Back to The Latest

Wedding Day Tips from a Philadelphia Wedding Professional

There is so much to think about when you are planning your wedding. It’s no secret that we have photographed A LOT of weddings. So let the Philadelphia wedding professionals give you some sound wedding day tips to make your life easier. Because we have seen it all! We know what works and what doesn’t work. At this point, we should probably add “wedding planner” to our list of expertise. But that would take away from our passion of wedding photography and videography. Instead, we will just share our first-hand experience of important things to plan for on your wedding day. After all, we are wedding professionals and we know a little bit about what we’re talking about. We have seen the best and the worst of what can happen on a wedding day.

Allow Too Much Time

That might sound a little silly. But the fact of the matter is everything usually takes longer than you think it will. That is one of the main reasons it is so important to hire an experienced wedding photographer who knows about time management. You might not see it, but I’m sitting here with my hand raised: That’s us 100%. A real wedding professional will be able to help guide you in letting you know what should happen when. That is why we take the time for each and every one of our clients to build a timeline together that is going to work for your wedding day. This might be one of the most important wedding day tips that you can’t mess around with.

You wouldn’t want to walk down the aisle with your makeup half done. You also don’t want to not have time for those perfect wedding day portraits you’ve been dreaming of your whole life because it took an extra hour to do your makeup. It’s not quite the same as doing your hair and makeup at home. Perfection takes time. Not to mention all of your bridesmaids should look [almost] as perfect as the bride. And for both brides and grooms, you want time to have fun with your people and to not feel rushed getting ready. Family portraits are another major way of getting behind in your schedule. It takes time to gather all the different combinations of family members you want a photo with. Always consult your wedding photographer (hopefully that’s us!) when planning your timeline for your wedding day.

wedding day tips philadelphia wedding photographer
Plan wedding philadelphia wedding day tips

Make Your Wedding YOU

It’s all about the details – It’s what makes your wedding day unique, special, YOU. There are so many cool things about weddings, but personal details are at the top of my list. Details are what makes no two weddings the same. There are so many different ways to make your details something really special and your guests will be talking about it for years. You should really dig deep down and think what makes you two unique as a couple. What are your common interests that made you fall in love. What do you and your future spouse love about each other that you want to share with your guests. We have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to details because it’s what makes your wedding day truly special.

You could make your whole wedding a specific theme. We shoot so many off-beat and unique weddings with awesome themes every year – it’s really our favorite type of wedding! Like this Star Wars Theme Wedding at Mendenhall Inn. If you are book nerds (totally not making fun because so are we!) think about having your favorite books as reception centerpieces. Or keep it traditional like Cari and Taahir’s fall wedding at Knowlton Mansion complete with tea ceremony and outfits to impress. If you love arts and crafts, consider a DIY wedding where all the decorations are hand made with love.

Wedding day tips Star Wars theme wedding decor

We LOVE First Looks!

A first see or a first look is one of the most special moments in a wedding, if you choose to have one. In some traditional weddings, you might opt to wait and see each other in your wedding attire when you walk down the aisle. And that’s ok too! The first look is something that can be staged with a beautiful backdrop and it’s just you and your husband or wife to be. Well we are there too, but we promise you won’t even notice us! You can be as emotional as you want (we encourage it actually). Chances are you have been planning your wedding for months or maybe even years. And this very moment makes it feel like the real deal, and that it’s really happening. This is a wonderful opportunity to make sure you get that loving reaction in the perfect light. And it’s a great time to start off your bride and groom or bride and bride, or groom and groom portraits together. Being one of our favorite things, you already know we have a Pinterest board for that too. It’s filled with our BMO couples’ first sees on their wedding day.

wedding day tips plan same sex wedding first look photos

Another first see opportunity is with bride and Dad. It is it’s own amazing thing and you wouldn’t believe how emotional Dads get! Their baby girl (no matter how old you are) is getting married and she is all grown up. Both reveals don’t take that long. Allow an extra 15 minutes in the schedule to allow for it and you won’t regret it!

Have an Engagement Session

Your engagement session is the perfect time to really get to know your photographer / videographer (us!!). We had our consultation, we hit it off and we are so excited for your wedding. Now we want to make you comfortable in front of the camera. And with us it won’t even feel like we’re taking photos, but like hanging out with friends. Back to having awesome personal details, your engagement photos make perfect decorations on your wedding day! They can be framed or just the prints could be clipped to string for a rustic vibe. And you are probably going to want those photos for your save the dates and wedding invitations. But most of all, it’s just a chance to have a great time!

If you have questions about your wedding and and are looking for a Professional wedding photographer contact us! We are based in Philadelphia and typically photograph and video weddings all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But we also LOVE to travel. So no matter where in the country (or world) you may be, we just might be the right wedding photographer for you! We hope our wedding day tips have helped you make your day the very best!

Share this post

Comments (6)

  • Parker Radbourne Reply

    These are great wedding day tips, I love how you included that it’s so important to hire professional, experienced vendors and to include extra time in your timeline. So many great suggestions to brides and grooms planning their wedding!

    February 13, 2017 at 6:43 pm
  • Sonia Freeman Reply

    What an informative wedding planning article! Managing a timeline on the wedding day is so important and considering a First Look before the ceremony can be the perfect solution to making sure there is enough time for all the desired wedding photographs!

    February 13, 2017 at 8:47 pm
  • Lori Foxworth Reply

    What a great resource for anyone who is newly engaged and planning a wedding! BG Productions has such a varied portfolio, filled with so many different types of weddings. These tips for wedding photography are absolutely perfect!

    February 15, 2017 at 4:16 pm
  • Kelly Loeffler Reply

    Great tips on planning your wedding day. I love first looks too!

    February 15, 2017 at 5:51 pm
  • Ashlee Reply

    Great wedding day tips! You are right you can never have enough time!!

    February 15, 2017 at 5:57 pm
  • Danyel Stapleton Reply

    All great tips for planning your wedding day in Philadelphia! I absolutely ADORE the super hero details.

    February 15, 2017 at 6:08 pm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to The Latest