What to Tell Your Wedding Photographer
Tell your wedding photographer five things: your timings, your family groups, your venue's rules, anything sensitive, and anything planned as a surprise. I'm Paul Hickey of Once in a Lifetime Photography, a Worcestershire wedding photographer with more than 150 weddings behind me. This is the list I ask every couple for, and why each item matters.
This post is for couples who have already booked. If you are still choosing, start with these questions to ask a wedding photographer.
The short version: a checklist
Date, venues and ceremony time (at booking). Sets coverage hours and travel.
How you feel about being photographed (at booking). Shapes how portraits are planned.
The day's timings, with addresses (a month before). Everything else hangs on this.
Family group list, with first names (a month before). Keeps groups quick.
Names of two helpers (a month before). They find people so I don't have to.
Venue and ceremony rules (a month before). Confetti, flash, smoke, drones.
Family situations (a month before). Avoids awkward moments.
Surprises (a month before). So I'm in the right place.
Other suppliers (a month before). Videographer, band, planner.
Any changes (as they happen). Even small ones.
1. Your timings
Send the full running order, with times and addresses. That means where each of you is getting ready, the ceremony time, the meal, the speeches and the first dance.
If you don't have timings yet, say so. Most couples don't until a few weeks before. I can help you build them. My wedding day photography timeline gives sample days for summer and winter.
Three details are easy to forget:
Travel. If the ceremony and reception are in different places, tell me how you are getting there.
Getting ready in two places. If you both want the morning photographed, I need both addresses.
When the evening really starts. The first dance time decides when night portraits can happen.
2. Your family groups
Write the list with first names, not labels. "Mum, Dad, Sarah, Tom and Gran" is far more use on the day than "bride's family".
Ten family groups take me 20 to 25 minutes. Twenty would take most of your drinks reception. A list of about ten is right for most weddings. Here is a family photo list you can adapt.
Then choose two helpers, one from each side. They need to know the faces and have a loud voice. They fetch the next group while I photograph the current one.
3. Your venue and ceremony rules
Venues, registrars and vicars all have rules. I would far sooner know them a month ahead than discover them at the door.
Confetti. Is it allowed, where, and which types? Ask before you buy. More on confetti here.
The ceremony. Worcestershire registrars don't allow photographs during the signing. Each vicar sets their own rules. Ask yours, and pass it on.
Phones. If you want guests to put phones away during the ceremony, tell me and tell whoever is conducting it.
After dark. Are sparklers, smoke effects or fireworks allowed? Can we use the grounds at night?
Drones. Does the venue permit them?
Access. Are any rooms or parts of the grounds off limits? Will other weddings or the public be on site?
If I haven't worked at your venue before, I arrive early to walk it. Your coordinator's name and number helps with that.
4. Anything sensitive
Tell me about family situations, however awkward they feel to write down. Nothing you tell me goes any further.
Divorced or separated parents. Should they be photographed together, separately, or both?
Relatives who don't speak. I'll keep them in different groups.
A recent bereavement. I'll know to be gentle, and to notice anything that honours them.
Health and mobility. If someone can't stand for long, their photographs happen first and sitting down.
Guests who shouldn't be photographed. This comes up more than you might think.
Children. Tell me who they belong to, so they end up in the right groups.
I'd much sooner know than guess. Guessing is how a photographer asks the wrong two people to stand together.
5. Surprises and things that matter to you
I photograph the day as it unfolds, so I don't need a list of moments. I do need to know about anything I couldn't predict.
Planned surprises. A singing waiter, a choreographed dance, a gift, a guest flying in.
Things with a story. Your grandmother's ring, a charm on the bouquet, a father's watch.
One photograph you would be sad to miss. If there is one, tell me. One is easy to remember.
People who matter outside the family list. The friend who introduced you, a godparent, a neighbour.
How you feel about being photographed
I ask every couple this before the wedding. Most people say they don't enjoy it. That is normal, and it is useful to know.
If you are camera-shy, your portraits can be ten minutes of walking and talking. If you love it, we can take longer. I've written more on feeling comfortable in front of the camera.
What you don't need to tell your photographer
You don't need to send a shot list of sixty moments from Pinterest. A documentary photographer is watching for what happens at your wedding. No list can predict that.
You also don't need to choose lighting, lenses or poses. That is my job. I won't add things to a photograph afterwards either. If the confetti was thin, the photograph will show thin confetti. So it is worth getting the plan right beforehand.
How I collect all of this
You don't have to remember any of it. Every couple gets a login to a client portal as soon as I send their quote. The questionnaire is already in there. It covers timings, family groups and what matters most to you.
You can fill it in a little at a time and change it as often as you like. I'm notified each time you update it. If you haven't started it six weeks before the wedding, I'll send a gentle nudge. Aim to have it complete a month before. I then check the timings with your venue.
Three other small things help:
A phone number for someone who isn't one of you. On the day, you shouldn't be answering questions.
Something to eat. It isn't in my contract and I never insist on it. But I'm with you for ten hours or more, so a meal is a kind thing to arrange. Most venues serve suppliers the main course from the wedding breakfast. Ask for it at the start of the meal, so I'm ready before the speeches.
Your videographer's details, if you have booked one separately. We need to agree who stands where.
What to tell your wedding photographer: common questions
Should I give my wedding photographer a shot list?
Give a family group list, not a list of moments. Groups need planning. Moments need a photographer who is paying attention.
When should I send everything to my photographer?
Aim for a month before the wedding. Start earlier if you like and update it as plans firm up. My questionnaire is open from the day you get your quote.
What if our plans change in the final week?
Tell your photographer straight away, even if it seems minor. A ceremony moved by half an hour changes the whole day.
Do I need to tell my photographer about family tensions?
Yes. It stays private, and it stops awkward group photographs before they happen.
Do we need to meet our photographer before the wedding?
It helps, but a video call does the same job. What matters is that you have talked through the day properly.
Next steps
If you have booked me, your questionnaire is waiting in your client portal now. If you haven't and would like to talk, my wedding photography packages set out what is included. Once in a Lifetime Photography covers Worcestershire, the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire. My work has earned several Wedisson Awards and a Flashmasters Gold Award.
Paul Hickey, Once in a Lifetime Photography · paul@onceinalifetimephotography.co.uk · 01905 900911