Planning The Best Wedding Day

It appears my experiences across 700+ weddings have made me a kind of Sydney wedding planning guru, instead of a ‘Master of Ceremonies’ maybe a bit of a ‘Master of Weddings’. I suppose it is only natural. As a professional wedding photographer I work to provide the best solution for everyone throughout the entire day. The couple. Their family. Their guests. The countless other wedding professionals involved (sometimes twenty or more). It can be a lot of boxes to tick and unless you have genuine experience in Sydney wedding planning some key aspects can be sadly overlooked. So, in no particular order here are a bunch of tips straight off the bat that will help guide you in putting together the perfect wedding day.

The DC Images Holden Colorado has no less than 25 umbrellas ready to go if the rain hits. Black. White. Clear. Colourful. Big. Small. Styled. All yours to borrow.

• Ensure the bride is the last one to have her final hair & make-up touch ups so that it can be captured and added to the wedding narrative
• With regards to filming your wedding ceremony and to enable multiple camera angles (even with just one shooter) allow your professional(s) 35-40-minutes to set-up time
• For the getting ready shots have every item you would like captured (ie: shoes, gown, suit, tie, flowers, rings, headpiece, garter, cuff links etc) laid out or hanging up ready to go
• Why not stagger some pictorial shots through the reception to make the most of the setting sun or night opportunities. Or instead of a 1-2 hour stretch why not stagger the pictorials over 3-4 twenty-minute slots?
• Allow at least 30-minutes after the wedding ceremony to greet their guests, it is the wedding part of the wedding day after all not to mention Mums & Dads are proud of their kids and the guests have only seen the bride
• Technically (for us) lighting comes before anything else. Whilst location, timing etc is critical it is nothing without the right lighting. We would take the best lighting over the best location any day of the week
• Maybe pack you a munchies & drinkies kit, ie: it is not uncommon to go 5+ hours from the moment you leave home/the hotel until you reach your reception. FYI make sure you check with your car hire company though as some will include this in their services
• Never underestimate the variety of image that can be captured during the darkness of night! Creative lighting is what us professional photographers and videographers are all about
• In terms of timeline consider whether you want to stage certain aspects of your wedding day to suit your “preferred order of events” or would you rather “capture the natural narrative” of things?
• Remember it is about capturing fun. And loads of it! By that we mean if everyone is having fun then straight away there is a connection to every image captured. Then add in the techno know how we provide behind the scenes, ie: lighting, location, composition, style, retouching, presentation etc and you will be on to a winner every time

What we can do in the pitch black of night. Sparklers. Back lighting/silhouettes. Star trails. The under lighting of trees. Long-exposure. Light trails.

There is so much to look forward to at every wedding and I could go all day but I fancy that might be information overload. Stay tuned though as I’ll make these kinda tips a regular thing. To find out when we add more posts like this one (ie: with a Sydney wedding planning vibe) follow us on Facebook or Instagram or scroll down, leave a comment and tick the “Notify me of new posts” box.

Rest assured we love every aspect about what we do (including all the behind the scenes prep work) and that is why we encourage all budding brides and grooms to search high and low for the wedding photographer and/or videographer that genuinely has the couple’s best interests at heart. It is about providing options, not removing them eh. I mean that is why we often say to couples include/exclude whatever albums, film edits, artworks etc you like because for us:

“It is the day that makes the images and the images
that make the artwork(s), not any other way around”

So, let’s put together the best wedding timeline (including all the options) so that come the day everything is exactly how YOU want it. Let’s put together a plan built on having as much time and fun as possible so you can #enjoytheride

Cheers, Dale
(aka owner of DC Images)

FYI if it was me (for when it comes to Sydney wedding planning), I would encourage couples to meet the photographer first! Honestly. Meet the photographer before you meet anyone else simply because they work with every single supplier on a wedding day and will have seen a wedding day plan come together is so, so many different ways. Why not ask them how they think your plans will work? Is it the best timing? Will we get the best lighting? Have we chosen good locations? Asking questions of a professional wedding photographer (aka a Sydney wedding planning guru) with genuine experience will provide you the additional understanding, knowledge and options you may never have considered. Why not explore the opportunities you never thought possible?