Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits
Their Importance
Weddings are an exciting and emotional time – not just for the couple but for their loved ones as well – their family & friends. Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits however can get overwhelming. Everyone has come together to celebrate this union as they have watched & supported you on your journey up to this point. That’s exactly why however including family portraits on your wedding day is SO important. It reminds your family how important they are to you on this day in your life but it also becomes a precious memory that your loved one will cherish for years to come. (It can be also be a great gift opportunity as well!)
Where to Start
With all my wedding clients, I always ask for a list of family groupings you’d like photographed. Typically this portrait time happens immediately after the ceremony. It can be easy to have the officiant announce at the end of the ceremony to have all family stay behind or to go to a certain area for portraits. This can also be pre-arranged and included information on the invitation or wedding website! I find that a little direction really helps alleviate a LOT of frustration & unnecessary delay and confusion from your family members. Without a bit of a plan, people can wander off, causing huge delays that quickly make it an unpleasant experience for some. This can help ensure the entire experience of the day is stress-free and focused on celebrating your union!
Timing
We usually set aside 20-30 minutes on the timeline of the day for these family portraits. This allows us to have up to around 20 different groupings but I find usually anywhere around 15 can be ideal. Groupings will vary as each family is unique!
Groupings with a lot of people can easily take up to 5-10 minutes each and if you have multiple big groups, we can quickly go into your valuable Bride & Groom/Bridal Party Portrait time or your cocktail hour!
Keep in mind, I will always try to give you a variety within certain groupings when time permits. For example, if you had listed a Siblings grouping of: “B&G (Bride & Groom) + Siblings” if time allowed I would then also break down that grouping into each individual sibling with the B&G, & so on. So if you have B&G + Bride’s Parents, you will always get an individual shot of just the Bride with her Parents, etc.
Picking the groupings can get overwhelming, especially if you have a large extended family and want to include the majority of them! I’ve included below a basic template you can use, but keep in mind everyone’s family has different dynamics and this list can look very different depending on who you want included!
In your Final Details Questionnaire that I send to all my couples, I also ask that you include the names of the family members alongside the groupings. This is so that when there’s a large group of family members standing by during this time, we can easily call people by name when it’s their turn without delay.
Family List Template
Here are my recommendations for your Family Wedding Portraits List below:
1. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents
2. Bride + Bride’s Parents
3. Bride + Bride’s Mom
4. Bride + Bride’s Dad
5. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents
6. Groom + Groom’s Parents
7. Groom + Groom’s Mom
8. Groom + Groom’s Dad
9. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Siblings
10. Bride + Bride’s Sister(s)
11. Bride + Bride’s Brother(s)
12. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings
13. Bride + Bride’s Mom + Bride’s Sister(s)
14. Groom + Bride’s Dad + Bride’s Brother(s)
15. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Siblings
16. Groom + Groom’s Sister(s)
17. Groom + Groom’s Brother(s)
18. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings
19. Bride + Groom’s Mom + Groom’s Sister(s)
20. Groom + Groom’s Dad + Groom’s Brother(s)
21. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings
22. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Grandparents
23. Bride + Bride’s Grandma(s)
24. Bride + Bride’s Grandpa(s)
25. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Grandparents
26. Groom + Groom’s Grandma(s)
27. Groom + Groom’s Grandpa(s)
28. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Grandparents + Groom’s Grandparents
29. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Bride’s Grandparents
30. Bride + Bride’s Mom + Bride’s Sister(s) + Bride’s Grandma(s)
31. Groom + Bride’s Dad + Bride’s Brother(s) + Bride’s Grandpa(s)
32. Bride + Groom’s Mom + Groom’s Sister(s) + Groom’s Grandma(s)
33. Groom + Groom’s Dad + Groom’s Brother(s) + Groom’s Grandpa(s)
34. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings + Groom’s Grandparents
35. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Bride’s Grandparents + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings + Groom’s Grandparents
I hope this helps give you a starting point to know how to map out this part of your wedding day and helps you in Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits! Have any advice or must-have groupings?? Please be sure to comment below with your own experience!
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