12 Things Every Bride Should Know…To Have a Great Wedding

by Winn Fuquawww.winnfuqua.com

After years in the wedding business I’ve learned a few tricks and gained insight that can make your wedding day go smoothly and help the portraits turn out wonderful.

1) Have the groom try on his ENTIRE suite when picking up his tux. Not just the slacks and coat but everything from the shoes and socks to the cufflinks and bow tie. That way he knows everything is present, fits and looks great together. Then put socks, shirt studs, belt, cuff links (in box) and bow tie in a large zip lock bag. Pack the shoes, zip lock bag, tux and shirt in the wardrobe bag for safe keeping. A lint roller will also come in handy the day of the wedding. If everything is in one bag and in one place the groom won’t get married wearing the photographer’s socks.

2) The groom and groomsmen really shouldn’t play golf the day before the wedding. They may be tired during the rehearsal dinner and if the groom is out in the sun for five hours the day before his wedding he will likely have a red face / sunburn the next day. Which means he may look like a cherry tomato in the pictures.

3) Create a list of the wedding vendors with company name, contact person and cell phone. Then distribute that list to all parties involved in the wedding. Often times vendors want to coordinate rolls or receive additional info about the wedding day.

4) If you have a photography enthusiast in the family and they would like to tag along and take pictures on the wedding day, consider having them contact the professional photographer you hired to see how he/she feels about it. I have witnessed groups of people having their portraits taken looking in several different directions because they didn’t know which camera to focus on. It always happens when you have more than one photographer.

5) At the beginning of the service ask the minister or rabbi to have everyone please turn off all electronic devices (including cameras). There’s nothing more distracting than Aunt Betty crouching down front with her point and shoot to get that one special picture. If Aunt Betty is in the isle she will be in every picture the pro photographer takes from the back of the sanctuary. No one wants to see Aunt Betty’s backside in the wedding pictures.

6) Compile a list of family groupings for the photographer to follow during the formal family portraits before or immediately after the wedding. This will help the portrait session go smoothly and quickly.

7) Family portraits with the Bride and Groom should be taken before or just after the ceremony. If you take family portraits once the reception starts, you may find it difficult to round up all the participants.

8) If getting married in a hotel or country club, make sure the house music is off well before the ceremony begins. Ask that elevator bells to be deactivated during the ceremony and have an attendant outside the elevators directing other hotel guests away from the ceremony.

9) For country club receptions ask the valet to reserve a space near the front for the photographer because they will be running from the church to the reception and should be inside and ready to go when the Bride and Groom make their entrance. If the photographer has to park blocks away or wait in the valet line the couples entrance could be missed.

10) When the Bride and Groom are visiting with guests, they should try to stay together. This allows the photographer to capture journalistic moments with the couple and their guest.

11) It would be best if the photographer could dine in the reception room at a separate table rather than a boardroom down the hall. If they are out of the room having dinner, Uncle Henry’s impromptu speech will be missed. Oddly enough some of the nicest venues have a policy that when vendors eat with the guests their food should be of equal cost. They don’t need to eat lobster and steak, but hot pasta or chicken with salad would be nice.

The Bride and Groom are served first which is the perfect time for the photographer to eat. The banquet manager should be asked to serve the photographer at the beginning of dinner. After dinner the couple is visiting with guests, dancing or giving toasts. That is not the time you want your photographer to be eating or in another room waiting for dinner.

If you have a green room for the band there should be enough food for the band and all other vendors (for several hours). often if the band eats first there isn’t anything left for anyone else.

12) You really don’t want the bartender to serve shots or kamikazes. Not even to the wedding party. It really is best if the Bride and Groom stay fairly sober all night so they will be standing for their special exit.