• Family Dynamics:  Does your mom’s brother no longer speak to her?  Has it been ten years since your divorced parents have seen each other?  Were your raised by someone other then your mom and dad?  These are all very real situations that can happen, and if your photographer is not aware of any little special things about your family, it can make for awkward moments especially during the formal portraits.  I’m not saying your wedding photographer needs to know every detail of your life but a general overview of what to expect for how people may be on your wedding day can be very helpful.  I am used to reacting to situations and expecting change but prefer to be as prepared as possible.
• Your Favorite Things about You:  Do you love your smile?  Are you self conscious about your arms or nose?  Do you not like kissing photos?  Some of these things will come out during the engagement session but some times I meet brides for the first time on their wedding day.  Knowing what features you love about yourself and what you prefer not to be too noticable can help me photograph you best.
• Schedule of your Day:  Most brides send me a copy of the plans for their wedding day.  There is something charming about when it starts, “go for a run”, “get coffee at peets”.  It might just be me but I appreciate the little details.  They are not necessary but for me they give me an idea of where you are mentally when I arrive.  The important details are of course the times of your ceremony, where you are getting ready, when you want to do family portraits, and when your reception starts.  Most wedding photographers will help you with this, so that you can be sure to schedule in enough time for photos.  I tend to let my brides spend their wedding day how they want, and just give an opinion if something looks like it is not going to work.
• Your Feel about Being Photographed:  Do you love being in front of the camera?  Could you not care less?  Is it important that your day is interrupted as little as possible for photographs?  How do you feel about me being in the room and possibly taking photos while you are getting dressed?  I have learned that women all have different rules for what is dressed, so this is a very important question.  I have never had a bride ask me to leave the room but I often have restrictions given about when I can take a photo.  I have been told anything from “my dress must be getting zippered” to “as long as I have undies on”.  I do always put any even slightly revealing photographs in a separate private gallery for only the bride and groom’s eyes.

Grooms definitely have their say for these things too.  Typically the bride tends to be who I communicate with most so I tend to default to saying bride.  If your wedding photographer doesn’t ask any questions, that may just be their style.  To me I think these are important, and if I was a bride I would want my photographer to know a little bit about me.  Though, I must admit when I was a bride (before I was a wedding photographer) I was just happy that I felt comfortable with my photographer, and left the rest to him.

My wedding photography client, Sirius, shares this love of shoes. She showed up for her engagement photos, in cute maryjane style red patent leather pumps. A bit difficult to walk through muddy park grounds, she slipped on black ballet flats and Chris got to tote the adorable red shoes. Later when we were back on paved ground, Sirius mentioned putting the shoes back on but then said, “oh wait”. Chris ran to the car for her and came back with another pair of crimson red super high healed super sexy shoes. As Sirius spoke about this pair (in the photo) she told me they were almost her wedding shoes but she found even better ones! I thought it was just charming how through the hour an a half session, Chris was almost always carrying a pair of cute heels for his wife to be.

I love seeing the different shoes brides wear on their wedding day. I wanted to be a flip flop bride but I kept seeing my toes sticking out as I walked. Considering I had a wedding in a historic church, toes didn’t seem right. I wore rather ugly one inch heeled white shoes because they were the perfect height for my dress. (Note, get the shoes and then get your dress altered.) As soon as the ceremony was over, the pretty white beaded flip flops went on!