Today we’re going to be talking about some of the most important memories that you may be missing on a wedding day.

I’m talking about this from experience because I miss the shots probably the whole first year of my career.

Let me set the stage.

The ceremony is over and we as photographers feel like we can relax.

The ceremony has just ended and the weight is off of everyones shoulders. The bride and groom can relax, Mom and dad can relax, and we as photographers feel like we can relax.  Here is the list of things we find ourselves doing.

• Back of the church, grabbing a bottle of water or just taking a breather because we made it through a full hour-long mass.
• Looking at the back of our camera to see if we nailed the kiss shot.
• Trying to save time setting up lighting so that we will have more time during the creative portrait session afterwards.
• Continuing to shoot the recessional as each member of the bridal party comes back down the aisle.

 

If you’re doing any of these four things you are missing some of the most important memories for your bride and groom.

 

So what do you do? Where do you go?

Right after the kiss, this is what you should be doing. The Bride and Groom will leave down the aisle during the recessional. You should follow after them. They’re going to go hideaway, tuck themselves behind closed doors. Maybe they’ll hide in a separate room off to the side, maybe they’ll leave the church and hide away for a minute, but they’re going to tuck away. During this time, this is some of the most heightened sense of emotion that the bride and groom will have because now, the weight is off their shoulders. They are officially husband and wife and nothing else matters.

Hugs, crying, laughing, celebration. Raw emotion and it’s all there for you to capture.

This can also be a really sensitive time, so we want to be careful when we enter into that space. We don’t want to burst in loudly and be high-fiving the bride and groom. Like I said, these are some of the most importantly memories for your couple, let them have their memories and not us interrupt them.

The great thing is, you are capturing the bride and groom in this moment but then one after one, each member of the bridal party will come through those doors, and the bride will get to have a sentimental moment with each person that she has individually invited to stand with her on her wedding day. You get to document each moment as they hug, cry and laugh together.

If you photograph these memories, if you capture this story, your your bride will be so happy that she hired you to be her photographer.

These memories are not just for the bride, they are also for her bridal party. Todays bridesmaids are your future bride. If you can impress them, if you can tell their story and capture emotion in an image that they’re never going to forget, you will stand out in their minds when they are trying to decide who they want to hire to be their photographer on the wedding day.

Shooting during this time actually ties directly into a past article I wrote on whether or not you’re using emergency mode, or aperture priority.  Take a look at the article because this is a great example of a time when stepping into emergency mode makes sense.