Outdoor weddings in the summer are stunning, scheduling your day around light is critical for these weddings! Try to avoid the mid-day sun during the time of your ceremony the best you can. The harsh light directly overhead during the afternoon hours will cause you to squint and guests to swelter in the heat. Instead, choose a ceremony just before sunset. This will create beautiful, much softer lighting, less heat for your guests, and more evenly lit photos with less harsh shadows. Make sure you have good light available outside at portrait time. One thing to keep in mind is what time the sun will be setting and if you plan to do photos before or after your ceremony. If you have an evening ceremony I suggest opting for a “first look” and doing couple, bridal party, and family photos before the ceremony to allow sufficient daylight photo opportunities. With that in mind, an exceptionally amazing time for photos is just before sunset, if you're able to sneak away with your groom for additional photos at this time you will love the outcome.

You want to start hair and makeup extra early, you would much rather have too much time with them than not enough. In order to relieve some of the wedding morning stress, have the hair and make-up team come to your house or hotel room the morning of the wedding if possible. It takes away the stress of traveling to or from the salon. Be sure to go first or second (especially if you have a large bridal party). The hair and make-up team will stick around to do finishing touches before you leave the salon or after you put your dress on if they are at your hotel. Going first allows you the opportunity to drink a mimosa, relax with your bridesmaids and have ample time for bridal portraits. Consider the location that you will be getting ready, the morning is best captured if you’re in natural light. If your make-up artist is coming to you set up a table and chairs where there is lots of light, and plenty of room for you and your bridesmaids to prepare. Plan to dress near a bright window and have all accessories such as shoes, rings, jewelry, flowers and dresses available as early as possible for photos.

Everyone should be dressed and ready about a half hour before you, this allows for great photos of you getting into your dress.

By doing a first look, you will be able to enjoy your moment alone together. Many couples ask their families and bridal parties to keep their distance for this moment. I use a long lens to give you ample privacy while capturing this experience. As a photographer, I want to create the best possible images. With a first look, I am able to have the amount of time I prefer with a bride and groom.

It can definitely be challenging to get perfect photos of the bridal party and the bride and groom if everyone is not standing in the right place. One helpful solution could be placing markers on the ground for each person involved in the ceremony. This could be something as simple as tape or even little rocks, to ensure everyone knows where to stand. That way, you can focus on enjoying your special day!

Nerves always seem to get the best of couples when they are standing in front of their family and friends, they race down the aisle, and have a short first kiss, this makes it extremely difficult to get a ton of great photos. Enjoy the moment, soak it in and take your time. Prevent this by assigning your escort to be in charge of making sure you walk slow, allowing sufficient time for photos. The same applies for your celebratory walk down the aisle post ceremony.

Make sure to ask your officiant to step away after pronouncing you're married! This will allow for optimal photos of your first kiss as newlywed without a third wheel floating in the background! Another great thing to remind them is to tell your guests when they may be seated after your walk down the aisle, it's amazing how often this doesn't occur and guests struggle with an awkward few moments. If you don't want guests taking photos or hearing the surprise ringtone throughout your ceremony it's a great idea to have your officiant announce this as sometimes signs are simply not noticed!

This is something that is so often overlooked! Please remember to kiss for at least three seconds, it’s not a moment that you want to be missed in photos, yet so often couples have the shortest peck you’ve ever seen! Try to remember to count to three as a rule of thumb if not several times over!

After your ceremony is complete and you make your way down the aisle remember to walk to the end of the aisle and stop for a few moments, a few kisses for an amazing post ceremony shot with all of your guests standing and cheering you on! Also remember to tell your bridal party to wait for you to be completely thru the aisle before they begin their walk down! They should really celebrate this moment! Tell them to throw their arms in the air and cheer loudly!

If you plan on seeing each other for the first time at your ceremony we will use your cocktail hour for photos of the wedding party, family photos, and photos of you and your beau!

Select a close family member preferably one that is not in the wedding party to help round up family for photos, this is a huge help on your day. Click here to view a sample portrait list.

Order extra flower petals for photos! There are countless ways that we can incorporate these in your photos!

If you have access to boats LET'S USE THEM!! Two boats work great as well so I can shoot you on your own!

REHEARSAL DINNER - Such an intimate and fun evening to capture with your closest friends and family.

BOUDOIR - What wedding gift dreams are made of!

DAY AFTER - First of all, what the heck is a day-after session? It’s a portrait session that happens the day after your wedding, usually in a different location than your wedding venue. We head off to a great location, you put your wedding clothes back on (or a dress #2, whatever you want), and we take fun photos of you two on your first day as a married couple. We'll still take portraits on your wedding day of course. But if we have that added portrait time, the wedding day suddenly becomes easier, more enjoyable, and way less stressful. Please consider a day-after session!

Between your professional wedding photos and the ones taken by your guests throughout the day, there are plenty of memories to cherish. A great way to ensure that everyone gets to take home a piece of the experience is by using QR codes. By creating a QR code for your wedding pictures that links to a page where guests can upload, share, download, or print their photos, you can make it easy for everyone to access and enjoy the memories. You can even tie in the QR code with a photo booth to make it even easier for guests to access their photos.