Weddingbee Blog

One of the things our photographer requested was that we put together a list of must-have shots. I mean, ideally, I want to give her as much artistic freedom as possible, but I understand. Heaven forbid grand-poobah-what’s-her-name miss out on her five minutes of paparazzi fame.

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“Whaaat?! Leave ME out of a picture? How dare you!”

Just kidding. But let’s compile a list anyway, shall we? I’ll start with the checklist on Real Simple’s website, since it’s fairly comprehensive. I’ll cross off the ones we won’t be needing.

• “Full-length shot of the bride in her gown, looking at herself in a mirror” - Ehh, not really necessary, but it could be fun if I’m making a weird face.
• “Close-up of groom’s expression while waiting for the bride” - Seeing as Mr. Sew is pretty expressionless, this might be a useless shot.
• “Newlyweds’ vehicle” - The parents’ rental van? (And yes, we’re renting a van.) Umm. Again, not necessary, but not a completely uninteresting picture.

After scrubbing the standard list, it’s now time to add in my own:

• Silly bride and groom and both serious families.

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• Bride carrying groom. (Because I can!)

• Bridal party jumping. (We tend to do a lot of that…)

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• Parents jumping. (Hey, if they’ll wear super-bright aloha shirts, why not?)

(Sewing-parents practicing their flattering poses!)

• Groomsmen and their cufflinks.

• Bridesmaid holding train while making a face. (This one will come naturally, I’m sure. We’re good at making faces.)

• Guest enjoying the chair-cover-bag-favor. (I don’t care if it’s a fake enjoyment, I didn’t spend so much time on them for nothing!)
• The food, and guests with their mouths full. (Because everyone wants to remember how they gorged themselves at the poke buffet!)
• The Sewing Signature Leg-Lift.

Am I missing anything interesting or strange? I’m a sucker for shots with “personality”. And since personality is something that bubbles up rather than comes out posed, I think this list is more of a guideline than a necessity. I’ll just really emphasize that I’d like creative shots - whatever creative might look like. And as long as we get a few standard family pictures in, I think the traditional family members would be satisfied.

Are you making a must-have list for your photographer? What’s the most interesting shot you are requesting?