WEDDING VENUE PLANNING

Planning your wedding venue is an essential stop on your journey to the big day! Almost (LOL) as important as choosing the right wedding photographer for you.
Getting the right venue for your wedding ceremony or your wedding reception could make or break your wedding day.
Over the years as a wedding photographer, I’ve photographed many weddings in different venues up and down the land. Some wedding venues are designed for wedding ceremonies, but many more are not!
YOUR WEDDING SHOULD BE EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT IT! – YOU DESERVE IT!
IT’S YOUR DAY SO IT’S YOUR WAY!
You shouldn’t have to think about what is the best for your wedding photographer’s when you fall in love with the wedding ceremony and reception venues.

You will know in your heart of heart what you want as soon as you see the venue.

Here are some tips and hints for wedding venues.

WEDDING VENUE PLANNING|ADEQUATE LIGHTING?

This is only relevant for some charch or indoor wedding venues, but having adequate lighting can make a huge difference to the vibrancy of the colours in your wedding photographs. So what’s too dark? _ If you would struggle to read a book, then that’s a good indication.  If you are having a traditional church ceremony , some of the older church building have small windows and do not have a great deal of natural light.  Of course, many ministers/priests do not allow any kind of flash photography during the ceremony (for example, Glasgow Cathedral). This doesn’t mean you need to floodlight your ceremony!
DO NOT worry our modern camera equipment is more than capable of taking lovely wedding pictures in low light. Make sure that your wedding photographer has the equipment AND skills to be able to take those stunning pictures of you both as “two souls become one”.

Wedding Photographs that you will treasure for a lifetime.

As your wedding photographer, i would make sure there is some light falling on you and your partner, it’s great for the wedding pictures and your guests can see your faces as you exchange vows and become husband and wife.

What about the cake cutting and first dance? – It’s usually dark(ish) depending on the venue/band/disco lights but we make sure that your guests (Including gran) can see you!

Wedding Venue Planning| Tip #2| Where is the shade

This is as important as not having enough light. During the summer months, we do have bright sunny days (even in Scotland). As wedding ceremonies often take place in the summer around 1-3pm the sun is directly overhead and very very harsh light. This is without doubt the most unflattering time of day to have your wedding photographs taken as husband and wife.
During this time we would try and find some nearby shade, but if you are standing in direct sunlight during the ceremony there is not I can do.

Some very popular outdoor wedding ceremony venues have very little shade, In direct sun, not only will the pictures suffer, but so will you. I’ve had brides and grooms in the sun pass out before. The poor guys in the Scottish kilts will start to look worse for wear.

Fortunately, in Scotland we do not get many days with scorching temperatures and strong strong sunlight but if you did we would be seeking some shade for your comfort.

Wedding Venue Planning|Tip #3|Have adequate space
What I mean here is having enough room for your photographer to move around. If you have a Videographer more often than not they will have two video camera on stands recording the ceremony.
I like to shoot from many different angles during your wedding ceremony to make sure I capture those little moments, between you both to tell the story of your wedding.

I’m pretty tall, but pretty good at being like a ninja, ducking out of the way of the video cameras and crouching as not to disturb you or your guests. So what kind of space. Ideally, there should be at least a 2 metre gap between you and the first row of your guest seats this makes sense for the bridal party and your guests.
Likewise, if the guest chairs are moveable speak to your wedding coordinator and make sure that your aisle is wide enough for you and your dad to walk side by side if he is giving you away! This is particularly true if you have a full wedding gown. I recently attended a wedding and the aisle was very narrow and the bride’s dress was singed by the candles placed along the aisle.
I had a horrible vision of the dress going up in flames as she walked down the aisle. ??

Your wedding is all about you and your partner, families and closest friends. It’s your day so it’s your way, I’m always conscious that everyone is there to celebrate your wedding day with you so I try to be as invisible as possible. By planning your wedding venue for spacing and passage, you can make sure that your guests have the very best experience, and you come out with the best possible wedding pictures.

I hope these wedding venue planning tips will give you a better idea on how to arrange your ceremony venue for the best possible experience.
Don’t worry if its too much to take in all at once – I appreciate that every wedding venue is different and that’s totally cool!
Just relax – I will make sure that your wedding pictures are awesome whatever the wedding venue.

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