In the excitement of the First Look, portraits with your girls, and the moment you walk down the aisle, it’s easy to totally forget about the reception. There’s no need to think about that until after the ceremony, right?
Not quite! The reception details are just as important as pictures of your dress and rings! Chances are, you’ve put in hours and hours of thought and effort into every single one of the details at your reception. This is usually where couples really show off their personality. Things like your tea cup collection or the groom’s favorite candy. Stacks of antique books or DIY projects that you spent way too many slumber party nights with your girls finishing up in time for the wedding!
The wedding day can already be a little bit of a blur with all the activity and emotions happening throughout the day. As you walk into the reception, you’ll be greeted with a sea of smiling faces! They all want to talk to you and take their picture with you. There’s a chance you won’t even get to see your reception details all put together, let alone really soak them in!
This is why capturing images of the full reception gorgeousness is so important. Today on the J&A Blog, we’re sharing 4 tips to help you get some fabulous reception detail shots!
1. Have a cocktail hour for your guests before the reception. Set it up in an area near your reception, but not in the same room. This will give your guests a chance to mingle and get some refreshments while your photographer captures the untouched beauty of your reception decor.
Once your guests enter, there will be no opportunities for gorgeous pull-back shots that really display and encompass the fullness of the details you put together.
2. Have your reception fully set up at least 2 hours before the ceremony. Your photographer can use the down time between your formals and the ceremony to capture these untouched details while you’re enjoying some quiet time. This works well if your ceremony and reception are in the same location.
*Tip: If your reception is at a separate location but you don’t want a cocktail hour, talk to your photographer about making room in the timeline for them to get over to the reception earlier in the day to capture the details.*
3. Give your photographer ample time during the day for all these special details! It takes time to really capture all the many little details in the most beautiful way possible.
You’ve spent so much time and thought on every little touch that makes your wedding day perfectly unique and perfectly yours – so make sure your photographer doesn’t have to rush around the guests in the few minutes before your grand reception entrance.
4. Don’t forget about the food! Many couples will have their guests start eating while the bride and groom finish up their portraits. While this is a great way to keep your guests happy while they wait (and we’re all in favor of that!), pictures of half-eaten pans of food aren’t quite as attractive as fresh, untouched shots of the edible selections provided by your caterer.
*Tip: If you chose to have guests start eating first, ask your caterer to style a plate or two of food for the photographer to capture. Chances are that they’ll be happy to help get great pictures of their food! :)*
After the wonderful blur of your wedding day, you’ll cherish these images!
*hugs*
Amber
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