5 wedding day tips for the bride and groom
Published by Brisbane Wedding Photographer Ben Clark
I’ve jotted down a few Wedding day tips for the bride & groom to help you ROCK your wedding day !
Tip No 1 – Flowers
Your flowers don’t need to be the size of Texas to be beautiful!
Bigger isn’t always better.
Think of your flowers as you would a puppy, a puppy that you’ll be carrying around all day!
Your puppy will need to be carried from when you leave the house/apartment to go to your ceremony right through until you’re sitting down at your reception.
This will most likely be about 4 hours, sometimes longer!
So would you like to carry around a Labrador that’s cumbersome and makes your arms ache after an hour or two or would you rather a nice little Maltese cross that is nice and light and fits
perfectly into your hands and won’t make you feel like you’ve just been training in the gym all day.
Probably the most spoken phrase I hear at weddings is ‘Ugh do I need to bring the flowers’ …
No surprises here but it’s usually the Bride with the larger than necessary bouquet that is saying this …
So just remember that whatever you choose you’ll be needing to carry for a good chunk of the day. (Or your bridesmaids will)
I’ve listed some of my favourite florists here
Tip No 2 – The boys Buttonholes
The boys’ buttonhole (Lapel Flower).
It was once common practice that the Groom would wear his buttonhole flower through the actual buttonhole on his jacket.
These days buttonholes are made in a way to show off the whole buttonhole assembly and they’re usually too thick to poke through there anyway. I’ve lost count as to how many buttonholes I’ve pinned to Grooms, Grooms Men, Dad’s, Grand Dads, even Mums.
So if you’re not sure about how to do it, leave it to me.
If you’re wondering where these little guys go I’ll tell you, on the lapel (left side) and right about where your heart would be.
Not only do I spend a lot of time pinning on buttonholes I also spend a fair bit of time repining misplaced buttonholes. When they’re pinned wrong it detracts from the Groom’s overall appearance. The simple buttonhole, who knew they could be so critical to your photos.
*As a side note, and one of my pet hates, if the boys’ aren’t wearing jackets then don’t get them buttonholes at all, a buttonhole pinned to a shirt or vest without a jacket isn’t always a good look.
The flowers tend to hang off the shirt and cause discomfort and your groom won’t look his best!
Tip No 3 – Allow enough time
The Rolling Stones once sang “Time is on my side, yes it is” Well I’m here to tell you that on your wedding day you’ll swear that you’ve been abducted by aliens and are missing at least four hours !
Where did the time go? Just an hour ago we were sipping champagne dressed in our robes without a care in the world and now OMG it’s time to walk down the aisle already!
I could tell many stories of ‘lost time’ from the grooms prep, brides prep all the way through until the dancing kicks off.
There are just so many parts to your wedding day where time can run away from you.
My tip here is this, be well prepared and allow more time than you need.. I know that sounds really simple doesn’t it?
Girls, get together over a few champagnes and have that dress rehearsal, I know they probably did one in the boutique where you got your dress but trust me when I say THIS ISN’T HOW IT WILL GO DOWN IN REAL LIFE !
Of course there are exceptions to every rule and if your dress is a slimline zip up little number then this won’t apply to you.
If you have a lace up dress then you’re looking at easily 20-30 minutes to get into that dress and be laced up and looking fabulous!
The boys, oh the boys ……
My tip here for the lads is don’t leave it until the day of your wedding to try on your suits, this has resulted in many a quick trip to the menswear shop to get shirts that fit, shoes, belts, you name it I’ve seen it purchased on the wedding day.
*In the weeks before your wedding we’ll catch up and go over your whole timeline so you’ll be sorted !
If you’ve hired suits double check those buttons, quite often you’ll find one literally hanging by a thread! Guys it doesn’t have to be this way, really.
Another great tip for your day is to allow time after your ceremony for your family and friends to simply come and say hi.
Picture this, you’ve just exchanged rings, had your first kiss and walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, only to be told by your photographer
(not me ‘cause we’d plan it better) that you don’t have time to talk to anyone and you must rush off to do Bridal Party & Family photos ! Heck No!
You NEED to take some time and soak up the atmosphere that surrounds you, say hi to your friends and family after all some of them have travelled a long way to be here on your wedding day!
If you plan it right you should have 15-20 minutes for HugsNkisses before moving on to your family photos and your family photos really don’t need to take any longer than 15 minutes .
Having enough time will ensure everyone has their happy face on and your images will reflect this.
Tip No 4 – Stay hydrated & eat !
Re-hydration – read as ‘champagne for everyone !!’
Weddings in Brisbane can be hot !
Especially if your wedding is going to be in those beautiful summer months.
This is a biggy, especially in summer when it can reach 35 degrees or more and the boys are wearing a 3 piece suite and you have what feels like a thousand layers under your dress.
Now it’s one thing to throw a few bottles of champas’ and some beers in the limo and head off on your bridal party shoot but I have seen more than one bride feel the effects of dehydration and you don’t want that on your big day.
So throw a few bottles of water in with your other drinks and then at least if you need water you know it’s there.
That’s one of the many benefits of hiring a wedding car, these guys are seasoned professionals and they will have water on hand as well as a bottle or two of the bubbly stuff.
Tip No 5 – Trust me!
I’m a photographer !
Your only job on your wedding day should be to enjoy your day, that’s it!
Have faith in the professionals that you’ve hired.
From your hair & make up right up until the band is playing at your reception, if you’re using reputable wedding vendors & suppliers then relax, we know what we’re doing.
Don’t fall into the trap of trying to take on too much, I have witnessed this and it doesn’t make for great images.
If you’re stressed on your wedding day then this will come across in your wedding photos.
I have a wonderful network of vendors that I recommend and love to work with, in fact you might find this hard to believe but we as wedding suppliers actually love weddings too !
So sit back, enjoy the pampering and know that when I turn up to photograph your wedding that I’ve already thought about where we’ll be shooting, I know how long it will take for you and your bridesmaids to get ready.
I also know that when I turn up to the boys that they’ll have trouble with their ties, we’ll possibly be missing a groomsmen and at least one of the boys will still have price tags hanging off his suit.
How do I know all these things?
Having photographed around 800 weddings I’ve pretty much seen it all.
So my tip here is to enjoy your day, have faith in your suppliers, don’t stress about the things that you can’t control and your wedding photos will be amazing!
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The best way to find out what’s best for you is to see what others have done, so why not take a look at a few of the latest weddings I’ve photographed, you might just get inspired !
So there you go, 5 simple wedding day tips for the bride and groom, things that you should keep in mind for your own wedding day
What do Ben’s clients have to say about him ?
Show me some wedding galleries !
Why do wedding photographers charge what they do
This is brilliant Ben. All so so SO true. I had a little chuckle reading some of it. Will definitely share with my couples ?????????
Ben, you are awesome! Thank you for these tips.
I cannot wait for the big day on the 12 Sep 15 and I just know that having you as my photographer is going to rock! I’m feeling better after reading this as my nerves are already starting to kick in 8 weeks prior to the wedding (cause I’m such a relaxed person…)… so thank you!
See you in a few weeks
Michelle
Your wedding will be here very soon Michelle & I’m really looking forward to it !
:O)
Oh my gosh…tip 3! YES!!!
If only I knew how quickly time would go, I would have done everything so differently!