A Wedding Photographer Is Sharing Tips For Couples Getting Married & Here's What To Remember
A wedding day can get hectic so try to keep these tips in mind!
A couple on their wedding day. Right: Shayla Herrington sharing her wedding tips.
Any couple who has been through the process of getting married knows that planning a wedding is hectic, especially once you get to the big day itself.
Shayla Herrington, who says she's been a wedding photographer for five years, knows a lot about weddings and she says there are several things she makes sure to go over with her clients.
Herrington tells Narcity she's accumulated a lot of tips and considers herself a "wedding pro" at this point, after photographing many couples on their special day.
Here are several tips and bits of wisdom she's picked up, which she says will help couples avoid last-minute stress on their wedding day.
Put all your belongings in one place so they don't make it into photos
Herrington says when the bridal party is getting ready she advises designating one spot in the room as a "craft corner" where everyone can store their bags, shoes, hair accessories, etc.
The Arkansas photographer says that way there's no chance those items will make it into the wedding photos.
"A lot of times if you don't keep the room tidy you'll have a bunch of photos of Red Bull cans in the background and someone's travel bag and stuff, so craft corner is always a good one."
Have a point of contact for your vendors
The wedding photographer advises having one person who all your vendors can contact.
Herrington says oftentimes that person is the maid of honour, the mother of the bride or the wedding coordinator.
She recommends "giving that number to all the vendors and just letting that person deal with that on the wedding day, especially if you don't have wedding planners."
Make sure the couple getting married has some alone time
Herrington knows how busy a wedding can get for the couple getting married and she recommends making sure they actually have time to just be together.
A lot of the time she notes couples will book a private room at the venue so they can sit down and eat together.
"Find a place in the timeline to have alone time with your other person because, by the end of the day, you'll realize you spent all the time with other people and not your significant other when that's what the day is about," she told Narcity.
Don't forget to sign your wedding license
While this may sound like a given on a couple's wedding day, Herrington says couples forget to actually sign their wedding license more than people would expect.
"I can't even count how many times I've seen that not even happen."
Be prepared to take photos in the rain
If you think there's a chance of rain on your wedding day, Herrington says a good way to be prepared is making sure you have clear umbrellas at least for the bridal party so you can still get photos.
The wedding photographer notes this is especially important if the venue isn't the best place for indoor pictures.
Why clear umbrellas? "If you do the clear umbrellas you'll actually be able to let some light leak through the umbrellas, so it's not dark."
Make time to speak to all your guests
While this one isn't necessarily a tip she gives to all her clients, Herrington says she wishes she saw more couples do one thing on their wedding day: speak to all the guests.
This can be especially difficult for a couple who has a big wedding, but the photographer says this advice comes from personal experience.
"We had a smaller wedding and I still didn't talk to everybody that was there and I felt really bad afterwards," she said.
Herrington recommends walking around to every table during the reception for around three minutes each to make sure you can at least say hello to all your guests and give them the chance to personally congratulate you.
"Usually if you talk to them not only is your photographer probably grabbing some candids of that but you're also getting time with every guest even if it's in a group setting."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.