1. Be on time, I know this is hard to believe but things get rushed especially on wedding days. If you show up 40 minutes late for a photo session you're not going to get as many photographs to choose from, you won't be as relaxed, and in some cases you will be paying the photographer to stand around. We suggest to plan on being 15 minutes early and if there are people in your group that are chronically late, tell them to be 15 to 30 minutes early (you know the people we're talking about).
2. When you are going to be outside bring a bottle of water, and some loose face powder, especially if it is hot.
3. Women, bring a few safety pins for the bra straps, and a few extra hair pins just in case that veil starts to fall out.
4. If you're prone to double chins keep your chin up to help reduce the double chin.
5. Do a trial run with your hair and makeup and have photos taken to make sure you’re happy with your appearance. Check out your makeup both in natural light and indoors to be sure it’s not too heavy. We cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure your makeup looks light, clean and natural. Even though your wedding is a very special day, keep in mind that you still want to look like you.
6. Make sure the flowers are going to be there. Pre-arrange for them to be delivered or picked up so you don't have to worry about them on your wedding day. If this is going to be an all day event you may want to have your flowers refreshed by a florist. Finally have the florist pre-label the flowers, so the right person gets the right flower.
7. Fill out a shot list and give it to the photographer ahead of time, this way you are more likely to get the shots that you want. Look at other people's photos or bridal magazines to find photos you like and show them to your photographer. Most photographers will take the important photographs, but if you have a special request tell them.
8. If parents are divorced or if there is animosity between family members make sure the photographer knows ahead of time.
9. For the kissing pictures don't pucker to much you don't want to look like a cod fish and keep your tongue in your mouth (this might come back to haunt you).
10. Relax and be yourself this is your special day and no one else's. Your photographs will turn out much better if you are relaxed and happy.

After the cake has been long eaten and dress has been packed away in storage, all that will remain is the photos taken there on your wedding day. And while there are many photographers out there, who would you like to trust your most precious memories to? How do you get the most out of your wedding photos? Will my photos turn out the way I have dreamed of?

Here are some tips to getting the most out of your wedding photography.

“The REAL professional photographers”

You have many amateur s out there, that bought a camera and posing as photographers and picking up weddings for some quick easy cash. And even though the price might seem great, take a look at the bigger picture, and ask yourself “why is this person so cheap?”

Many professional photographers charge the amount they do because of the skill and education they have, the higher dollar cameras they use that take those great shots, and the materials they use to give you a high quality products that will stand the test of time.

“You will need TIME to make the magic happen”

Often times many photographers add a traditional style to their overall wedding shooting skills. These are the tried and true, can’t go wrong photos that are taken after the ceremony.

These are the shots that get enlarged and placed on a desk or in an album to show your children, so you want to make sure you have time to make these photos happen.

After the ceremony allow for a good hour with the photographer, depending on the size of the bridal party and the amount of relatives you want in these photos, you might want to allow for a little more time. Taking the photos isn’t the hard part; it’s the organization for all the other people that takes most of the time.

“Your creative input helps more then you know”

What I suggest to couples is to think about the types of photography they want and let your photographer know what you would like. By offering up ideas and suggestions to the types of photos you’d like to have taken, the better the photographer will be giving you what you want.

I’d recommend finding photos online saving them and sending them to the photographer for some ideas or if you find beautiful pictures in magazines clip them out or bring them with you to your meeting with your wedding photographer. It helps to bring everyone onto the same page.

“Engagement Portraits and You”

If the photographer offers an engagement portrait session as part of a package or even separately it is recommended that you take advantage of the pre wedding day shoot. It will give you a chance to get comfortable posing in front of a camera as well as gives the photographer a head start finding all those good sides to photograph you in.