Greenville, SC Wedding Photographers | Tips from Kendra!!

Brides & Grooms!!! I am soo soo excited for you and your upcoming wedding!! It doesn’t matter if you’re one of my brides or not, these tips can go for any bride & groom out there! A few months ago I did a blog post full of tips for wedding days and I thought it was time to add a few more tips to my list!! If you haven’t read my last blog post be sure to go check it out first and then come back and read these new tips!!!  These are in no particular order, just things I’ve experienced & seen at weddings and hopefully they will be of help while you’re planning your wedding day!!

1.  Engagement Photos!!  If your photographer includes an engagement session (even if cousin so and so has snapped a few photos for you two) take advantage of that session.  More than likely the photographer is genuinely wanting to get to know both the bride & groom prior to the wedding day AND it allows you to get to know your photographer.  You each will get a feel for one another & what it’s like to be in front of your photographers camera.  Your photographer will be able to see what makes the two of you click & how you interact as a couple… Bonus… you get amazing photos of you & your soon to be spouse that you can hang out all over your home!!

2.  I said this in my tips post in the fall, but I’m saying it again 🙂 :)… Make your ceremony a camera/cellphone free time for guests!!  I’m going to speak directly to anyone who is ever going to be a guest at a wedding… From experience I know how much money you may have spent & the time away from other things to be at the wedding… so please hear me out :)!!  The bride & groom have spent a lot of money and time planning their wedding day.  They want their guests to be present and able to enjoy the wedding, that’s why a photographer and/or a videographer have been hired.  If you’re at a wedding where I have been hired as the photographer I PROMISE you that you’ll get to see images of the ceremony!! A few weeks after the ceremony I am going to blog some of my favorite moments from the whole day and I invite you to come take a look… and there’s a good chance the bride & groom will post an album on facebook for you to see even more of the photos and relive the day with them.  What people don’t realize is that by pulling out phones or cameras as the bride is walking down the aisle, or during the first kiss… they may end up blocking or obstructing the images that have been paid to be taken.  My heart breaks soo much when I am photographing a wedding and someone steps in front of the groom to get a photo of the bride as she walks down the aisle.  This breaks my heart because 1.  now the groom can’t see his bride and soo many grooms are looking forward to that moment.  2.  You may have just blocked the photographer from being able to see the grooms face.  3.  Your camera/phone/ipad is now in this photo and I can’t remove it.  I know this became a crazy long tip but I seriously have my heart break when I see phones & cameras & ipads come out at weddings.  Be present & enjoy & soak up every minute of that ceremony!!!

3.  Just ignore the photographer & videographer.  Unless we ask you to look our way, soak up your now husband/wife… this is y’alls day and we are here to capture it as it unfolds.  We’ll be sure to get the images where you’re looking at us, but enjoy your wedding day and hug and dance and love on each other!!

4.  I HIGHLY recommend hiring a wedding day coordinator (that takes care of BOTH the ceremony & reception)!!  This way you aren’t running around putting arrangements out, or trying to figure out if so and so put out the programs, or when cake cutting is, etc… It allows you to be present and really enjoy your day… as well as family & friends.  It doesn’t matter if you’re one of my couples or not, if you need the name of a wedding planner/coordinator email me, I would LOVE to refer you to someone!!!

5.  When you hire your photographer go ahead and talk to them about what the photography timeline looks like.  I love working with my clients to make sure their photography timeline works perfectly for their wedding day & also makes sure everything they have spent months working on is documented well!!!  If you’re hiring a wedding planner/coordinator it’s always nice to have them touch base with your photographer beforehand so that way nothing is overlooked and they are on the same page!

6.  Be sure to actually read through ALL of your agreements/contracts that you have signed with your wedding day vendors!! 🙂

7.  PRINT YOUR PHOTOS!!!! 🙂 🙂 Yes, I just yelled at you!!!  You may have received your images digitally via a download link, a disk, or even a usb.  You spent a lot of money for those images so don’t just let them sit there in a drawer or on your computer… print them!! Give them as gifts, hang them all over your house!!!  When youprint them… don’t do it at a neighborhood store (unless it’s an awesome photography lab… the box stores where you can buy anything and everything are not awesome photography labs, and your images may print 100% differently than your photographer intended them to look!!!!), print your images through your photographer or ask your photographer where they recommend you print them!!! I know I have spent a lot of time searching for a lab that prints my images the way they look on my computer and so when clients ask me where to print, I tell them that!!

8.  Back your images up!!!!!  Y’all, stuff happens.  Hard drives crash, acts of nature happen, and more than likely the agreement you signed says that the photographer will only hold on to images for x amount of time.  So if I was you I would back those digital files up somewhere in the cloud, on your computer, on an external hard drive, on another external hard drive or usb and put it in a safe or a saftey deposit box.  Back up those images as many times as you want just in case something happens and they aren’t at your fingertips any longer!!

9.  Invest in an album through your photographer.  Just like with the prints, you’ve spent a lot of money to have your day documented so you’ll remember it and so you can share it with your grandchildren.  So if you can, I would invest in an album through your photographer and have it be your first family heirloom!!

10.  Don’t sweat the details.  I know that’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day it’s the marriage that is important.  The wedding day is just icing on the cake!! Which if I happen to be your photographer, I will more than likely have a bite or two ;)!!

I have a whole list of tips but I’m going to split them up into a few posts!!  If you’re a past bride and you have a tip you think I should share with brides please email me and tell me, that way I can be sure to include it in one of these blog posts!!!!  If you’re planning a wedding and have a question about anything wedding related feel free to bug me!! I LOVE being able to be a resource to brides!!

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