Hello Timeline Geniuses!
Today we have 5 tips to keep your schedules running smoothly and on time. Planners and photographers alike are in the know: the part of a wedding most like herding cats? Family Portraits.
Family portraits are an important part of the day, but can become stressful (and take a long time!) if you are not organized. Our best advice:
- Start with the largest groups and work your way to smaller groups. It’s also a good rule of thumb to start with elders so they are not waiting for a long time.
- It takes approximately 2-3 minutes per portrait. If you have 10 groups, anticipate portraits will take anywhere from 20-30 minutes total.
- Designate a family member on each side to help gather everyone for photos. As the planner or photographer, you won’t be able to recognize and wrangle as effectively alone.
- A couple days before the wedding, advise the bride and groom to send out an email to family giving them a heads up that they should stick around for portraits after the ceremony. Not everyone will remember, but enough will that they will help remind everyone on the big day!
- Have clients provide you and the photographer with a list of portraits before you finalize the timeline. Here’s an example of a family portrait list:
Bride and Groom with Bride’s grandparents
Bride and Groom with Bride’s extended family (grandparents, uncles, cousins)
Bride and Groom with Bride’s parents and siblings
Bride and Groom with Bride’s parents
Bride and Groom with Groom’s grandparents
Bride and Groom with Groom’s extended family (grandparents, uncles, cousins)
Bride and Groom with Groom’s parents and siblings
Bride and Groom with Groom’s parents
Bride and Groom with officiant
Bride and Groom with special friends
Follow these guidelines for some happy portrait taking!
