Wedding Planning Tips | Documentary Style

Whew! This was a long post to write but I promise you after photographing more than 250 weddings I have so many random bits of advice and I have poured loads of them here so I hope it’s worth it. I understand that planning a wedding is hard work! It takes a lot of time and effort and can become stressful. For a lot of couples this is your first wedding, it’s overwhelming with all the options available today. With one of the most important days of your life, understandably you want it to be perfect. Stop waffling Scott and get on with the tips! Ok here you go, my top wedding planning tips.

I have seen the same problems various times at weddings and it’s something you just wouldn’t think about until you are at the wedding. Please remember the cool thing about weddings, and why I love them so much, is that everyone is different. You all want something different from your day and these are purely my thoughts. I hope you find these wedding planning tips helpful, if you do why not give this article a share? Or just let me know that it helped as I always love to hear from couples.

Bridal Prep during a Middleton Lodge, Yorkshire Wedding.

Getting Ready or Pre Ceremony / Prep (as we call it in the business)

This is one of my favourite parts of the day. Meeting the people you are getting ready with (often those you are really close to), seeing the excited nervousness and energy and it gives me a good feeling for what the day will be like. With the whole day still ahead and often hours of prep it’s also quite a relaxing time (at least at the start). As great as prep is, here are my thoughts on things to consider to make it the best it can be.

Location – where you get ready. Getting ready at home can make sense, everything is there for you. However consider how far this is to the ceremony location. You will need to think about how you will get yourself, bridesmaids / family / groomsmen and anyone else getting ready with you to the venue. You can hire a car but you may need several cars or multiple trips which adds time and cost. Also consider you will have a photographer, make-up, hair and maybe videographer, so space can soon become a problem. If you are having a car collect you consider where they will park. They will want to be outside of the house as best they can. I have seen people use tape around wheelie bins to reserve a space for the wedding car! (Maybe check with your neighbours first). Finally don’t forget if you are staying out you will need your stuff with you, where are you going to put your phone, clothes and make up to get them to the venue? Quick tip, if you put a bag in the back of your wedding car, remember to take it out before the car leaves!
Getting ready at the venue saves you a lot of stress from the above. This only works if you are not getting married at a church or separate location obviously. You could get ready at the reception venue then arrange transport to the church / registry office and then transport back. This way all your stuff can stay in one place. I saw this recently when I photographed a wedding at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate and it worked well. The couple and a lot of the guests stayed at the hotel the night before the wedding. They all got ready at the hotel then arranged a double decker bus to take everyone to Harrogate registry office. The bus then brought everyone back. This only works if you don’t mind seeing your partner before the wedding of course! This worked well for them as they also hired the cinema at Rudding Park the night before the wedding and spent some time with their guests at a private screening.
One thing to mention is that a lot of venues will allow you to get ready included in the wedding price so that can save some of the budget.
Finally from a photographer, please remember that we need to get to the ceremony, park and be ready for your arrival. This means I need to leave before you. Often your wedding car will pull straight up outside the venue, they don’t need to worry about parking. I love the photos of you in your dress / outfits and everyone seeing you for the first time. So just think about your photographer leaving around 15 – 30 minutes before you, then factor that in to your timings.
If you are getting ready in a different location to your partner just consider you may need two photographers to capture both sets of prep if you want that, depending on timings and the distance between locations.

Bride with her Grandma after putting her dress on.

After the Ceremony

You don’t have much to think about during the ceremony, just enjoy. The registrars, Celebrant, Vicar etc will deal with that. Just one quick wedding planning tip, check the music works before you start walking down the aisle, whoever is controlling the music make sure they do a test and know when to start and when to stop!

After the ceremony though you have a lot to think about. Confetti, photos, possibly travelling to another venue, but a bit of planning can solve all these issues well before the day. Here are my thoughts and tips:

As a documentary wedding photographer I rarely pose anything during the day. However some couples obviously do want family formals and some portraits. Just think about what photos you want before the day. Sort a list with your photographer and just think they will always take longer than you think. Doing formals closely after the ceremony means everyone is there, so grab your nana and get those photos ticked off nice and early. It’s also a good idea to have a groomsman or bridesmaid or both in charge of rounding people up. They will often know people better than the photographer so they can get the next group ready, this saves time. Give them a list, pen and the power! I still think the period immediately after the ceremony is one of the best, all the emotion, hugs and excitement. I think it’s nice to give yourself some time to take it all in and enjoy it. But then get on with those group photos so they are done!
If you are getting married somewhere different to your reception location you need to think about transport. Are you going to put a bus on? Will everyone just make their own way? However you do it, the one tip I have, put the reception address (and the what3words) on the wedding order of service, better yet add a map. This way when guests start asking what the postcode is or how to get there, you can just tell them to check the order of service. Add any key points about the location as well such as parking rules etc.
Confetti, if you are planning to use it, check with the venue if you can use it and if so where. The best way is to get groomsmen or bridesmaids to hand it out at the door as everyone leaves the ceremony. Speak to your photographer or wedding planner about how you want to set it up. Consider the wind direction as well! If you are using a venue such as The Normans in York, they allow you to use confetti inside the ceremony barn. Simply place the confetti on peoples seats and as you walk down the aisle after the ceremony prepare to be covered in confetti! It makes for great photos as well. As always with confetti, more is always better.
Finally think about the period after the ceremony before you sit down for speeches or food. There is often a little while, it can be great to have some entertainment. If the weather works then some popular options are giant Jenga, garden games, magician, croquet and a whole host of amazing things to keep everyone entertained. Last year I had axe throwing or how about a nerf war?!

Speeches

Just a quick couple of tips to consider for speeches. Also a great part of the day and it can make for some fantastic photos.

Before or after food? Well the traditional way is to have the speeches after the meal. However now couples are choosing a number of different ways. Sometimes it’s hard to relax and eat when you know you have a speech to do, especially if you are the nervous type! Frequently people are having the speeches before the meal. The one thing with this is consider time. If you get married at 12pm then don’t sit down until late and then do speeches, you may be very hungry. I always suggest have a big breakfast but a lot of couples tell me they were too nervous and excited in the morning to eat a lot. You could also mix the speeches up and do one after starters or do them before the desert. They do not need to all be together. Always check with the venue first as they will have strict times for food. Speeches between meals is tricky for suppliers, caterers and keeping everything on track but it is definitely possible and might work well for you as a couple. I have also seen speeches happen outside before going in for food or whilst everyone is having food from a food truck, a little more casual style.
Finally on speeches, something I am seeing a lot in recent years is couples leaving tradition. The traditional way is father of the bride, groom then best man. But it is 2025 now so who says the bride can’t say a few words or a close friend? It’s your day so do what you want, I have had some amazing bride speeches recently. Quick tip, don’t feel like you have to speak for ages, a short well thought out speech is always better than one that drags on. If all else fails, just get the father of the bride to demonstrate his party trick, eating a Magnum lolly whole! (See picture below). I have a full podcast episode on wedding speeches tips, listen below for a more in depth chat about the above points.

Wedding Reception

After the speeches and food you usually have a little gap, depending on what time you get married and how long the meal takes. This can be the perfect time to have some entertainment or something to fill the void. I would recommend considering garden games (weather depending), casino, Caricaturist, magician, I have even seen a bird of prey show at a marquee wedding in Wales last summer! Obviously if all else fails just drink and get ready to dance! My reception tips and thoughts:

At most weddings there are two key formal things during the reception; cake cutting and first dance. As above there is no reason why you have to stick with tradition and do these, but if you do, consider the times. This is purely my thoughts, but please don’t wait to do your first dance. What I have found is that you do your first dance, everyone joins you on the dance floor for a song or two and then they call the buffet. This then kills the mood and it takes a while for people to get back on the dance floor. This obviously depends on the people at the wedding but I love it when the couple has the first dance, everyone joins them and then the band or DJ plays some huge hits and lets the party start. If you have a band they will often play a couple of sets, let them finish the first set and then have the evening food. Just my thoughts but from a photography point of view it’s great to get people in the dancing mood off the back of the first dance. For most of my weddings I stay until the very end and often those final songs of the night are also amazing moments. Another little wedding planning tip, I really like a father daughter dance, or mother son or any kind of mix. They are sweet and usually make for some lovely photos. The evening party photos are some of my favourites, oh and I won’t complain if you throw a few confetti canons in!

Wedding Planning Tips – Final Thoughts

Well done if you have made it this far, I know it was a long one! Anyway just a couple of final wedding planning tips that I have not included above. Sparklers, they can look amazing, just make sure you buy the longest ones you can and get a few lighters that will work in the wind! Also don’t wait too late to do them when everyone is to drunk and it becomes dangerous!

Thank you so much for reading my wedding planning tips. These are purely my thoughts and the thing I love about people and weddings is that everyone is different. Pick a venue, entertainment and guests that you actually want and within your budget. Overall just have an amazing time and enjoy the day because every single couple says to me they can’t believe how fast it goes! Enjoy the wedding planning process, it will be stressful at times but it should be fun and enjoyable. Questions? Just drop me a comment below or send me a message here.

Scott.

Enjoyed my wedding planning tips? Get in touch for a free consultation and I will be happy to give some advice as we discuss your wedding plans, I can’t wait to hear from you. Say hello and contact me.