We have created this useful guide, to help you get ready for your wedding, and prepare you for being photographed.
1. Help us create magic
For some of our artistic work, you will occasionally need some guidance in terms of where to stand or what to do. Go with the flow, we are doing magic!
2. Smile
Our style is candid, usually you will be unaware where we are or what we are shooting. Remember to smile. It is the happiest day of your life.
3. Avoid drinking too much alcohol
Drinking too much just spoils your expression, and sometimes your entire day. It can be hot here in Cyprus. The combination of heat and alcohol takes its toll. Once you get to the party, go for it!
4. Pace your day
Build in slight gaps in your day to allow everybody to take a moment and chill out. The day runs fast enough, without pushing everything together. You will look and feel more relaxed if you are not cramming everything in.
5. Plan to stay hydrated
Speak with your wedding planner about providing nice bottles of water, and cold refreshing soft drinks through the entire day.
Besides looking after your guests, when people are hydrated, they look well and comfortable in your photographs.
6. Keep your room tidy
This is the big one. If we are shooting in the rooms you are getting ready in, get them super tidy. Make the beds, clear out the suitcases, the holiday paraphernalia, food, and general clutter.
Display your dress, the presents, the flowers and the details. We are coming in your room with a camera. Clutter can end up showing in photographs.
7. Space for makeup and hair
Be sure to have your hair and makeup done with a bit of space around you in a pleasant bright location in the room. If you have lots of bridesmaids, and do not have enough mirrors, or things are looking tight, an excellent solution is to use a few rooms that are close together.
8. Where should you look?
Just be yourselves, we are observational photographers. Occasionally, we will want you to look towards our camera, we will let you know. If there are many guests with cameras, we will manage things a little to ensure everyone gets a superb shot.
9. Makeup
Make sure you use a great matt primer. Remember that men can use these invisible products too. They are great for reducing shine.
Your foundation should fade and blend into your body and look seamless. Once you have applied your foundation, look at your overall skin tone, we will capture your hands, arms, face, shoulders and décolleté, often all in the same shot.
10. Allow enough time
On a hot, summery day, every time we move from one location to another, it takes time, much longer than you think. Build in buffers of time between events in your day. If you are having a wedding bus, it can take 15 minutes just to find your aunt, who is in the loo at the other end of the hotel.
We will advise you on the time we need for each event of the wedding, It is best to build a little additional time for your needs, for example, freshening up, or just having a moment together.
11. Sunburn and tan lines
Leading up to the wedding, please do not overdo the sun-bathing. Strap marks, sunburn and peeling skin are virtually impossible to fix properly in Photoshop. To add to the issue, you will wear a white dress, which just makes sunburn and strap marks stand out even more. Despite popular belief, there are no quick edits we can do.
12. Skin care and preparation
A lot of Brides suddenly swap to a “Premium” skin care regime or have a facial, close to their wedding day. This is a way of guaranteeing breakouts and problems.
You need to have a good regular skincare routine in place in the months up to your wedding day and then stay with it. Invest in good skincare and make sure your products have an SPF. Exfoliating is an excellent idea, but go gentle.
13. Tattoo coverups
If you buy tattoo cover up cream, remember you will be likely to be catching a little sun in the days leading up to your wedding, so get the shade darker too. We have seen a few Brides being caught out by this. Like with sunburn, there is no fast way of removing tattoos with Photoshop.
14. The timings of your special day
Getting your timeline right is the most important thing you can do, to ensure you have a smooth and comfortable wedding day.
A perfectly timed day ensures that we have time in the schedule for us to take the photography you want us too. You and your guests will feel that the day was just blissful and relaxed. Elizabeth will assist you with your timeline, she is an expert at getting the balance right.
15. Walking in
Plan your entrance in advance. Do not wait until the day of your wedding to think about how you will walk in. Your music, and the words in the music, might dictate the pace. Do a few run throughs to be sure this works for you.
From our point of view, it is best when you take your time, leave gaps, interact with your guests. This revs up the guests and builds emotions. The expression on the Groom changes when the first bridesmaid arrives.
If you like that shot of the Groom looking back at you; walk in after your bridesmaids have settled.
16. Ignore us most of the time
Leave us to it, we often use long lenses, you usually will not know where we are, we love shooting candidly. In this way, we capture natural expressions and authentic emotions.
17. Try to stay together
Up to the wedding ceremony, which can often be late in the day, you are apart. When you are apart from each other, it is tough to capture natural shots of the two of you together.
This means that unless we put you together, we can only shoot separate shots of you both, until you sit down for the speeches, and then have the first dance. Make sure that in the hours after the wedding ceremony, you spend some time with each other.
18. Prepare a brief list of must have shots
Left to our own devices, we do a brilliant job of capturing events as they unfold. Just tell us if you want us to capture a particular photograph for you. If something is important to you, tell us.
19. Use your Best Man and Bridesmaids
Your Groomsmen, Bridesmaids, Best Man along with the Chief Bridesmaid are there to help you. Use them. They are your gofers; use them to look after you and carry things. This is your team to ensure you are stress free.
Give them all jobs and involve them in your wedding! This is especially useful if you require us to shoot specific shots, or organise groups. Give one of them the responsibility to work with us.
20. Kids
We all love children. On a family wedding day, they become the centre of attention, which for some Brides and Grooms is perfect. However, remember they can distract you at exactly the moments when you do not want them too.
Plan for someone else to take responsibility for looking after children on the wedding day.
There are a few times in the photographs when children really have an impact. An unexpected youngster running up the aisle can greet a Bride walking in, who then ends up being in the procession. Group shots can be fun when the kids decide they want to play up. Children love getting in on the first dance, who end up hanging onto a leg, or being between the Bride and Groom.
There is no right and wrong here. Either you love kids appearing at key moments of the day, or you do not. Either way, have a plan to handle them.
21. Think about an unplugged wedding
It is great when guests are taking photographs and video, until they are so absorbed in it, they are not taking part in the wedding anymore. Phones have taken over!
Destination weddings are occasions where people all over the world want to observe what is going on, sometimes live. It is wise to consider this in advance and strike the right balance for you. See our blog post all about unplugged weddings.
22. Walk through the day, thinking about your wedding photography
A few days before you get married, visit every location that you are using for your wedding, including the routes and pathways the bridal party walk down.
Look at each location carefully. Are there distractions, such as signage, TV screens, litter bins, posters, mess and clutter? Does the venue need the gardeners to do a tidy up? All the things you can see are potentially in the background of your wedding photographs. We will also have a look with you during your pre-wedding meeting.
23. Plan your photography before you complete the timeline
Taking over your day is not our plan. We want to be certain we have enough time to deliver you the outstanding photography you want. Early in the planning process, we discuss this with you, so you are aware of how much time to allocate in your timeline.
The time of the day that causes most issues is when sunset clashes with meal timings. We cannot change the time of sunset!
24. Tell us about surprises
Mum is the word. Our lips are sealed. We need to know about surprises, so it prepares us for them. Message us individually if you are sending presents or have surprises for each other. If the surprises are for guests, then inform us at your pre-wedding meeting.
25. Keep us in the loop on the day
We are good, very good at capturing things spontaneously as they happen, but some events, like fireworks, sparklers, throwing the bouquet, or even the mother-in-law being thrown in a swimming pool need us to be in the right place at the right moment with the right setup. Tell us in advance.