Wedding Couple shots BEFORE the Ceremony?

[Jo 2010]

So we were thinking of getting our 'couple' and bridal party shots that are usually taken between the ceremony and the reception, done BEFORE the ceremony...

 

We just dont want all of our guests waiting around, and more than that, we dont want to be missing out the party...

 

Is anyone else thinking of doing that?

 

Did anyone already do this? Did it work?

 

My only hesitation is that I miss out on that moment when my FI's sees me walking down the aisle for the first time...

[ChristinaP]

I don't think there is anything wrong with choosing to do that, if that is the way you feel about it. I was in a wedding party that decided to do their pics before for the same reasons- and they definitely still had their moment of seeing eachother for the first time all done up before they said their vows. Groom still cried when he saw her!

On the other hand, you will still party it up later! Your guests will totally understand the "waiting" as it is usually the way it is as weddings anyways. I think guests generally expect the bridal party to be MIA for a little while after the ceremony.

It would also depend on your ceremony time and reception start time- do you know when those are yet?

[ChristinaP]

sorry double post

[Jo 2010]

The wind in the Coral Coast in Fiji doesn't die down until 4pm, so we wanted to have our ceremony then.

 

Our proposed schedule would be:

 

2:00pm Getting ready photos in rooms

3:00pm traditional wedding shots of bridal party and couple on the beach and in the gardens

4:00pm Ceremony

4:30pm - 5:15pm Congratulations and group photos of guests with bride and groom

5:15pm - all guest to reception venue for cocktail food and drinks - photos of darren and I alone on the beach until sunset

6:15pm bridal couple arrive at reception venue

Speeches and Cake cutting

7:00pm mains served

7:30pm first dance and dance floor opens (live cover band)

8:00pm dessert

9:15pm woodfire pizzas (late night snack)

10:15pm last drinks

10:30pm - everyone heads upstairs to the balcony nightclub for the afterparty.

 

For anyone that has been married - am I being completely naive with this schedule?? I'm totally expecting it to go off course, and i'm not the kind of person to stress about it - its more to have before hand as a guide for all the staff and photographer and band...

[Sheree10]

As of now we plan to take couple pictures after the cermony but I've heard that a lot of couples see each other before. I'm not sure what we will do- I kind of want to have my FI see me for the first time at the ceremony but I would also like to enjoy our cocktail hour with our guests.

[ChristinaP]

Wow Jo! Organized schedule!

All I have is ceremony 2pm and reception 7 pm. probably will have cocktail hour in between as there is so much time.

I don't think it's an unreasonable schedule, but it might be tight. I am sure it will be fine and sounds like it will be lots of fun.

Would you just include your FI on the pics with bridal party if you did them before?

Although you might be missing out on some "party time" you might actually enjoy the time just the two of you as newlyweds after your ceremony for a few minutes rather than being around your group?

[IrishgirlinNY]

I actually thought of that. I am wearing my mothers wedding dress with a few alterations, so my fiance pretty much knows what the dress looks like. My brother and hs wife did it too.

[Brenda&Jeff09]

We have a very tight schedule because we're taking everyone on a sunset cruise after dinner, so I think we're going to do the pictures before the wedding too... if we do, we'll just plan it so that we meet in a relatively private place rather than a crowded area of the resort, so that we can have a few minutes to enjoy that "first sight" before the pictures.

[GracieBebe]

We did our couples photos and some of our group shots before the ceremony and it turned out great. We got the best lighting for those pictures as well as giving us more time at cocktail hour to hang out with our guests instead of being away from them.

 

We still had a few more pics to do after the ceremony but they didn't take too long. If we had saved all the photos for after the wedding, we would've missed cocktail hour all together.

[doblauvelt]

Jo, I am with you. I want to take pictures before the ceremony for 1) to capture both of us seeing each other for the first time 2) get it out of the way so we wont miss the cocktail hour.

 

I already know my parents will flip as this is not "traditonal" but when I get to the resort I'll have to find a secret spot to meet my groom at.