6 Ways to Conquer Family Formals on Your Wedding Day
You can make it through family formals and keep everyone happy on your wedding day!
It’s that part of the wedding day – Family Formal time! Don’t pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You literally just tied the knot with the love of your life. You are on an emotional high, ready to celebrate, pop the champagne and dance the night away. Whoop Whoop! But wait… first you have to make it through the 30-45 minutes of family formals.
It’s that time of the Wedding Day!
This is that bizarre part of the wedding day that everybody either dreads or is confused about. But these pictures are tremendously important. I get that. They are your family after all. Rest assured that a good wedding photographer will prepare you and get you through it! They will take pictures with intention and even inject a bit of laughter!
My goal is to make Family Formals actually enjoyable!
The root of a successful family Formal session is all based on communication and planning. The scuba diver in me replays the mantra…”plan your dive and dive your plan” before family formals. I’m not kidding..this goes through my mind before family formals every single time!
Good planning includes proper time management, realistic timelines and excellent communication with the wedding planner, venue and all the key players.
Don’t Dread Family Pictures!
Family Formals do NOT have to be a dreaded part of your wedding day. With some thought and preparation this time can run like a well oiled machine. And the best part… I keep it fun! I promise. It’s all about the laughter for me. Trust me when I say I’ll do anything to keep you happy and laughing.
Remember these 6 tips and your family formals will go swimmingly!
Consider taking your family formals before the ceremony (after the first look).
This is a great way to ease the pain of family formals. That way after the ceremony everyone can head right off to cocktail hour with happy hearts.
Now… gathering your family ahead of time can pose a special set of problems but it is possible with the right planning.
See more of this Field Manor wedding here!
Budget Enough Time and be Realistic
I budget 3-5 minutes per family grouping. The larger the group the more time it takes to assemble and pose. If you have a lot of large groups be sure to budget accordingly and be realistic on how long it will take to actually take the pictures.
Creating a timeline should be something that both your photographer and wedding planner should be in communication about.
See more of this Up the Creek Farms Wedding here!
Trust your Photographer
Put thought into your groupings. I am always there to help guide you in creating those groups. Put your trust in me when I tell you how much time we will need. Trust me when I move you to a slightly different location because the light is better. My goal is to create beautiful images for you while giving you the best experience possible. Your photographer may offer up advice or express concerns. Listen to them. It is our job!
Write it Down….and use NAMES!
Please don’t “wing” your family formals. This will turn what can be an organized well -oiled machine into a ball of chaos. If I’m your wedding photographer then I ask for this list well in advance so that I can spend time going over it and organizing it in a way so it flows the best.
Use First names in your list
It is really important to me to use first names in the list because then I can just call it out. Think about it.. if there are two “brother-in-laws” this has the potential to get a little confusing.
See more from this Up the Creek Farms Wedding here.
Communicate clearly to your family who will be in the photos
Now.. every family is different. So I will speak in general here. Limit your formals to your immediate family. We will be sure to get photos of aunts, uncles and cousins during the reception. Email this list out to the people with CLEAR instructions of what to expect after the ceremony. A great venue and planner will make sure that drinks and snacks are available for you and your family.
Create the list with your partner
Everyone needs help with wedding planning and it may be very tempting to delegate this task out. Please don’t! Carve out a time, sit down with your partner and bust this out! Be sure not to do it too quickly but if you put both your heads together the task won’t seem as overwhelming!
