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7 wedding day photo mistakes to avoid

Are you nervous about capturing all those perfect moments? Don’t be! Here are the top seven things to keep in mind for a flawless wedding day!

Don’t leave family photos to chance

Photos are a big one for us as your planners. We always request a family photo list. This gives us and your photographer a list to go through and capture all those important family shots. It also gives you the opportunity to choose how many family photos you want to take. You don’t want to forget some important family members in your life as we can’t capture the photo after the wedding. Like Suzanne and Dan, have some fun with it! 

Photo credit: Wildhearts Collective

Plan for travelling or being stuck in traffic to get to a location 

Typically, photographers are booked for a certain amount of hours so don’t waste that time with travel. Choose places close to your venue or somewhere you can walk to easily. If a location is really important to you but far away from your wedding venue, choose this for your engagement photos as it’s easier to be flexible moving 2 people, vs your entire wedding party. Claire and Graeme decided to walk to a forest just minutes away from their Granville Island venue. 

Photo credit: Aiota Photography 

Don’t forget to give yourself a break

Don’t forget, if you feel tired and stressed, this shows in your photos. Give yourself some time before or between photos and celebrations to relax, go to the bathroom, freshen up, or just be with each other. The day goes by so fast so it’s best to give yourself small breaks or buffers when possible. 

Photo credit: Meghan Hemstra Photography

Don’t forget to bring food and water

There is nothing worse than a ‘hangry’ person. Wedding days are stressful, and it is very common for you not to eat. But at one point, it will come out of nowhere and hunger strikes. Pack snacks that don’t make a mess like almonds or veggies. Don’t forget to drink water as that champagne can make you feel lightheaded much faster than usual! Why not have a little fun like Sam & Tom did for their guests!

Photo credit: Aminda Villa Photography

Plan around the sun

Did you know you can Google your sunset? Always check to see when that sun goes down. Depending on your venue and flow of events, you will need that daylight for those perfect photos! Or in Sarah & Robb’s case, just a hint of sunlight made such a stunning photo!

 Photo credit: Aiota Photography 

Make sure you allow enough time for portraits 

This is one we cannot stress enough. At the end of the day, the portraits of your wedding day are the photos that are sent to family members and mounted on the wall of your house. You don’t want to lose all your energy in other photos before you have a chance to do your portraits. We suggest for you as a couple to step away from the celebration and wedding party, and go with your photographer alone. This gives you a chance to relax,  be with one another and really capture some beautiful moments together. We suggest planning sunset or dusk photos. This happens often just after dinner, before the dancing starts. This is when you’ve had some food, you are relaxed and the sun is giving off the most beautiful romantic light. If sunset doesn’t work (maybe it’s winter), your venue will have some beautiful indoor spaces to capture those moments. Hue & Tyson got married in January so Christmas lights were still up in front of Terminal City club, which provided this beauty of a shot despite it’s dark at 4 pm. 

Photo credit: Kaoverii Silva 

Try not to give your photographer too much direction 

You hired your photographer for a reason. Give them some guidelines but allow them to capture your day in their style. If you have a specific photo in mind, let them know. But often times, those candid photos or the ones you didn’t think of, are the ones that truly surprise you. This moment was simply captured, it was not rushed, rehearsed or forced. Pure joy between Helen & Justin. 

Photo Credit: Aileen Choi Photo

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