St.John, Virgin Islands and Martha's Vineyard Wedding Photographer-Greer Rivera's BLOG

BEFORE YOUR WEDDING

Thank you for choosing me to photograph your wedding day!

I want to give you some tips on how to make the most of your time with me.

*See each other before the Wedding!

At first everyone hates this idea but hear us out before you make any decisions...

Benefits of seeing each other before the ceremony:

~Pictures, pictures and more pictures! You will have more images from your wedding day by seeing each other earlier. By doing this, we have the opportunity to set you two up in order to really capture that special moment of seeing each other for the first time.

We then have ample time to set up some outstanding shots of you two together!

(We often find that couples who do not see each other before the ceremony do not get as many or as great pictures of themselves together because they always are in a hurry to get to the reception). You might say that you will not be in a hurry, but you will be when it comes to that time and we don't blame you and definitely don't want to keep you from your cocktail hour, although this is not always possible.

~You can take full advantage of your time with us and travel somewhere great for wedding party pictures and shots of you as a couple.

~We can take all of the pictures before the wedding begins leaving you more time to enjoy your cocktail hour and reception.

All the pictures will be done before the ceremony leaving you with fresh make-up, great hair and excited smiles in all of your pictures!

If you are still dead set against seeing each other before the ceremony then consider having at least a 2-3 hour gap between your ceremony and reception.

Benefits to having a gap before your reception:

~You allow ample time to travel somewhere great for pictures. We can go anywhere you would like to take your pictures. If you have an afternoon wedding, you can still have an opportunity to have an evening reception.

Your guests can explore the sights of the island with a nice organized tour given by a family member or just have a chance to freshen up before the reception. This will insure that the two of you have the best opportunity to get the most unique pictures of your wedding party and yourselves as newlyweds. Last but not least...you get to truly take in the day and enjoy every minute of it as opposed to hurrying around!

If the above are completely out of the question then at least allow for 3 hours before the ceremony for pictures of bride, bridesmaids, bride's family, details (flowers, location sites, rings, shoes, dress), groom, groomsmen and groom's family.

*Bride getting dressed...

We spend quality time with the bride getting dressed. These are important pictures and we need your help to make them great, we like to arrive at least 2 hours before the ceremony to take getting ready photos of the bride and groom.

~Make sure the rooms are of adequate size with NATURAL WINDOW LIGHT!

*Groomsmen and bridesmaids...

Please warn your wedding party to arrive 15 minutes before their designated start time to make sure that everything stays on time and stress free.

Make sure all bridesmaids/groomsmen are dressed and ready prior to our arrival to begin pictures with the bride/groom.

~All flowers need to be delivered and ready to go at the start of pictures. ~Please make sure there is a person designated to pin on boutonnières prior to the set photography time.

~Immediate family of both the bride and groom need to be dressed and ready for pictures before the ceremony.

Utilize your time with us before the wedding. The best pictures come from before the ceremony.

After all the formal pictures are done, we need the cooperation of you two together to take some time for some great pictures of you as newlyweds.

Be willing to have fun and relax in front of my camera, we know everyone is a little self conscious but years later you will want lots of photos of just the two of you from this special day. Warn your wedding party that photos are important to you and that we might be a little different in the way we work!

*Lighting is crucial to photographs!

On your wedding day you should plan photos around the time of the sun setting. The hour and a half before sunset is what we call the golden hour and is the most gorgeous and very flattering light for romantic photos of the wedding couple.

If there is no natural light left at the time of your photographs after the ceremony, then we highly suggest seeing each other before the ceremony and getting all the pictures out of the way (if you want pictures like the ones you have seen that we have shot).

These are just a few tips on how to get the most out of us for your wedding photographs. You have hired us, now take advantage of having us and do something truly unique on your wedding day. We love to go to different locations with wedding parties. We will go almost anywhere with you before or after the ceremony. We are there to give you images that you will treasure forever.

*After the ceremony

~Remember the most important pictures are of the two of you! Reserve 20 minutes for family formals & 45 minutes for Romantic photos of the two of you.

*Time savers

~See each other before the wedding

~Do not announce the wedding party. Allow the party to enter reception after their pictures are over.

*Reception details

~Have as much candle light & twinkle lights as possible!

~Surround dance floor with twinkle lights (in trees or in an overhead canopy of tulle). These lights make the pictures look more romantic than straight flash pictures.

*Departure

~Make sure the important events happen within our scheduled time at your reception.

I hope this helps a little with the planning of your day!

Please let me know if you have any additional questions, I want to help you make your day easier!