Difficult First Wedding

I shot my first wedding last Sunday. It might be my last one too.

They were so delayed my time to do formal bridal party pictures got completely scrapped. I ended up spending most of the day hanging around waiting for things to finish. I ended up having to put her, her mother, her baby, and some supplies into my SUV to take them from the hotel to the venue.

I was prepared for things to not go exactly to schedule and I don't mind helping out with other things but I didn't think my formal photo time would be completely wiped out. In the end I ended up taking family pictures right after the ceremony, but by then the light was fading very quickly and as a result many of the photos didn't turn out as I was hoping they would. It also ended up an 18 hour day for me when we had agreed on 8 hours of coverage. I barely managed to drive myself back home and spent the next day recovering.

Tell me how I could have managed this better!

And also here are some of the photos. Critique is welcome. Not only was this my first wedding but also I am a new professional, so still learning the ropes.

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There was almost no space for me to maneuver around the alter. Also, she is lovely but unfortunately due to the stress she was not able to relax and enjoy her day like she should, which reflected in the earlier images.

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Last two.

My first suggestion (if you want to keep doing this) would be not to bash a couple for how unprepared they were, then post photos of them on a public forum.

I'll let others address the business aspects, but you did an amazing job.

With what you had to deal with, you did an amazing job.

For your first wedding, you did an amazing job.

Picture number 6 alone is worth the price they paid.

You did an amazing job.

rebelsimon wrote in post #18099812
My first suggestion (if you want to keep doing this) would be not to bash a couple for how unprepared they were, then post photos of them on a public forum.

I understand this sentiment. However it's a commentary on the wedding as it related to me as their photographer, not a personal diss. They seem like a lovely couple.

Now I see that there's a difference between things naturally not going to plan, and not having a plan at all. Which is what I want to avoid in the future.

There, edited.

Weddings go off the rails as often as they don't. Experience will teach you how to manage the day and time accordingly. How did they ask you to start 3 hours early without you addressing the coverage? Same with staying late?

For example, let's say I'm supposed to finish coverage at 9pm, but clearly things ran behind… Around 9:15, I would politely pull the bride or groom aside and say, "Is there any last photos I can take for you before I go? Our coverage ended at 9pm, but I'd be happy to stick around for $X/hour if you'd like."

Although I appreciate the helpful suggestion you modeled for me, you neutralized it by the previous statement.

I edited my original post because yes I was upset over it and yes my wording wasn't the best. However you've contradicted yourself and undid what I tried to fix.

I quoted you AFTER you defended what you wrote, and BEFORE you changed it (although obviously you posted your reply before I did). I'm happy to fix it

I think the photos are awesome. When I did my first wedding decades ago, I asked the bridal party to show up 3 ours early because they had a lot of different types of photos they wanted. The bride and groom were the first to show up, but 2 HOURS LATE. Needless to say, they didn't get all the shots they wanted and the ones they did get weren't that good because I was so stressed out. I did shoot a couple more after that but dealing with uncooperative people was more than I could handle. I find shooting nature and wildlife much more enjoying and stress free albeit without the income.

Good job.

I just shot my first full wedding last weekend (for a family member) and realised how everything can take waaaay too long.

I do have a contract for my future weddings establishing specific time for formal photos after the ceremony and, more importantly, pointing out that there should be at least one person making sure that they explain to me who is who in the ceremony. I'd hate to miss a photo of an important member of the family, or a special friend and then hear the complaints from the couple. Any more hours than the agreed that you need, should be charged, and it should be explained in the contract

If my first wedding photos turned out this nice...I'd be beyond thrilled.

Managing the day is the most diffcult part of weddings. Don't beat yourself up over how things didn't keep with the timeline, it rarely does...and as long as the client's priorities have been met...you might just have to write off any personal goals for the day.

Developing a flow and management style will come with more that you do. But the photos are lovely, and the problems you encountered are fairly typical (maybe not to that degree, but in general).