Photo questions - The PASH Wedding Forums and Message Boards

Mrs.Levitt · #1 06-22-2006, 01:35 PM

On average how long will photos really take. I dont want to see Jeremy before the wedding but my hotel manager at the reception site says pictures take so long that we should do them all before the ceremony. Now Im down for doing all the pics that dont include me and J before hand. We arent going all crazy at pictures. ( I had a friend that had 3 photographers and it took 2 hrs!) But on average how long should I expect this to take. And for you that are already blissfully married what did you do? Did you take some before, all before, or mostly after.

Ive never even been in a wedding so I just dont know what to expect

Lizbet · #2 06-22-2006, 02:53 PM

We did lots before, like you're considering. All of the separate pics before, and the together ones after. Each set took about 45 minutes. Our reception started @ 5:30 and we (DH and I) arrived around 6:30.

gymrat · #3 06-22-2006, 03:04 PM

I think ours took like about 1.5 hrs partly bc we fired our photographer the day before and had friends do it so I was not as prepared with exactly what I wanted taken and we were deciding on site.

ladedah · #4 06-22-2006, 03:35 PM

I wanted outdoor pictures after the wedding...so we had to do all of our pictures (besides the outdoor ones) before the wedding...it took about two hours, the ones after, about an hour....

SuzyBride · #5 06-22-2006, 04:23 PM

We took seperate pics before the wedding, all the ones that we could without seeing each other. Now looking back I wish that we had seen each other and gone ahead and taken all of them first. I just think that would have helped things move more smoothly from the ceremony to reception without the wait for guests before we got there. Also trying to get everyone rounded up for pics after the ceremony was soooo chaotic! People were wanting to stand around and visit since they hadn't seen each other in so long and it was like pulling teeth to get everyone into place. I think that if you feel strongly about not seeing each other then don't, but really think about it and if you decide it really doesn't make that much difference then go ahead and get them all out of the way beforehand.

whiddle · #6 06-22-2006, 04:43 PM

We did the same as Lizbet.

wembley · #7 06-22-2006, 06:05 PM

We went back and forth about how we were going to do pictures. We ended up seperating the night before and getting ready seperate. Then before we started pictures we had a moment with the two of us to see each other. It was a special moment where I came up behind him and he turned around. The photographer was there and took pictures of it. Then we were able to take all the pictures beforehand and have a little bit of time to relax before the ceremony started. It was really nice because then we could just go to the party and have fun afterwards.

My brother got married last summer. They didn't want to see each other beforehand so they did the girls pictures and the guys pictures before. We also did some with the bride and the guys and the groom and the girls. Then afterwards we did the whole group shots and they did some of just them. It worked out pretty well but they had time in between the ceremony and the reception anyway.

It's all on what is really important to you.

555Ann555 · #8 06-22-2006, 06:30 PM

We had 2 photographers... One took my 'getting ready' shots, and the small groups that Mo wouldn't be in (eg. my side of the BP, my mum & I, my uncle & I etc.) This took about an hour.

One took Mo's 'getting ready' shots. His side of the BP, and the groups I wouldn't be in (eg. Mo & his siblings, Mo & his mum, etc.) I'm told this was less than an hour, but I wasn't there

We probably had less than half an hour in the church grounds taking all the group shots. But I think think was as quick because we had put in a lot of ground work. I had made out lists of all the possible shots, then narrowed it down by cutting out the ones that I didn't really need to have, & wouldn't use in my album.

I think a lot of the time you end up with stacks of group shots, and that can really eat into the time that you have for just the two of you to be photographed.

After the group shots were taken the guests were driven to the hotel for a drink reception, (and a chance to catch up with each other!) while Mo & I went to another location to have our more romantic shots taken. This probably took about an hour or so. I figured the guests could easily chat & drink for an hour! The were mainly Scottish after all!

After we got back we had a few candid shots taken by both photographers, but they don't really count towards the time scale because they were just taken as we were greeting the guests.

We were lucky that our package included the meal & the speeches. Then later the cutting of the cake & the first dance...

After the meal the photographer offered to take us out for another few photos outside the hotel while we weren't too busy! So that was about another 15-20mins...

There was a big issue with our band who started 2 hrs after they were supposed to

so we went back out for some more photos!

Then once the band were finally ready we cut the cake & had our first dance.

Officially that was the photographer finished, but he offered to take us back out for some more photos!

So we have some lovely dusk ones to finish off our album...

All in our photographer was with us for 11hrs!

but they weren't really supposed to be there so long!

The time line was suppposed to go something like this:

11.30 P1 @ hotel
12.00 P2 @ Grooms
13.15 P1&2 @ Chapel
14.30 P1&2 @ in Chapel gardens for groups
15.00-16.15 P1&2 @ Location for B&G shots
17.00 Dinner served
19.30 Evening guests arrive
20.00 Cutting cake & first dances.

(our first dance was 21.15

)

It actually went:

11.00 P1 @ hotel
11.30 P2 @ Grooms
13.00 P1&2 @ Chapel
14.30 P1&2 @in Chapel gardens for groups
15.00-16.15 @ Location for B&G shots
17.30 Dinner served
19.15 Band arrived (was supposed to be 18.00-18.30)
19.30 B&G run away to have more photos (& let someone else shout at the band)
19.30 evening guests arrive
20.30 More B&G photos
21.00 Band finally ready
21.05 Cutting the cake photos
21.15 First dance
21.30 Last photos outside.
22.00 Photographers left!

TheaterDiva1 · #9 06-22-2006, 06:47 PM

I understand what you're saying about not wanting your FI to see you before the wedding. I felt the same way and didn't want pictures together before the ceremony. The photographer suggested that he could set up the "wow" moment (when DH sees me in the dress) and take a picture of his initial reaction - that's what made me change my mind and do all pictures before the ceremony (we wanted to relax with our guests during the cocktail hour). So, now I have a picture of DH seeing me in the dress for the first time, and he said that still wasn't the same as seeing me come down the aisle at the wedding - the "wow" factor was still there.

Kim&Bob2004 · #10 06-23-2006, 12:01 AM

We had 2 photographers, one did a ton before and the other did most of the after. Though they were just really talented amateurs that did them as gifts to Bob and I. Paul, the friend that took well over 200 before photos is a photo journalist, so I guess he isn't really an amateur, but kind of is..... Anyway our together shots took about 45 minutes. We didn't go all out, mostly because the guests would get bored, didn't do them before because we didn't want to see each other.

Now when I took Daniel and Jenny's wedding photos recently they were all afterwards, though I would have really liked doing some of the separate ones before.... anyway, that's another story. But we took about an hour. I would have liked longer, but we couldn't. Anyway, I think, if you plan an hour or a bit more you should be alright if you aren't going hog wild for pictures. A friends wedding we attended last year took about 45 minutes to an hour also. She had a large wedding with over 200 guests.

Mrs.Levitt · #11 06-23-2006, 01:46 PM

I definatly like the idea of having that "moment" where he sees me for the first time. I would be so much better to just get them all out of the way before hand since we are having a later ceremony (7 30) and then we could get to dinner and be eating right away. I think we will do that. It makes sense, maybe do just a few afterwards. Like you ladies said, then after the ceremony we can all just chill, we wont be rushing around trying to get everyone together for pics. Yeah I think this will work.

Thanks ladies, you guys are the best.

mommy03bride · #12 06-23-2006, 03:53 PM

im a little confused, dont they say its bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding? i love the thought of getting his reaction when he sees u the first time in your dress. so i figured i would just have 2 people taking pictures, 1 focusing on me and the other on him.