4 Questions You Should NEVER Ask Your Wedding Photographer…

Oh I wish I could walk a bride through a real wedding before she gets to hers! I bet you’ve read a bunch of  photography blogs and probably even looked at hundreds of  Savannah weddings before you chose this picturesque city – but maybe you haven’t stumbled across what you should NEVER ask your photographer.  I’ve been photographing weddings for over 12 years and I have been asked everything – from setting up chairs to bringing the mother-in-law alcoholic beverages to watching 3 tiny flower girls so the parents could get dressed – and yet not one of these requests would I have said “no” to. In fact, I was happy to help! But there are 4 questions that you should NEVER ask me and I will tell you why…

1.  “Can’t we just do this at the reception?”  (said normally during family photos)

I will always say “of course” and I will bust my hump to make sure it does happen but the reason why you should think twice before asking is that normally everyone is together immediately following the ceremony.  People tend to get sweaty, get drunk, go to the bathroom, take a smoke break or leave and we never have the same beautiful backdrop or the best looking people.

2. “Can’t you just photoshop it out?” (asked about almost everything, in this case crowds of people)

If we are standing at Forsyth Park in historic Savannah and there are tons of people in your shot, we can do a few things – we can change positions – not locations but simply move to this little hidden spot I have where you can still see the fountain but the trees hide the unwanted visitors. The second thing we can do is simply accept it. In about 50 years you will be looking at what those people were wearing or the cars they were driving on your day in history. Photoshopping out crowds of people is a nightmare BUT if you really want it done, I will always say “of course” but I might have to outsource that job!

3. “Do I have to do a timeline with you if my planner already has one?”

This is a YES! A photo timeline is a little different than what your planner has done – in fact, most of the Savannah wedding planner I have worked with like to get my timeline as well. I make sure that you arrive for your first look on time – ceremony and reception plus I am asking you who will be in the “first look” photos a few hours before the ceremony – which family will be there after the ceremony and where you’d like to go for your “Newly wed” photos – pictures done in that beautiful last light before the reception. Michelle with Improvisions (a well-known and very talented decorator and planner in Savannah) says “A timeline is so important because without one, you will miss out on important parts of your wedding”. This is some of the beautiful work that she has done, she really knows what she is talking about!  (Flowers by Michelle with Improvisions)

4. “Will doing a “first look” go against us really wanting to stay traditional?”

I’m so excited that you are going traditional!  So that means you haven’t even seen each other yet…I mean…at all..not during dating…not living together…okay, I don’t want to upset anyone because I’ve been married since Oct 2001 and we, too, went “traditional” – we didn’t see each other before the wedding. And if you are truly against it, I am happy to not do it, but read this first before you make a decision…I did a little research on it and technically being traditional means a lot more than we think it does. Why do you think the whole reason in most ceremonies it is said “You may kiss the bride …AND THEN…you lift the veil? In case she was UGLY! He could leave if he saw her before the wedding! This is not a romantic fairy tale, this is so the guy could get the heck out of dodge before he was “committed “- yes another beautiful word for what you are about to enter into…the crazy house.  I just want you to know that the person who sees you first, is the person who was late to your wedding. I can make sure that your first look with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with is beautiful and momentous and gives you at least 1.5 hour to get wedding party photos, family pictures and some time with the two of you to have time afterwards to spend with the rest of the people you love, not spending that time taking more photos with me.

I hope this helped! I tried to think of a fifth question you shouldn’t ask me but I really do love answering questions – I encourage you to ask me something and if I think it belongs on this page – I will let you know! Seriously, I will be thrilled and honored to give you my years of experience  to help your wedding day go smooth and capture your blur of a wedding day into timeless and priceless pictures that you will remember when your children are having children!