Essential Tips: What to Communicate with Your Wedding Photographer for Picture-Perfect Memories

When your wedding day comes around as your Northern Ireland wedding photographers, we will be with will be with you, capturing every important moment, from the bride sharing a few giggles with her besties as she gets ready, to you walking down the aisle and saying your “I do’s”, right the way through to you hitting up the dancefloor to share your first dance.

Bride in Belfast getting ready
Northern Ireland wedding ceremony
bride and groom first dance Northern Ireland

We will be with you all day to share and document all the emotional moments that make up your wedding day. Today we are going to share some useful tips that will help us as your Northern Ireland wedding photographer, while you both relax and enjoy the day with your family and friends.

Even if you have decided to book another photographer, these are things that that every photographer will want to know when they are booked to photograph your wedding.

The wedding timeline

We always give our couples a call one week before their wedding to confirm their timeline details and have a catch up with them. If you have your timeline details already confirmed though before that send them over. The quicker we have them the easier it is for us to work out our plan for the day.

We will need to know all of the times for when things are happening on the day like:

What time should we arrive with the bride?

What time is the ceremony?

Do you want us to arrive at the ceremony a little bit early so we can get photos with the groom and groomsmen and guests arriving?

Belfast groom arriving before the ceremony

When is the bride expected to arrive at the ceremony?

How much time do we have between the ceremony and dinner call?

Would you like to shoot some stuff with us in the evening after dinner and before the dancing?

evening photo of bride and groom at Belfast wedding

What time is the first dance due to start at?

Providing us with your wedding timeline means that we can plan our day to make the most of the time that we have with you and ensures that we are always in the right place at the right time to document all the important bits of the day.

Parking facilities at the ceremony location and venue

Parking can sometimes be an issue depending on where you have chosen to have your ceremony and reception. It can especially be an issue with Belfast city centre weddings, were often parking facilities are very limited. If you have the option to reserve a parking place, always include your photographer and let them know what the arrangements are. At some venues it can take a considerable amount of time to find somewhere to park and that is time we are not with you and unfortunately missing moments. Also bear in mind that we will often need to be close to our car so that we can swap over equipment.

Bridal party and family photos

We have our own way of photographing the bridal party and taking family photos that ensures that this part of the day takes as little time as possible.

group photo at Belfast wedding

We will never ask our couples to create a list for us, as working through a list, wastes way too much time. However its always worth having a think if there is something specific that you need from this part of the day. Bear in mind that each group photo will take around 5 minutes, so you will need to allow for that time in your wedding day timeline. We will also need time to find the right location with the best possible light on the day to ensure we provide you with the best possible photos.

Northern Ireland bridal party

If there is anything you think we may need to know about the people that are to be photographed, please let us know.

Is there anyone that has a physical disability or limited movement? This is an important one! If we know beforehand, we can choose a location that is close by to make it easier for them

Are there any awkward family situations we need to know about? The last thing we want is for any awkwardness, so let us know if some people can’t be photographed together.

Specific photographs

Do you have a specific photograph that you want taken?

Bride and groom photo bomb Northern Ireland

Is there somewhere at the location you have chosen that you really like?

Belfast bride

If so, let us know and allow time for this.

Larchfield Estate wedding photo of bride and groom

Are there any wedding day surprises!

If you have something lined up to either surprise your guests or your other half it is important to let us know otherwise we might miss the moment. Perhaps you are planning on sharing a first look before the ceremony or some epic fireworks after the first dance.

first look Belfast wedding
fireworks at a Belfast wedding

Couples often forget to let their photographer in on the secret which can make it difficult for us to ensure that we capture it. Don’t worry we know that loose lips sink ships and will ensure to keep it under wraps until the right moment. Letting us know means that we can prepare properly and make sure we are in the right place to capture both the moment itself and either your guest or your other half’s reaction.

Singing waiter Belfast wedding

Relax, enjoy and trust your wedding photographers

We want you to enjoy every moment of your wedding day! If you can provide your photographer with all of the information we need prior to your wedding that will mean that we can just get on with doing our job while you both enjoy the day.

We are highly experienced professionals having photographed hundreds of weddings over the last decade, you can trust us! There is nothing that can happen at your wedding that we haven’t seen before.

To make it as easy as possible for our couples to provide us with all of the information we need for their wedding day, we send them an online questionnaire to complete a few weeks before their wedding. This allows them to pretty much send us every thing we need to start planning for their wedding day.

Tommy + Laurene