Wedding Guide
Engagement Session Engagement sessions are a great way to get to know each other! We spend about an hour or so together at a beautiful park, nature center, or other fabulous location and take some beautiful photos of you two. Not only does this give us some time to chat and get to know each other, but it’s also a great way to get a little more comfortable in front of the camera. I love knowing how to make my brides and grooms laugh on their wedding day! When can we schedule a session? Engagement sessions are offered Monday-Thursday in the afternoon and evenings, when the light is at its best! If it is not possible to schedule a session during the week, occasional Saturday morning sessions are available, but can be booked no more than 4 weeks in advance. What is included with the session? Retouched images from your engagement session are displayed in an online gallery where prints can be purchased. If you are looking to create save-the-dates, you can either choose 1 digital image to receive early and print anywhere, or you can request a Minted gallery (www.minted.com) and use as many of the images from your session on their save-the-date cards. The full gallery of images will be delivered to you on the USB with your wedding images., approximately 1.5 months after your wedding. What should we wear? The best outfit for you to wear is something you are comfortable in! If you love getting dressed up, go for it! If you are more of a jeans-and-tshirt kind of couple, let’s have a more relaxed session together. There is no wrong or right answer. A few recommendations I do have are: - Stay away from bold patterns and super bright colors - Keep your hair and makeup “every day” - Feel free to bring along props that show off who you are! (Books, picnic baskets, etc.) - Relax and have fun! Session Date and Time: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Session Location: __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Detail Meeting My mantra for wedding day planning is to keep it simple. Not only will this make your day easier for everyone, it will keep the stress levels down and let you have the most fun on your day. With some careful planning and a little bit of preparation, your wedding day can go very smoothly and be stress free! The most important thing to remember is that at the end of the day, if you are married to your best friend, everything went right. Here are some frequently asked questions about each portion of your day:
What is a final detail meeting? Before your wedding, we will set up a time to meet at your wedding location(s) and walk around the grounds together. We discuss what photos you would like to have taken, we double check your day-of schedule to make sure we have to most up-to-date version, and I answer any last-minute questions that you may have about your day. If your wedding location is more than 1.5 hours from Lunenburg, we may opt to chat over the phone or meet at my home office. When do we schedule the meeting for? Three weeks before your wedding is the best time to get together. Most of your details and schedule will be finalized by then, and the two weeks before your day are usually filled with last minute projects and celebrating! What should we bring? This booklet will be a great tool for you to keep track of the important details we will be discussing, I highly recommend keeping it with your wedding notes and bringing it to our final detail meeting. Check out the next few pages to read helpful tips for each section of your day!
Final Meeting Date and Time: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Final Meeting Location: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Pre-Ceremony How much time do we need for pre-ceremony photos? There are two pre-ceremony options for brides and grooms to choose from: Traditional and First Look.. - Traditional pre-ceremony coverage of a bride and groom at the same location (hotel, home, venue) requires approximately 1.5 hours of coverage. If you will be getting ready at different locations, account for 45 minutes at each location, plus the drive time between locations. - First-look pre-ceremony coverage will vary depending on getting ready location (I highly recommend getting ready at the same location), and the timing you choose for your formal photographs.. A first look alone with post-ceremony photographs will add 15 minutes to your getting ready time. A first look with pre-ceremony formals will add an additional hour to the 1.5 hours of recommended pre-ceremony coverage. What is a first look? A first look is separate pre-ceremony photography of the bride and groom, then a quiet time (usually 15 minutes), for you to see each other before the ceremony, exchange gifts or hugs, and spend a moment together before the day starts. This is perfect if seeing the other person will help calm nerves! Formal photographs can take place either before or after the ceremony, or both, so you, your family and wedding party can attend the cocktail hour. It also allows for flexibility in formal photography timing for a late night wedding, or a day with on/off rain showers. What can we do to keep our photos running smoothly? Before your wedding you will be dealing with hair, makeup, suits and boutonnieres, and making sure you have everything ready is key. Here are some great tips to get you to the ceremony on time: - Plan to have all hair and makeup finished thirty minutes before photography begins. - Have bridesmaids and groomsmen get dressed before arriving to pre-ceremony location. - Have the room cleaned up when photography begins. - Have dress and veil hanging on wooden hanger. - Have shoes, jewelry, bouquet, and all details together and ready. What kind of lighting/room should we have while getting ready? Ideally your getting ready location will have lots of light, but the most important aspect will be room, literally! A large room with a small area off to the side for storage will make getting ready much easier.
Pre-Ceremony Checklists Pre-Ceremony Location: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Time to Arrive: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Photography Start Time: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Time to Leave for Ceremony: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Remember... ___ Tell bridesmaids and groomsmen when and where to meet. ___ Have bridesmaids and groomsmen bring their bags and belongings to their rooms. ___ Clean up bags and items in room ___ Hang dress on a wooden hanger in an out-of-the-way area. ___ Have shoes, jewelry, bouquet and all details together and ready. Notes: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Pre-Ceremony Photo List
Getting Ready Ring and Bouquet Dress Detailing Shoes Wedding Jewelry Mirror and Finishing Touches Bride with Parents Bridesmaids
Cufflinks/Suit Details Boutonniere Groom with Parents Groomsmen _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
Ceremony How does time of day affect my ceremony lighting? If you are having an indoor ceremony, the lighting is determined mostly by the room itself (large and bright, small and dark, etc) as well as how many windows are available for natural light. In many cases, we would need to use additional lighting in the form of flash to photograph an indoor ceremony. For outdoor ceremonies, bright, noon sunlight can cause harsh shadows, so planning for a few hours before sunset tends to give softer lighting and shade to many areas. If your ceremony site can be moved around, you can certainly ask me to help with your planning! What’s the best location and lighting for my outdoor ceremony? Both indoor and outdoor ceremonies have great qualities. Indoor ceremonies have control over the weather, and outdoor ceremonies can have beautiful lighting and backdrops. If outdoors: - Look for a location with full shade, such as near a tree or in a garden with high shrubs. Shade offers soft lighting for beautiful photos, as well as comfort for you and your guests from the bright sunlight! Noon to about 2:00pm will give the photos harsh shadows, so the best timing for an outdoor ceremony is a few hours before sunset. - Have a rain plan! Most of the time, it’s a plan that isn’t needed, but on your wedding day you want to have all the details figured out ahead of time. Many times, you can request to get married on the dance floor and have your guests sit at their reception seats as an easy backup!
What do you need to know about our ceremony? Personalized ceremonies are the best! It’s your day, so make your “I do”s reflect who you are as a couple. Once you have figured out the important pieces of your ceremony, here are some of the details that are helpful to know: - Are you having a videographer? - Will your DJ be organizing your ceremony? - How many readings will you have? - Do you have any special traditions? - Will you be handing flowers to family, offering special hugs, or having anyone walk up to the alter? - Will you be doing a receiving line at the end of the ceremony?
Ceremony Checklists Ceremony Location: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Time to Arrive: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Indoor/Outdoor: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Time to Leave for Ceremony: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Remember... ___ Have a family member hold personal belongings during the ceremony (purse, cell phone, etc). ___ Make sure your cell phone is away, everyone who you would pick up for, is already there! ___ Have a few sips of water before the ceremony, but not too much!
Notes: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Ceremony Photo List
Ceremony Site Alter Decoration Groom Waiting Groom and Groomsmen Bride Arriving at Ceremony Wedding Party Walking Down Aisle Giving Away of Bride Bride and Groom at Alter Priest/Pastor/JP Speaking
Readings Vows Exchanging of Rings First Kiss Bride and Groom Leaving Alter _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
Formals What’s the best lighting for my formals? No matter what time your ceremony takes place, a good time for formals can be found! Noon lighting can be very harsh, so afternoon or morning lighting is preferred, and shade offers very nice lighting. We will walk around your ceremony and reception location(s) to choose a few spots for formal photographs together. Do all of my formals have to be in the same spot? Not all of your formals have to have the same background. I highly recommend having your family photos and wedding party photos all in one space, but we can certainly work to create a different background for the images. Many factors for this include background options, lighting, time of day, rain plans, etc. For bride and groom portraits, I recommend setting aside 15-20 minutes to move around to a few spots at your formals location and have some fun! Who should be in my formal photographs? Keeping formal photographs simple will keep your day on-time and running smoothly. I recommend that only immediate family (grandparents included!) and your wedding party attend the formal photographs. If you have friends or family that you would like a photo with, we can certainly take pictures with them during the reception! We can also take photographs with your grandparents at the reception if they have limited mobility. What if we think of a photo last minute? One or two quick, last minute photos are not a problem, as long as we are on-time. If you have a long list of formal photographs that you want, I recommend choosing a first look so we can schedule enough time, as well as have the cocktail hour for additional backup time. How long do formal photographs take? Each image takes approximately 3-5 minutes to set up and photograph (more for groups larger than 5 people). Also, remember that many venues will bring food and drink to you during your cocktail hour, so you will want to spend a few minutes having a snack and don’t forget to add in the 15-20 minutes of bride and groom portraits! What if I see photos that I want to re-create? Pinterest and the internet in general are amazing tools to help plan your wedding. Often times, brides and grooms see images that they love online and want to recreate them for their own day. I highly recommend choosing just 1 or 2 that you would like to use as inspiration. Many factors affect these images including lighting, location, style, even your height!. Your day is unique and your images should reflect that!
Formals Checklists Formals Location: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Time to Arrive: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pre Ceremony or Post Ceremony Formals? ________________________________________________________________________ Time to Leave for Ceremony/Reception: ___________________________________________________________________________ Remember... ___ Notify all immediate family and wedding party members that they are needed. ___ Make sure to tell them when and where to meet for the formals. ___ Make sure all groomsmen have their jackets and boutonnieres. ___ Make sure all the bridesmaids have their bouquets and accessories. Notes: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Formal Photo List
Bride, Groom, Bride’s Family Bride, Groom, Bride’s Parents Bride, Groom, Groom’s Family Bride, Groom, Groom’s Parents Bride, Groom, Both Parents Entire Wedding Party Bride with Bridesmaids Groom and Groomsmen
Groom and Best Man Bride with Maid of Honor Bride and Groom Portraits _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________
Reception How do you light a dark reception? Receptions traditionally take place in the evening, so no matter what you have for lighting during your reception, we can work with it! 99% of our receptions are photographed with flash photography. During our final detail meeting, we will walk through your reception location so I can see the room and what variables may affect your lighting (windows, no windows, low/high ceilings, etc.) For a fun way to add some color to the room, talk with your DJ or a lighting company about up-lighting or spotlights. How do you know what to do during the reception? The beauty of having a photographer who specializes in weddings is that we have a pretty good idea of what to expect and how long it will take! Usually before the ceremony or right before the reception begins, we stop by the DJ booth and introduce ourselves so they know who we are and we know who they are. I check in with them regularly while you are chatting with guests or eating dinner to make sure we are running on time and see what’s next. We will also discuss the details for your ceremony during our final detail meeting, so we know if you will be having any special traditions during your reception. How long should you stay once the reception begins? Your reception will be a time to relax, chat and dance with your guests! The most important aspects to cover for your reception start when you are introduced and continue through parent dances. On average, most reception traditions are finished within 2 hours of the reception start time, and we recommend an additional 30-60 minutes for dancing and fun photos. When/Where/What do you usually eat for dinner? Having a quick dinner in a side room while you eat dinner is always the easiest way to go. Your coordinator can tell you more about their schedule, but eating dinner at the same time is always the best. We also like to be very close so that if we are needed during dinner, we are easily available! What is your advice for our reception? Have Fun!!! It’s the most relaxing part of your day, and you should be smiling and enjoying yourselves the entire time. If you want to hang out on the dance floor with your guests, do it! Personalize your day and enjoy each other’s company!
Reception Checklists Reception Location: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reception Start Time _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Photography End Time: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember... ___ Small bouquet for bouquet toss. ___ Have a family member or staff bring purses to seating areas ___ Hide a few tissues at your seats for the toasts, just in case! ___ Bring flip flops or flat shoes for dancing! Notes: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Reception Photo List
Reception Hall Place Cards Favors Table Decorations Wedding Cake
Parent Dances Cutting of the Cake Bouquet and Garter Bride and groom with friends and family Candids of guests
Introductions First dance Toasts/Blessing
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Digital Files When do we get to see the photos?!?!? The wedding day is over, and you cannot wait to relive it again and again! Within a day or two of the wedding, there will be a sneak peek photo up on Facebook that you are welcome to use as your profile photo and/or share with family and friends (please don’t crop the watermark!) Approximately three weeks after the wedding you will receive an email with your online gallery link and password to view your photos. Can we share the gallery with family and friends? Absolutely! You are the only recipients of the link and password, but you can forward the email to anyone that you would like to share your photos with! When do we get our USB? All gallery images from your engagement session and your wedding day will be delivered 1 month after your wedding images go into your gallery, approximately 1.5 months after your wedding day. How many photos will we receive? Every engagement session and wedding is different, so the number of images from each can vary. A good approximation is 40 images from your engagement session and 400 images from your wedding. For a 6 hour wedding, that is more than a photo per minute! Can we have the RAW images or images that were not in the gallery? RAW files are not available for purchase. The gallery includes a collection of images that are chosen and retouched to represent your wedding day and all of the details of your day. Before the wedding day, we sit down to discuss what is important to you so that we can include all of the photographs that will make your gallery complete. If there are special moments that you would like to make sure to have, let me know! What are we allowed to do with our photos? Once you receive your images, you are allowed to: - Make prints for your walls, tabletops, etc. - Have prints made for gifts - Share watermarked images online Things that you are not allowed to do with images: - Sell the images. - Send images to businesses (direct them to me, I can get them set up with the correct sizes and releases!) - Submit images to magazines or blogs for publication. If you have any questions about image usage or specific situations, let me know!
Books, Albums and Cards Why should we purchase a bridal album or parent albums? While having digital images is wonderful, having a professionally designed, high quality wedding album is the perfect way to remember your day. Not only is it a beautiful addition to your home, but it is a timeless way to share your wedding day that future generations will love to see! Do we get to choose our own images? You are certainly welcome to choose your own images for your album! I also offer a starting layout, where I choose images to tell the story of your day, and you can swap out images if you have others that you would prefer. How many images can we have in our album? Bridal albums can include up to 60 images from your wedding day, and parent albums can include up to 40 images. Can we see the layout first? All albums are designed and then sent to you for review before going to print. All albums and books include 2 revisions for swapping out or moving images. Additional revisions
What is a guestbook? Guestbooks are press-printed books that can be used as a guest sign-in book. They are filled with images from your engagements session on a white background with space for guests to write notes to you. This makes for a great keepsake of your engagement session! What types of cards do you offer? There are many cards that go into a wedding day, usually starting with save-the-date cards and ending with thank you cards. We offer one image from your engagement session to use on save-the-date cards, as well as an only gallery of images for use on Minted, www.minted.com, to create save-the-date cards or thank you cards. Contact me for more information and to discuss your ideas!
Our Vendors Venue Coordinator: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Videographer: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DJ/Band: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Officiant: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Stylist/Salon: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Florist: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bakery: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Other: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Notes
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Leslie Boudreau PHOTOGRAPHY
www.leslieboudreau.com Leslie@leslieboudreau.com
978-400-6598