10 Must-Have Shots on Your Wedding Day
Almost every aspect of your wedding planning is stressful, right? Well – your photo shot list is one of the things that your photographer will take care of! However, I still get asked all the time what some of my “must-have” shots are on a wedding day, and while they vary from wedding to wedding, here are 10 of my core must-have shots!
1. Bride getting zipped into her dress: It always varies who’s doing the zipping – sometimes it’s the maid of honor, sometimes it’s the bride’s mom or her sisters – no matter who it is, it’s a perfect & classic shot that you’ll treasure!
2. Parent portrait: This is one of those obvious portraits, but I really think that it’s so important to also celebrate and honor the people who gave the two of you life!! These are some of the most cherished photos of the entire day – to you AND your parents!!
3. Traditional wedding portrait: A traditional portrait is what is going to be passed down to your kids and grandkids, and it’s the one photo that will be guaranteed to be framed in your family’s homes. It will literally NEVER go out of style (like many poses do) and is one of those photos that you can line up next to your parents.
4. Bridal Portrait/Groom Portrait: While it’s obviously important to get shots of the two of you together, it’s equally as important to have solo shots of you as well! One of my favorite wedding photos from our wedding is a candid of JB before our first look!
5. Reading the Vows: This is one of the most emotional parts of your wedding ceremony, especially if you wrote your own vows. I remember being TOTALLY fine during our wedding ceremony until it came to reading my vows and couldn’t control my emotions anymore.
6. Grandparent Shots: For those of us who have a grandparent (or grandparents!) still around, you know just HOW lucky you are! Some of my most treasured photos are with my late grandparents, and I always celebrate when my couples still have them!
7. Little flower girls/ring bearers: Even when you have to wrangle a mad two-year-old flower girl into the photo, it’s totally worth it! Kids grow SO quickly and being able to have shots with them when they’re little is so sweet, especially once they become teenagers and maybe don’t remember your wedding. Plus, who doesn’t love a cute little bridal party member!?
8. Cocktail hour: Ok hear me out on this one – some of my FAVORITE shots from our wedding are from cocktail hour. Our friends and family are spread out on two coasts and to have photos of them all mingling and hanging out together is SUCH a cool thing! These are my favorite candids of the whole day.
9. Wide shot of ceremony: There’s nothing like looking at your gallery and seeing a shot of all of your guests watching your ceremony – especially if your wedding is outside! Showing a wide view of your ceremony site helps tell the story of your entire day. If I’m photographing a ceremony in a church, I always ask if I can get up into the choir loft to grab a huge shot with as much detail of the building as possible! One of my favorite shots from my parent’s church ceremony is from the choir loft showing all their guests and the details of the little old church.
10. Parent dances: This is the part of the day where a lot of parents show the most emotion, and it always makes for the photos that really pull at my heartstrings. Either they’re trying not to cry or they’re laughing, but the photos are always the most emotional.
Those are my top 10 most important photos of your wedding day – but I’m always wondering – do you have one that’s not on my list? Let me know!!
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