How to deal with a national crisis when planning your wedding!

Hey everyone! How are you holding up? Lol silly question to ask right now ;) I know, A LOT has happened recently and none of it was expected or planned for. Well, that’s kinda how life goes, right? I think this is such a huge opportunity for us to really learn and grow from though. Everyone is going to be affected by the COVID-19 in some way or another, which means we really are all in this together and if we all help each other then we will all be able to recover and eventually get back to normal. Haha there were a lot of “all’s” in that sentence, but I think this is a good reminder of how connected we really are to one another and how much we rely and need one another! We each have an important role in our society and to keep everything running as normal everyone needs to do their part.

Right now part of my job is to help my May couples in managing what to do for their wedding day. Which as a wedding photographer I always need to be prepared for anything to happen (crazy lighting, horrible weather changing locations, that one drunk groomsman that can’t follow simple directions anymore) so I feel well equipped to give some advise right now :)

First, lets start with the facts and what we do know. As of today, the CDC has recommended that for the next 8 weeks (until May 10th) no events be held with more than 50 people and the federal government has recommended that no events with more than 10 people be held. If you must reschedule your wedding day, or if you’re right on the edge and think you should be safe and reschedule your wedding day, here are my tips for you:

1 - Check in with your vendors about their cancellation and rescheduling policies. More importantly if you’re after May 10th find out what is their deadline for deciding if you need to reschedule.

2 - Prioritize your vendors. Haha okay that probably sounds awful, but if you have to reschedule there is a chance that all of your vendors won’t be available on your new date. Which ones are you willing to schedule around and which are you okay (but sad) having to find a different vendor for.

3 - Sit down with your partner and remind yourselves of the priorities on your wedding day and why you’re getting married! This is a big one :) I know you’ve already spent a year planning this amazing day and you’re so excited for it and the thought of having to change everything is heartbreaking. But, at the end of the day you are marrying the love of your life and you get to celebrate that with your family and friends. Everything else is really just the cherry on top! I’ve lost track of how many weddings I’ve photographed (literally stopped counting years ago after 150) and even on the wedding day that was completely changed by downpours and lightning they still didn’t care and had the best day ever because they were married and that’s all that really mattered.

4 - Friday’s and Sunday’s are great days to get married as well! There are only so many Saturday’s during wedding season, but I promise you I have photographed lots of weddings on Friday or Sunday and I promise you those are great days to get married.

5 - Perhaps you do an intimate ceremony now and plan a bigger party later? I know this seems crazy because you just planned everything for your dream wedding, but sometimes you’re just not able to reschedule but you just don’t want to wait to get married.

6 - Take lots of deep breaths and go outside! Lol, honestly I think everyone should just do this right now. If feel like it’s very easy to get overwhelmed, anxious, and worried with the constant stream of news about COVID-19. Lets not forget that we can and should take a break from it and how it’s affecting our lives. Taking a step back can bring a fresh perspective and help you remember that you are strong and resilient and you can absolutely handle this!

Lots of things are going to happen and change in the next few weeks. We even know that it is going to get worse before it gets better. There are so many unknowns and I know that alone can be scary, but just remember that your mindset does matter! Where you get your news/facts matter. And remaining calm and rational always helps :)

I know people have been posting a lot about how we can help others right now and especially how we can help small and local businesses. Please, please, please don’t just share and repost those things to social media, actually DO them! And again, if we all help each other during this hard time we’ll all get to the good time again!

How to plan your wedding day timeline!

I think one of the trickiest parts of wedding planning can be the timeline. How do you lay out your wedding day? Haha or how do you lay out your wedding day that makes everyone happy and you make sure you have a fun and stress free day? That’s the real question :) When there are so many factors and things to consider (traditions, logistics, opinions from others) it can be daunting to even know where to start. That’s where I come in! I always tell my couples how you can lay out your wedding day however you want, so lets ask the right questions to make sure that happens.

1 - What parts of the wedding day are most important to you? I know it sounds obvious, but have you thought about parts of the day you really want to experience? Are there certain things that will just make you stressed or anxious? For some of my couples they really want to be at cocktail hour to have that time with their family and friends. Awesome! We just need to do a first look so we can do all of the important portraits before the ceremony.

2 - What photographs or types of photographs are important to you? I’m going to dig a little more in to this one since there are so many options and part of the day to consider…

Do you want your details photographed before you get dressed? This is your dress, shoes, jewelry, stationary, rings, etc. You have spent a lot of time planning these details and some can have lots of sentimental meaning, of course you want those documented to tell a complete story of your day! To do this though I need 45-60 minutes. Yes, that sounds like a huge block of time, but to find the right spot with a nice background, good lighting, and then to style those items it just takes time.

How long will it take to get in to your dress? Some are a quick 2 minute zip but some dresses are 15-20 minutes of hooks and buttons. After you put on the dress (this is when things feel very real!) then you still need to put on jewelry, shoes, and have hugs and toasts with those helping you get ready :) Do you also want to do a first look with any parents or friends? Even with the quickest 2 minute zip up dress I still would allocate 20 minutes to get dressed with considering final touches and getting bags ready to leave.

What kind of portraits do you want? While we don’t always have a ton of flexibility with this, it’s still important to think about the time of day and where we will be doing portraits. Will we be doing portraits in the middle of the day with harsh bright light? Do you want that soft, warm, glowy light at sunset? Most of the time the bride and groom portraits get split up in to (2) 20-25 minute blocks. One before/after the ceremony and one around sunset.

Do you want all of the events of the reception photographed? I don’t need to be there all night, but if you would like those fun dancing/party pictures you should plan on having me photograph 30-60 minutes of the reception once the party begins! Do you want a sparkler exit? No worries! Lets do it right before I leave and then everyone goes right back to dancing and having a great time :)

3 - What other things do I need to factor in to my timeline? Travel! Driving times and even time to walk to/from locations. Also know that if anything is going to run late on your wedding day it is going to be from 3 sources: hair/make-up taking longer, your ceremony not starting on time because of guests arriving late, and the family and friends that just can’t seem to be on time for anything. Haha and we love them for for it! To solve this just schedule little time buffers and add on a little extra time. I even had a bride put in her invites that her ceremony was starting at 4:00pm when we knew it wasn’t starting until 4:15 because she knew her family was never on time. Genius!

I am very good at managing the day and keeping everything going and on time, however if we can plan ahead of time for all of these things then we can ensure you not only get all of the beautiful images that you want, but your wedding day will also be stress free for everyone because we won’t be rushed or worried about fitting everything in!

Do I need a second photographer for my wedding?

There are just so many decisions to make when it comes to planning your wedding day I know it can feel overwhelming. You have to hire all of these different vendors and each requires a different set of questions or details to think about, yikes! So I want to start answering some of the most common questions I get so you can hopefully feel better prepared and more confident that you are getting exactly what you need and want for your wedding day!

1 - Do you want getting ready photos for both the bride and groom?

I know, I know, guys you don’t really care about getting ready photos. But, most of the time those photos aren’t really about you! Getting ready for your wedding day usually involves the people you love the most! Your parents getting to help you get dressed for one of the biggest days of your life and I’m guessing they are just thinking about how they got you dressed for your first day of school or putting your first onesie. Your best friends are there to help you relax, laugh, and calm any nerves. These moments can be so full of emotion and happy tears, but also huge smiles and laughs as the excitement of what is to come builds.

2 - Do you want the detail photos for both of you?

Obviously the bride always has more details to photograph (her dress, shoes, jewelry) but grooms also have their shoes, cufflinks, tie, watch. Getting both of these perspectives help create and tell a full story of your wedding day. The most important part of a day that having a second photographer there for is the getting ready because there is so much going on, so much to capture, and really I can only be in one place at a time and you’re most likely not getting ready in the same room :)

3 - How tight is your timeline and is there enough time for your photographer to capture everything?

While there are a million ways to lay out your timeline and how your wedding day flows, sometimes you just have to schedule doing family, bridal party, and some bride and groom portraits during cocktail hour. If this happens then there is no time for me to get detail photos of the gorgeous reception space that you have planned and created! There are many different scenarios that could happen, but again, depending on the size of your wedding, locations, or how detailed it is, having that additional photographer there to be able to multitask and photograph two things at once can be a must!

4 - How important are your wedding day photos to you?

Haha this may seem like a basic or silly question, but if you want to have a full and detailed story of your day captured then you really need to invest in the time and resources that it takes to make that happen. You have spent months and months planning for this very important day, you have created an experience for your family and friends to all share in, so really sit down and think what you want from that 10 or 20 years from now.

Over the last few years I have actually gotten the opportunity to be a second photographer for some of my friends and fellow wedding photographers! It really is fun for me to kinda take a step back and have fun, but it’s also great to see how other photographers approach and manage wedding days. I thought it would be fun to share the diversity of these weddings as well as they may spark some inspiration as you answer the questions above for yourself!

Images photographed while working for Laurelyn of Laurelyn Savannah Photography - www.laurelynsavannahphotography.com

Images photographed while working for April of Third West Studio - www.thirdweststudio.com

Images photographed while working for Jenna of Jenna LeRoy - www.jennaleroy.com