SURVIVING FAMILY PORTRAITS

I try to let my couples know, family portraits will likely be the most stressful part of the day. I still do my best to make it quick, easy and fun but with so many people involved it can get chaotic. Your family is excited to see you as a newlywed and wants to congratulate you! Sometimes there is family involved in the portraits that you haven’t seen in a while and that can add to the excitement too.

Here is my advice on how to make your family portrait time run smoothly.

Be clear about who is included in the family formals and tell them in advance. Don’t wait until the day of the wedding to let Grandma know she needs to stick around after the ceremony for photos, you might not get a chance to see her before the ceremony. It’s also not a bad idea to let some extended family know they didn’t make the cut. It will avoid any awkward moments when they’re sticking around waiting for their name to be called and it’s not on our list. P.S. it’s okay to stick to just immediate family for the after ceremony portraits and then gather extended family for a less formal portrait during the reception.

Try to keep hugging and greetings to a minimum. We will help wrangle up the right people and pose each grouping but try to keep all greetings short and sweet, they can really cut into your portrait time if you spend minutes with each person involved before the shot is even taken.

Have your officiant announce at the end of the ceremony that those who have been told they are in the family portraits need to stick around the ceremony location for further instructions. After you’ve shared your first kiss and walked back down the aisle I’ll usher you and your attendants off to the side in as a secluded spot as possible. Then when everyone’s cleared out of the ceremony area and are settling into cocktail area we will move right on into family portraits.

Include family members names on the list of portrait combinations you give to your photographer. That way we can call them out when we get to that grouping. Want things to go even smoother? Designate a bridesmaid or groomsmen who knows most of your family to help us wrangle up the right people. This way you’re not the one having to call the shots and can even relax maybe just a little.

Above all else, don’t let the chaos get to you. You will have people who go missing in action at the cocktail hour that will take a little longer to haul back to the portrait location and you might even have a family member with some over bearing opinions. But, that’s normal and okay. This is one of those rare times that so many of your family members are together and all dressed up so do your best to go with the flow and enjoy it!