How to Make a Wedding Photos Must Have List…

Can you believe you’re about to get married!? I am sure you are feeling swirls of excitement, agonizing anxiety (‘what am I forgetting?’), and sheer terror that nothing will go as planned. Amongst all of that is a worry that you won’t get the images that you want and that your fiancé will not be convinced that spending three months worth of rent on a photographer was justified.

deep breath my friend

All you need is a little bit of organization, a dash of realistic expectations and a whole truck load of positivity. Take it from me, your Minneapolis wedding planner friend, everything is going to be amazing.

While I don’t want you to become a passive, limp, overwhelmed bride, giving up on all the details because of analysis paralysis (more about wedding choices here), I also don’t want you to become manic. Take a break for just one second from pinning and double tapping (in fact make sure you peruse these non-Pinterest inspiration stations before you’re tapped out). Snag your fiancé and make a wedding photos must have list, here’s how you should do it.

1. Either put pen to paper or create a google doc. Organize yourself with a few columns: Must Haves, Family Photos, Fun Ideas, Candids.  Reference posts you’ve liked on Instagram and things you’ve pinned on Pinterest, get really old school and pick up a copy of a bridal magazine #weddingcollage.

2. Talk to your photographer. Most will undoubtedly capture the events of the day without you including it on the shot list. Events like the first look, your ceremony, your first dance, toasts etc. are a gimme.

First caveat: you’ll need to notify your photographer, if they aren’t present, that you are starting an event that you want photographed. Like if you want to read the love note that your bride-to-be wrote you, and you want it photographed, don’t read it by yourself on the back side of a building after having snuck away from all living persons. Include it on your timeline and on your must have shot list.

3. Give a copy of the list to your day of coordinator, the photographer, their assistant, your personal attendant. Your photographer and their assistant are now charged with doing their best to execute your list. If you selected your photographer because of the images that they capture, their style and their online gallery, then you should feel at ease that they will capture similar images of your wedding.

Second caveat: your day will be unique, you can’t control the weather, nor if your dad will cry during the first look. Therefore, you may not capture exactly your list. Come to terms with that and be okay with it. Your personal attendant can be charged with helping out on the family photo portion, running to grab a missing uncle and calling out names. Trust me, you want this portion to go by slick, family photos likely happen before the ceremony and you don’t want to work up a sweat or get frazzled before i dos.

4. Forget about your list. Like almost to the point of burning it and deleting all traces. Don’t get lost in list management, your job is to get married, be in the moment, and enjoy the pants off of your day.

When you get your wedding photos back you don’t want to be that newly married bride dissatisfied that the 1400 images you received that don’t contain a picture of you and your flower girl in that perfectly pinnable pose, **SIGH** you only have 15 pictures of the two of you, and that’s all. Can you hear the inanity in that complaint? I am hoping so, it’s no way to live looking back and stewing over what didn’t happen to you.

Once you get married and have your online photo gallery, you should be overjoyed and that is it. You should cherish the memories over all else. And if you are only getting married for the multitude of photo opportunities, then you should hire a videographer alongside your photographer, and cover all of the memory-making bases.

5. Did you try to make a list and stall out after 4 must haves? Are you just not feeling inspired to write down specific moments that you want captured? That’s okay. If you feel as though you just can’t pinpoint specific things you want pictures of, then, by all means, let your photographer take the reins and run with it. They will get the traditional photos but then they’ll find those candid moments that organically occur during the day, some of which you might not even know is happening or has happened.

6. Finally, be in the moment, let the day just flow. Putting someone else in charge of telling you what happens next and where you need to be so that you can just live and breathe and love and be photographed. That’s what a day of coordinator is all about, learn more here.

I can’t stress enough that the best part of getting married, is that you’re get married. It shouldn’t be dependent on a shot list. You got this friend. Be sure to check out my board of Must Have Moments and thanks to Mark Fierst for the wonderful images in this post!

Prosperity, Love & Happiness,