finding enough time to do church formals the right way

One more item to note -- if at all possible we do not like to do FF inside the church. Our preference is to always encourage the B&G to do these outdoors in natural light. However, there are situations where the B&G really want them inside the church. Or sometimes it's raining and there isn't another option.

No flash is always easier in terms of minimal setup, but if you can work in some supplemental lighting, then it can go a long way in making the FF shots look nice. Just make sure you have all your ducks in a row.

caught14 wrote in post #8983053
Our Setup
We use a pair of AlienBee 800's with umbrellas and Cybersyncs for radio triggers. I do make sure to put a receiver on each of the AB800's. You really only need one since when the first light fires it will trigger the other AB800. However, we don't want the lights going off any more than they have to. It can get very annoying to the B&G and family because people will take random shots whenever they feel like it, and if someone is looking right at the flash then it blinds them. (Even if we ask them to not take flash photography)

To that point, we do announce at the beginning that we need everyone to hold off on any flash photography while we do the formals. This keeps everyone looking/smiling/paying attention to us. I have no problem with family members grabbing a quick shot of the setup, just as long as it doesn't interfere with making this entire process as quick and painless as possible.

If you prepare and can move people in and out quickly, this process should only be 15-20 minutes.

Takeaway
Based on my experience, I have found the family formals (FF) to be an extremely important part of the day -- regardless of the pictures that come out of it.

No matter how many different brides we discuss it with before hand. Family members always intrude and distract, making family formal shooting longer than it should be.

Are you using umbrellas for bounce or shoot-thru? Getting ready to upgrade our lighting and didn't know if should get two large softboxes since we already have the umbrellas. Do your AB800s work fine for large groups or do you wish you had more power? We are thinking of getting two AB1600s.

These shots are important. We sell lots of these prints. I hate them... but most parents and grandparents especially won't be hanging anything other than this up on their walls.