Dear Bride and Groom,

You may be scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest looking at couples portraits, and envisioning yourself in their shoes. You are most likely drawn to images with beautiful golden light. The bride has super creamy skin tones, and your heart swells at the thought of having portraits just like it, with your beloved on your wedding day. The reality though, is that you won’t be able to get portraits like this unless you plan ahead.

Golden Hour is the hour before sunset, and it is the best time of day for portraits because the light is soft and dreamy. The reason I love it so much is because it allows me to place my clients anywhere, and not worry about crazy shadows on your faces, or the details of your beautiful wedding gown being blown out because the light was too harsh. It makes you look your absolute best, which is what I always want… However, often times on a wedding day the desire is to get the photos done early, so you can enjoy the party you spent months planning.

In order for us to use our time most effectively,  I encourage my couples to do a first look. This allows us to get a few couples portraits, those classic family formals, and bridal party photos taken care of before the ceremony has even happened. After the ceremony, you can greet guests from out of town, and simply head over to the reception site. You can then get something to eat, and enjoy cocktail hour. Then, I always love to pull my couples out for 20 minutes of sunset portraits. Because we knocked out all of the other important photos earlier in the day, it won’t feel like a marathon of smiling, and bonus* it will allow you a few sweet minutes as husband and wife, to just relish in each other. We can accomplish so much in a short amount of time, and I promise you, these photos will be among your favorites from the wedding day.

 

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