The big day is just around the corner. There's the endless planning. Time spent confirming every last detail. The excitement mounts as the date approaches.
Magical moments fill a wedding day. The first time you are seeing your spouse. Your first dance together. Cutting the cake together. Time spent with special guests. Every one of them is worth capturing.
The wedding photographer has a standard photography “shot list.” Having your own list of moments to add to their list is important. Let's not forget, it is your wedding. Be sure to get what you want. Here are 11 fun, creative wedding photo ideas to include for those about to tie the knot.
Wedding Portraits
Before the Ceremony
Tradition says that it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. That makes capturing the bride and groom together before the ceremony challenging. Consider a photo of the bride and groom on opposite sides of a wall or hedge. They can be looking at the obstruction between them, at the camera, or quietly reflecting on their changing lives.
Your first look
One of the most memorable wedding moments is the groom's expression when he sees his bride for the first time.
However, to capture that shot, the photographer can miss shooting the bride’s photo as she steps out to walk down the aisle. Two photographers can successfully capture both looks simultaneously. Staging a first-look moment between the bride and groom is a modern take that captures the fantastic reaction. Consider putting your own spin on it before the ceremony.
A photo of just the bride and groom
It’s not uncommon for couples to receive their wedding photos and realize they have pictures with their bridal party and parents and special guests - but none of just the two of them after the ceremony.
While heading out with the photographer for some carefully posed shots before the reception, be sure to pause right after the ceremony to get that iconic, first-as-a-married-couple shot with just the two of you.
Classic Wedding Photo Ideas
Before the big day arrives, meet with the photographer several times to go over the main wedding components.
Make sure the photo list includes a healthy supply of the “basics,” such as the walk down the aisle, the first kiss, or the adorable flower girl sprinkling petals. These classic moments are classic for a reason: they’re amazing to see and remember every time.
Having a list of what matters to you is essential. Photos of the shoes, veil, gown details, bouquets, and rings are essential and iconic photos. Let the photographer know about smaller yet classic details that highlight the day. For example, the antique hair comb from your great-great-grandmother or the table cards that were handcrafted and hold special meaning.
These details help make the day. When it comes time to create your wedding album, take standalone images or backdrops for other elements.
Wedding Venue Photo Ideas
The venue is likely one of the most expensive items of your wedding. Let it shine! It’s not just a place to get married. It often represents the couple’s style and serves as a beautiful backdrop for a newly married couple.
If the venue has a multi-story lobby, take photos that leverage its height and scale. If planning a beachfront celebration, get pictures with plenty of ocean views. Saying “I do” on rural land permits some fun photo-ops with hay bales or the rolling landscape. The venue shows off the couple and wedding party, so have fun with the presentation.
Don’t forget about using negative space to make that venue shine by. Negative space is the part of the image that surrounds your subject and other noteworthy details.
Many locations have fun arches, arbors, or foliage that make for great shots. Take pictures under the greenery, peeking through it, or with the camera strategically poised to get just the edges of leaves or an arch as the frame.
These artistic shots are fun for the photographer while adding some dimension to your collection.
Wedding Party Photo Ideas
Photographing the wedding party is a must. Shots with the bride or groom and walking down the aisle during the ceremony are important moments to capture.
It’s also important to photograph the more personal moments from friends and family in the wedding party.
Emotional reception speeches are filled with opportunities to capture moments of the person delivering the speech, the couple watching, and all attendees. Make sure the photographer is at-the-ready to capture photos during these special moments.
Give them a heads-up if you have someone in the wedding party who is likely to make a splash. Preparedness is everything.
Wedding Reception Ideas
There’s so much happening during the reception: after-dinner dancing, animated conversations, and a whole lot of partying. Individual group table photos are always safe. Why not try to capture something different as well?
A time-lapse photo is a new favorite wedding photo idea. It’s a great way to texturize your collection of images. The photographer sets up a camera to get the time-lapse photo. Motion blur in post-production can be added using a photo editor if that’s not available.
Either way, it makes for a fun and unique image.
Candid Wedding Photos
Work with your wedding photographer to get a wide variety of photos with parents, bridal party, and the happy couple. These are wonderful, beautiful, and important memories.
The real magic occurs in the unstaged moments. Make sure the photographer is well-versed in capturing plenty of candid shots too. Don’t worry—they won’t use one of you chewing dinner. Only the great ones make the final cut.
You’ve put your personal touch on every element of your wedding. It can be difficult to appreciate all that makes the wedding day unique. But there are plenty of them.
Communicate with your photographer, so they know what to look for and capture. You may have a big moment or a smaller one. Prepare them for the grandparents’ impressive dance-off during the reception. It could be a candle lighting ceremony component or a tree-planting element. These personal touches help make the day yours and yours alone.
When you're on the same page as your photographer, they'll capture them all.
Wedding Photo Booth Ideas
Photo booths are super popular and let wedding guests have fun with props, backgrounds, and decorations. If the wedding has a theme - such as their school’s colors, where the bride and groom met, a favorite sports team, or a beloved movie - a photo booth enhances the celebration.
Having photos for the guests to take home as keepsakes is a special treat.
Wedding Photo Wall Ideas
Photo walls are a modern way to make a wedding even more chic and unique. These “walls” are high hedges or a wall of flowers or other plants where guests can take photos during the wedding.
Hang a sign with the bride and groom’s name or wedding date on the wall to personalize photos and make for frameable, lasting memories.
Wedding Photo Shot List
- Details while getting dressed
- Dress reveal
- Wedding venue
- Ceremony stage
- Wedding party
- Bride’s family
- Groom’s family
- Walking down the aisle
- Flower girl sprinkling petals
- Exchanging vows
- Exchanging rings
- First kiss as husband and wife
- Bride and groom first moments after the ceremony
- Guest candids at cocktail hour
- Reception venue
- Bride and groom walking into the reception
- Friend/family toasts/speeches at the reception
- Bride and groom dancing
- Dancing candids
- Individual tables
- Cake cutting/feeding
- Driving away from the venue
Weddings are all about capturing love in photographs, so make sure the wedding photos capture everything on your list. Get pictures of people holding hands, dancing, and talking. Capture the way guests relate and interact. Weddings have a way of bringing people together. Your photos help that magic live on forever.
