We have worked in the wedding industry for a while now and thought you should know about the top things people forget on their wedding day. Hopefully this helps you with your planning! These are in no particular order.

1. Your wedding invitation.

   These photograph beautifully and add so much to your detail images. As a photographer I love when all the elements are included like the envelopes, rsvp cards, menus and anything else you mailed to your guests. (Budget friendly tip- if you want to send simplified invites to your guests but really love the boujee look of the detail flat lays with all the elements then purchase one of the set you love and set it aside for the photographer + videographer)

2. Time how long it takes to put your dress on.

This may not seem important but you would be surprised how often the dress takes longer or its more complicated to button than expected. Having a video help with that but also having it timed means you can accurately put it in your timeline and leave room for more getting ready photos. This also leads me to my next tip..

3. Video of how to bustle your dress.

Funny story I had no idea that a bustle does not come in your dress and is added during your alterations. I did not have my own wedding dress altered and no one told me that I needed to have it added. So on my wedding day when it was time to bustle my dress well we used safety pins. Don’t be like me. Be prepared. Your bustle is custom to your dress style. Some are more complicated than others. Taking a video saves time especially after your helpers may have started drinking or just simply forgot or maybe they didn’t see your dress before today. You don’t want to waste time bustling when you could be enjoying your day so make sure they are prepared.

4. Hire a day of coordinator or delegate a point person.

I understand a day of coordinator may be hard to find or out of your budget. I cant stress enough how important it is to at least delegate someone to handle at least three of important things on your day. Make sure this person knows and has your day of timeline available. Your vendor names and contacts. Knows where things need to be and where important stuff is. You do not want everyone coming to you when you’re trying to enjoy your day asking questions about these things. This person should be organized and able to help make your vision come to life but also help keep things flowing as close to on time as possible.

5. A family photo shot list.

This is usually the most stressful part of the day. Make it a lot less stressful with an organized list. My biggest tip is keep it simple. Avoid getting too complicated with groupings keeping it to around 15 or less combinations. Extended family can be photographed at the reception. When making the list do it by sides of the family and use their first names. Start with grandparents because they usually want to head to the reception as quickly as possible. Make sure family that you plan to be photographed with knows where and when its taking place. Also my next tip is a HUGE help for this part of the day..

6. Photo wranglers.

Pick someone on both sides that should know your family well enough to help call out names and gather people. Make extra copies of your list if you want so the photographers and your helpers have one and can gather people quickly. I promise this will make it so easy and fast. Photographers don’t know your family and even though they can yell out names people don’t always listen or they cant hear or something. Make sure you get your shots and it is smooth and relaxed with my last two tips.

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7. Comfortable shoes.

Unless your like me and love going barefoot your heels will either become painful or make it hard to get pictures. Just be prepared and have flats to change into or wear them for the whole day. Heels are GORGEOUS but if they stop you from enjoying your day or getting epic pictures they aren’t worth it because you usually cant even see your heels. Rescue Flats are nice for guests at the reception as well!

8. Ask your officiant to step aside after they announce the kiss.

This is a big one for me. This photo would not be as great if there was a person standing behind them. Some already know to step aside and as your photographers we also try to remind them but make sure its talked about when you talk with them. This is always a big moment and you just want it perfect. (bonus tip hold your kiss for a minimum of 3 seconds) I promise this makes your photos look better and less chance of a missed kiss shot.

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9. Plan for feeding your vendors.

Most vendors have it in their contract that a meal is required. Now there is a little more planning that should be taken into consideration so make sure to talk with your caterer and venue about these two forgotten steps. Make sure they are counted in the meal count especially if there are not any local places nearby for them to quickly get food. The caterer may offer vendor meals that’s usually ok (I love a cheese burger, sandwich, or pizza) but make sure they aren’t getting something that is not edible (for example burnt pizza.. again I love pizza and will never turn it down but the burnt part is the issue here) These are your vendors they are going above and beyond for you and you want them fed so they have energy to keep going the rest of the night. I’m not saying they have to have steak and lobster but make sure they aren’t forgotten about.

Next thing that is often forgotten is where they will eat and if they need utensils. This should not be on your list of things to handle but the venue or caterer should have a spot they can eat so they aren’t sitting on the floor or standing outside (speaking from experience). We are ok not sitting with your guests because this gives us a chance to breath and take a minute for ourselves so please don’t feel like you have to seat us at a table. What I recommend is just ask the venue where your vendors will eat and how many you are feeding so they know to arrange it.

10. Extra time for everything.

Buffer time in your timeline is so important. Add 15 minutes to everything you are scheduling for. Getting ready might take longer, getting groups together for photos might take longer. Avoid feeling behind by giving yourself wiggle room. Another bonus tip if you hired a photographer and videographer this is very important because everyone needs to get their shot which sometimes means doing a pose twice or doing extra variations. Each vendor might have a different idea of what they need. I recommend putting photo and video on the timeline as well (speaking from personal experience). What I mean is we don’t usually video during the family portraits however that is usually on the schedule as photo time. If that runs over schedule video may not get the moments needed for your lovey dovey portion of the video.

Another reason to add extra time when adding video is because often photographers that use flash can cause an interference with video because of their flashes. So you really need to give the video team their own 10-15 minutes without photo (if they would like it depending on who you hire) because video is just different and its totally worth it. If you hire us as your team of photo + video this is something we still recommend but not because of flash but because this allows us to get creative for video by doing drone or dramatic shots for the film.