Wedding day advice to your brides?

So as photographers, we are with the bride pretty much from the beginning to the day until the end of the day. We see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Have any of your brides asked (during your initial consultation) about tips for the day or at least your opinion on how they plan to do things?

I ask because while going through the day for a future bride (I like hearing all the details; talking about it gets them all excited and helps my creative juices flowing) she asked a few times how I would do it because, as she put it, "You've done this a million times before, so you know what works and what doesn't." Mind you, at this point this wasn't a photography-specific question, but rather just about the order of things in the reception. I thought it was kind of cool that she recognized my experience with the process of a wedding day, so I gave her my thoughts and she genuinely seemed to appreciate them.

So have you guys/gals ever been asked how you'd do a certain part of a wedding day? What types of things did you suggest/recommend?

dan.k78 wrote in post #18314996
So as photographers, we are with the bride pretty much from the beginning to the day until the end of the day. We see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Have any of your brides asked (during your initial consultation) about tips for the day or at least your opinion on how they plan to do things?

I ask because while going through the day for a future bride (I like hearing all the details; talking about it gets them all excited and helps my creative juices flowing) she asked a few times how I would do it because, as she put it, "You've done this a million times before, so you know what works and what doesn't." Mind you, at this point this wasn't a photography-specific question, but rather just about the order of things in the reception. I thought it was kind of cool that she recognized my experience with the process of a wedding day, so I gave her my thoughts and she genuinely seemed to appreciate them.

So have you guys/gals ever been asked how you'd do a certain part of a wedding day? What types of things did you suggest/recommend?

If they ask, I suggest that the reception timing and events are best coordinated with the venue and Band leader/ DJ. My only suggests are to keep the guests out of the room until we can get a picture of the couple in the decorated room. And, that about 30 minutes before the end of coverage we go outside to get a goodnight shoot. And, that if there is a chance of a sunset and the venue has a reasonable vista, I'll keep an eye on the sky and let them know. I also tell them what time sunset will be on their wedding day so that can be factored into the reception schedule.

For earlier in the day, I like the first look approach, specially if there is some time before the ceremony. I'd like to get all there bridal group shots done before the ceremony if possible. I suggest that this approach makes for a less stressful day.

If there is going to be travel involved between locations, I try to find a way to ride with the bridal party, especially if its in the city.
Here in Chicago, I make sure they understand that there is no practical way to trail the bridal party in a separate car between locations.

I remind her often, that during the day I have two jobs, documenting their celebration and keeping her relaxed and enjoying the experience.

I provide advice on my blog on wedding day timeline planning. Feel free to use the ideas, though I would prefer there's no direct copying and pasting of the content - it will be different for each country anyway.