patrickr0bins0n:
TIME IS MONEY! DON’T WASTE IT!
Recently, I had a lady ask me, in a Facebook group that I’m a part of, what’s the reason for asking how many people are in the bridal party? I have noticed a trend, especially with local Bahamian weddings, that they tend to have HUGE bridal parties consisting of sometimes 20 people or more. Now, when someone expresses interest in my services, and wants me to cover their wedding, there are a few questions I ask. They are: What’s your budget? How many people are in your bridal party including the bride and groom? How many people are on your guest list? Venue List (Where bride and groom is getting dressed, Ceremony, Garden and Reception Venue?) and What products are you interested in? The reason I need to know how many people are in the bridal party and guest list is all because of TIME! If a couple says to me that they have a bridal party of 4 including the bride and groom, I know then that the time it takes for me to complete their portrait session will be no more than 20 minutes to half an hour….HOWEVER if a couple says to me they have a bridal party of 28 including themselves, this now takes my shooting time in to possibly 2 or more hours. Also, having a bridal party this size, I know that there are going to be MANY disgruntled guests, because the wait time is so great, that they become disgruntled and irate having to wait for the portrait session to end. A guest list with 30 people means less time whereas a guest list of 350 people means that I now have to factor in cost for a second photographer which is an added expense to the bride and groom. If in the event that the couple wants an album done, I now have to factor in design and editing time as well as there are much more pictures that need to be edited and added to the album. When you have a large bridal party this also now cuts into the bride and groom’s portrait session, lessening the amount of formal images captured for possible wall art. Now, many will say, you’re the professional so you should be able to capture everything without a hassle. YES that is true BUT sadly, that is not the case. I have learned, with large bridal parties, there tends to be a lot of delays, wardrobe malfunctions etc that infringe on the timeline of a wedding day thus resulting in the photographer not being able to capture all of the desired photos. Normally, if I am talking casually with people who ask, while in conversation, about my wedding packages, I give them this advice; Seek out your photographer FIRST! Professional photographers can possibly give the best incite on the time of day that is best for shooting your garden photos depending on where you may want to shoot. They can also give incite on which would be the best way to set up your ceremony and reception area so that they can capture the best photos for you. Simply put, you should seek out your Wedding Planner and Photographer the same time so that they can collaborate and plan with you so that EVERYTHING runs smooth on your wedding day. Personally, I’m not a fan of huge bridal parties as I’ve had my fair share of them and I would advise ANY couple seeking to be married to keep their bridal party under 10 persons (This includes bride, groom, groom’s men and bride’s maid and flower girl and page boy.) This keeps the stress level of ALL persons involved to a minimum and will definitely ensure an AWESOME wedding day.
