Weddingbee Blog

“My friends and I are crazy. That’s the only thing that keeps us sane.” - Matt Schucker

{image credit: squid bits via sarahdobbs}

Heyyy, everybody! Your Prodigal Ostrich has returned to the hive…with a handful of pre-caps to share before we begin this wild Bee Recap Party.

Today’s story is—maybe you’ve heard this one?—The Tale of a Crazy Destination Bride and her Craaazy Photo Checklist…Inspiration Boards…and More.

Oh yeah, that’s me. Wait for it.

See bees, this is what happens to you when you spend too much time reading too many horror stories of brides who got their photos back and were SO SAD that their photographer didn’t take a photo of this or that—or worse!—portraits with certain members of the family. Then the wedding nightmares of your photographer begin. (Like the one where I was walking down the aisle and our photographer showed up AFTER the ceremony. And all that time I thought he was like a photo ninja and was hiding, taking these exquisite “in the moment” candids. Aaaand I had a nervous breakdown. TRUTH.) And after the umpteenth nightmare, you wake up at 3AM, flip open your laptop and—POOF!—the Bridezilla Photo Checklist is born.

I drafted most of the list from those wedding mags we all know and hoard. But the secret to the ultimate crazy bride photo list are the personal items that only YOU know are important to you (like those lavender confetti sachets I may have slaved over) and the unique groups photos of friends or family that you HAVE to have (Me and Bro O…and Hawaiian Sunset Photos)…and while our beloved magazines may not know it, some of these not-so-typical people and things are oh so meaningful.

So without further ado…here it is!

The Ostrich Wedding Photo Checklist

Pre Ceremony & Ceremony

Portraits & Reception

But that right there was the normal stuff.

NOW we enter the CRAAZAY zone.

To further elaborate my obsession of certain types of photos, I made a few *cough, five* inspiration boards of the types of photos we loved and hoped to have for our wedding.

Told you.

DISCLAIMER - If you are a wacky bee like me and think this is the best idea everrr, I strongly suggest only using your examples of your photographer’s past work in said inspiration boards. The only non Max Wanger photo examples I used were of detail shots of a tropical beach wedding (he hadn’t done one yet) and of wedding invitations (which were from Max’s very own wedding). It’s not about trying to make your photographer shoot like Jose Villa (although I love me some Jose Villa). It’s about sharing your favorites from your photographer’s recent work.

And thankfully, when we had our pre-wedding conference call, Max expressed his gratitude for both the epic checklist and photo examples. Whew.

So here are a few of them, in all their crazy glory…

The Ostrich Wedding Photo Inspiration Boards

{All Photography by Max Wanger}

{All Photography by Max Wanger}

{Photo Credits - from top -Max Wanger, Max Wanger, Elizabeth Messina, Our Labor of Love}

Oh but there’s more.

A Photo Bio List. Of EVERY wedding guest.

OH YES I DID.

We grouped them—wedding party, family, Mr. O’s friends (college, roommates, etc), Miss O’s friends. We wrote down their names alongside their photo (thank you, FB). And since we had only 50+ guests, so it wasn’t too time draining. (If you have more than that, stick with the wedding party and VIPs. )

We gave this Bio List to not only our photographer, but our Amazing Wedding Planner and Emcee as well. And that list worked it’s magic. They studied the bios and were able to easily identify our wedding party the day of and call them by name. And it made the atmosphere more relaxing and fun, since there was no pointing, tapping or other awkward attention getting techniques. It was all sorts of amazing.

Here’s a peek at one of the pages….

The Ostrich Wedding Photo Bio List

And the moral of this crazy tale? If you have your heart set on something, ask for it.

Most people can’t read our minds and on your wedding day there is so much going on it’s easy to forget lots of somethings…unless you have a list - that someone that you trust (your wedding coordinator or close friend/family) is reading. And hopefully, there will be a little less post wedding regret in everyone’s future.

Oh! And one last story before you kick me off the stage….

During our wedding day, as we were getting ready, Max sat down and pulled out a copy of our photo checklist. And I melted a little. Then, when we took our portraits, his second shooter (and wife!) Margaux, read and checked off every item from our list. My eyes got THIS BIG. And when we got our photos back last week (we’re still going through all the photos!), I realized….they took every. single. photo we asked for on that psychotic checklist. And we are madly in love with all of them….and with Max and Margaux, because they really are supremely wonderful people and photographers.

Ok, now it’s your turn! What are some of the not so typical things you are asking your photographer to snap during your wedding? And how many of you are doing a wacky list, inspiration board and photo bio list like these?