Come as you are. You’re welcome here.
Tips. Tricks. Thoughts. Ideas. Suggestions. Advice. Guidance. Recommendations. Information. Opinions.
Whatever you want to call this section…it could be helpful to read through. We’ve photographed so many weddings, we have seen a few things that just thinking through before the wedding day could save you some stress! There’s a lot of vendor recommendations at the bottom of the page as well!
Getting Ready
We likely won't arrive until about the last hour of your getting ready. Generally, Blaine photographs one group, while Kelsey photographs the other - not always like this but a majority of the time. We may be in for the last bit of hair and/or makeup touches which is awesome, but we will certainly develop your timeline with final getting ready moments in mind. Please do not put on your dress, shoes, any jewelry until we get there. It would also be helpful to go ahead and have any details out that we could potentially use for photographs. These items would include: dress, shoes, jewelry for sure. Extra items might include stationary/invites, letters from one another, vow books, rings, florals, perfume, sentimental objects, and so on. Don't worry about having everything set up, we will do that considering the best lit areas; but having them in one spot or one person who knows where it all resides is really helpful. Also, it would be wonderful to have a pretty hanger for dress photos, it doesn't need to be anything expensive or custom, just a simple wooden hanger is wonderful! The other big factor to consider when getting ready is the location. We highly recommend getting ready in well lit areas, specifically natural light. Think open spaces with lots of windows, white walls are helpful! Consider renting an Air B+B, it makes for a wonderful space to get ready in. A few hotels we like in the Champaign area are: Hyatt and iHotel; a few in the Chicago area are: The Robey, Chicago Athletic Club, ACE, Ambassador. Having an awesome getting ready place is always a sweet backup plan in case of bad weather too!
Other thoughts:
+Who do I want to help me get in my dress? Does that person (or people) need to be dressed and ready before me or in normal attire?
+Does the bridal party need to be dressed before me or are they not needed until a bit later in the schedule?
+Do I want to wear my veil for the first look or should I wait until the ceremony to add a bit of surprise?
+What time and where are the bouquets set to arrive?
First look
What is a first look? It's just a term in the wedding industry which means the couple will see one another for the first time before the bride walks down the aisle. It’s an intimate moment for the bride and groom to spend some time together with only the photographers around, capturing that moment. Totally skip over this part if you are not wanting to do a first look, it will not hurt our feelings. If you are unsure whether to do a first look or not, here's some information that may help you make that decision. Blaine and I were not interested in doing this on our wedding day either but in the end we decided there really wasn't another way, in terms of the schedule and our photography desires. Our wedding day was rainy and totally not going as planned so the fact that I got to see him before walking down the aisle really calmed my anxiety and nerves. It was a time for just us before the chaos and celebration of the day. I know for sure that Blaine gushed over me more in that ten minutes than he would have had I asked him what he thought about my dress as the day concluded. Also, there is nothing that's going to replace you coming down the aisle with your dad (parents). That moment is special, intense, and emotional all on its own for so many reasons. Another fear brides often communicate is the groom lacking emotion/tears at the ceremony if they do a first look. Let me be the first to say this is a MYTH, a total lie. If your groom is willing to share his emotions, it is more likely to happen in a private moment rather than in front of a room full of people. Our most emotional grooms are emotional and sincere in both the first look and the ceremony. Another positive of a first look is getting so many photos out of the way. Your family, bridal party, and guests really just want to celebrate with you. Getting bridal party (and at times, family) done before the ceremony is awesome! Schedules for the day tend to flow better as well. Couples will receive more photos from their day too! First looks can take anywhere from 15 minutes - 60 minutes, depending on the schedule and whether first look turns into bride + groom photo time! We will set the first look up for you so that's nothing for you to worry about, we will take care of it all. We will make the first look private to really give you the time you deserve on your wedding day.
Bridal Party
The best bridal party photos are taken outdoors or in natural light at the very least. We understand that most of your weddings are in Illinois and there's really not that many weekends out of the year where the weather is ideal. It's always too hot, too cold, too humid, too windy...too something, but let's just go with and make the best of what we've got, right? Warn your bridal parties that they will most likely be outside for the bridal party shots. I will be totally honest, poorly lit churches do make for not the prettiest bridal party photos. We work really fast when the weather isn’t ideal and we promise to make it as painless as possible. We will have you and your friends acting goofy and laughing together, so please encourage your friends to be themselves; have fun; and not take the photo time too seriously! We promise to make you all look amazing! On average, all bridal party photos taken about 25-30 minutes. If your bridal party is larger than 12 people total, it could take longer.
Here is our standard list of bridal party groupings:
+bride with ea. bridesmaid
+bride with bridesmaids
+groom with ea. groomsmen
+groom with groomsmen
+bride and groom with bridesmaids and groomsmen
+whole bridal party (bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, flower girls, ring bearers)
+bride with flower girl
+groom with ring bearer
+bride and groom with flower girl and ring bearer
To consider:
+How will my bridal party get to the photo location/ceremony/reception? Car pooling? Limo?
+Where does bridal party keep their personal items during the ceremony? For example, do they need to check out of their hotel before leaving for photos?
+Which bridesmaid will be sure to have my extra stuff?
Family
Family photos tips are very similar to the suggestions for bridal party photos. We again recommend natural light, when possible, so maybe in front of the church or a good shaded area at your ceremony venue. We recommend doing family photos at the ceremony location to ensure everyone makes it to the specific location. We can do family photos before the ceremony if possible and if not, immediately following the ceremony. Family photos generally take about 20 minutes, even though the list below may look long, it's quick. To ensure good flow and not wasting time, encourage your family to be in the right place at the right time so we are looking for family members. Again, encourage your families to be in the moment not just a line for photos - encourage them to hug or kiss you when they step up for photos, to laugh or snuggle you if that’s how mom is feeling. We love the moments.
Here is our standard list of family photos:
+bride with mom
+bride with dad
+bride with mom and dad
+bride and groom with mom and dad
+bride with siblings
+bride and groom with bride's immediate family (this includes in laws, nieces, nephews)
+bride and groom with ea. grandparent/grandparent set
+groom with mom
+groom with dad
+groom with mom and dad
+groom and bride with mom and dad
+groom with siblings
+groom and bride with groom's immediate family
+groom and bride with ea. grandparent/grandparent set
Things to think about when planning family photos:
+We will tailor the above list to your specific family dynamics.
+If you want groups added/subtracted just let us know. We suggest keeping the additions to the list to about 5 additional groups.
Ceremony
If you're having your ceremony outside, we would love to help you plan it for the right time of day according to the light available as well as your schedule. We can also help you decide which direction the set up would look best for photos too! We love outdoor ceremonies. For indoor ceremonies, we will not use flash unless it's absolutely necessary as it can be distracting from the ceremony. Please be aware that some churches have photo|video restrictions and this may dictate the areas we are able to shoot from. Also, we would love to help you before you make your ceremony timeline based on your decision with first look, photos, and the time of sunset. We just want to ensure you're able to get all the photos you want before the light fades out (this is no big deal most seasons, but late fall and winter certainly need to think about the early sunset time).
A few suggestions…
+If you have a backdrop for your ceremony or hard architectural lines behind you; center yourselves and the officiant the day before. Place small markers on the floor to ensure being centered!
+Hold hand(s) during the ceremony if you are not holding your bouquet; this keeps you in the moment as opposed to worrying “what do I do with my hands?”
Couple
We need about 60 minutes total with the two of you. The time can be all together or split throughout the day and no worries, I will help you plan the schedule to make it flow best for you. If you have specific locations in mind please let us know during the planning and we will do our best to accommodate. Just be prepared to snuggle, laugh, kiss a lot, and savor the moments you have with one another. We will direct you and encourage interactions, but it’s up to you to slow down, take it all in, and connect with one another. You'll be beautiful! If you didn’t have an engagement session with us (or you need a quick refresh) here are some tips to make your photos the best they can be:
+MOVE! Forget what your momma said about holding still and smiling for the camera - throw that straight out the window. Don’t even look at us, and don’t stop moving. For example, we ask you to wrap up and hold one another then I might say, “ok now move with that” - just swaying back and forth works wonders. You can touch up and down one another’s arms; kiss each other; tickle one another - anything really. Just move!
+Don’t overthink! We might ask you to do something silly like eat a burrito off his neck — just go with it! It’s judgement free zone when you’re with us. We want you to do you. Laugh, giggle, snuggle, cry - just don’t overthink, because you can’t do you and your relationship wrong if you just go with it. And hey, if you feel stupid, we all just end up laughing together anyway so it works out.
+I can’t tell you how to do your normal, so feel free to adjust things to you and the comfort of your relationship.
+If I am quiet and not directing, DO NOT WORRY - you’re actually being perfect and I don’t want to ruin the moment.
+Treat these small moments of photos together as the only time you’re going to have alone on your wedding day, because it truly is the only time you have just the two of you. Savor it, soak it up, and enjoy one another. Take a deep breath; shake the nerves away; let lose and make some memories.
Cocktails
Cocktail hour can be such a flexible time in your wedding day! There are so many aspects to consider…is cocktail hour immediately following your ceremony; is there travel time; is there a room flip? With so many different ways of doing cocktail hour, the decision is yours and we are more than happy to help you navigate the hour. You can choose to enjoy the entire cocktail hour with your guests; a portion of the hour with your guests; or spend the whole cocktail hour doing photos. Some couples choose to do a first look because they want truly enjoy their cocktail hour with guests. It’s such a great way to thank your guests and make your rounds so you can later enjoy the reception! However you choose to be part of your cocktail hour, this when we will shoot all the detail shots. Often times, Blaine will go shoot some detail shots while I finish up family photos. You will also receive a lot of candid shots of your guests from cocktail hour if you’re also enjoying cocktail hour . This is one of the best times to shoot guests being themselves and having a drink!
+Chat with your venue coordinator about letting us into the reception area before guests invade the area. This will allow for clean detail shots. It’s really difficult to get awesome detail shots when guests have already claimed their seats and sunglasses, purses, and jackets are cluttering the areas.
+What time will candles be lit? How is the coordinator handling a room flip, if applicable?
+If you choose not to do a first look (and cocktail hour is immediately following the ceremony), thus not really doing many photos pre ceremony, please expect to use your entire cocktail hour for photos. There’s really no other way of getting all those bridal party, family, and couple photos done otherwise.
Reception
Again, we love natural light, catching our drift? :) But natural light at receptions is not usually an option, candles and Edison bulb string lights add really pretty light to your reception. We will use flash when necessary. We will coordinate with your DJ/live band regarding the itinerary for the evening's event. We will photograph all the important events like cake cutting, first dances, and toasts. We eat dinner while you and your guests eat dinner - no one likes photos while they are eating anyway! Generally we stay at receptions for about 2 hours - this is allows us to capture the main events and a little bit of dancing. If you plan to do any grand exits, like sparklers, we recommend making sure you do this early enough in the night to have plenty of people still there to hold the sparklers. You can always move it up into the evening and then head back in and party! My favorite reception moment was a couple that chose a sparkler entrance onto the dance floor for their first dance!
Vendor love
Venues
Central Illinois: Pear Tree Estate, The Cannery, Allerton Park
Chicagoland: Co.251, The Robey, The ACE Hotel, Warehouse 109, Lacuna Lofts, Journeyman Distillery, The BRIX on Fox
Florals
Central Illinois: Vera Buck Florals, Flowers by Kristine, Pollen + Pastry, Fancy Florals by Nancy, Abbey Sherwood at Buxton Gardens, J. Blu Design, Delight Flower Farm, Old Town Flowers, Fleurish
Chicagoland: Asrai Garden, Plant Foyer, Flowers for Dreams, Jordan Clare at Eden Floral Studio
Planners | Coordinators
Hillary Rae Events, 618 Events, He + She, Jeannie Gentile - Jean Marie Weddings
Videographers
Park Life - Jeremiah Cox, Tori Beach
Sweets
Central Illinois: Hopscotch Bakery, Pandamonium Doughnuts, Sugar by Sarah, Cake Artist’s Studio, Pollen + Pastry
Chicagoland: Vanille Patisserie, Flowers by Stem, Stan’s Doughnuts,
Food
LA Gourmet, Black Dog, Epiphany Farms, TACOS :)
Hand Lettering | Stationary
Apricity Ink
Dress Shops
Alice in Ivory, Floravere, Bridal Parlour, BHLDN, Lovely Bride, Cloud Nine Bridal
Music
Crash Events (DJ), Toast + Jam (DJ), Endless Summer Band, BeatMix Music, Bluewater Kings Band, Rush Street Rhythm
More questions?
Just shoot us an email , we are happy to help!