Should You Take Your Wedding Pictures Before the Ceremony?

Of course you are going to have photos at your wedding. When working with your Photographer, one of the questions that will be asked of you is if you want to take pictures before the ceremony or after?  You may ask yourself, "Does it matter?" "Is one way better than  the other?"

Honestly, it's personal preference. Some couples are very adamant about not seeing each other before the wedding.  The Bride may not want her Groom to see her dress until she walks down the aisle.  The Groom may want to keep with the time-honored tradition of leaving his Bride the night before and not seeing her until she walks down the aisle.  Whatever the two of you decide, know there is no right or wrong answer.

One of the nice things about taking your pictures before the ceremony is that it cuts down on the amount of time that your guests must wait to see you after the ceremony.  Another pro to pictures before the ceremony is that for some couples, it helps to calm their nerves and put them at ease to seeing one another before the whirlwind of the day begins.  Other  couples like to have that "first look" and share that intimate moment  knowing that it may be the only time that day that they are able to have  a real conversation since they will be so busy entertaining their  guests.

Know that if you wait to take your pictures until after the ceremony,  that your guests are going to have a wait so please have something for  them to do in the interim; this is where the cocktail hour comes in so handy.  The cocktail hour allows you to get your pictures taken and your guests don't have idle time and become antsy.  They can mix and mingle amongst one another over cocktails and hors d' oevures.

Not taking pictures before the ceremony also allows all of your guests to share in that "first time he saw you" moment.

The third option is to do both. You can each take as many pictures as you can without one another and then take the pictures including you and your Groom after the ceremony.  In other words, the pictures with the bridal party can be done beforehand, pictures of the Bride with her parents, the Bride with the wedding party, the Groom with his parents, and so forth.

What have you decided when it comes to your wedding pictures?  We'd love to hear what you are doing, just leave your comment below.

Enjoy planning!

For other wedding tips and tricks go to heelsaboveweddingsandevents.com