a good choice.
So many brides want to schedule their wedding day down to the minute. As a wedding planner, we always create a wedding day and week of itinerary for our clients. I thought it would be a good idea to help you figure out how to schedule your wedding day so you can relax and enjoy the big moment!
Probably the most traditional wedding day schedule, here’s the order that most brides follow:
Ushers/Groomsmen arrive at ceremony location to welcome guests
Guests arrive at ceremony site
Bridal Party arrives at ceremony site
Ceremony begins
Ceremony ends
Guests leave for cocktail hour
Cocktail hour begins
Bridal Party takes formal photos
Guests invited to dinner
Introductions
First Dance
Welcome speech
Best Man speech
Maid of Honor speech
Salads served
Entrees served
Entrees cleared
Cake cutting
Bride and groom thank you speech
Parent dances
Open dancing begins
Evening ends
Now let’s put an actual timeline together for you to see…. let’s say the ceremony starts at 4:00 pm and the location is the same as the reception:
We have worked with some very talented calligraphers over the past several years and have had the pleasure of meeting some fresh new faces recently as well. It made me think about how many clients actually know about calligraphy and how beautiful and effective it can be to incorporate its cost into your overall paper products budget. Today we will review where you can use a calligrapher and the costs involved. Yes, you don’t have to spend any money to have someone else write everything out for you but that can take hours and hours and your time is very valuable, so you might want to consider a calligrapher!
There are a few ways to calligraph using different nibs- yes that’s a technical term. Depending on the type of font, a calligrapher will use a different nib to create a thinner, more flourished font or a thicker, more chiseled font. Some fonts are so thin and delicate that an ink well can’t be used and a calligrapher will use an actual pen to create the lines of the font.
Here are some examples of calligraphy in a more chiseled font:
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Kate Parker, New Hampshire
Vendor: Wedding Planner
Website: Kate Parker Weddings
About Me: Kate Parker is the owner of Kate Parker Weddings, a wedding planning and floral and event design studio located on the Seacoast of NH. KPW specializes in simple and sophisticated weddings throughout New England and New York and also provides lighting services, paper products, custom out of town welcome baskets and music entertainment. Kate loves to work with as many details as possible- ribbon banding, monograms, favor tags etc to make each wedding unique and fabulous! She lives in Somersworth, NH with her husband Ryan, son Zachary, and chihuahua Lola. Although she doesn't have much free time, Kate loves to travel, read a good book, and entertain for close friends.
