Wedding Trends (and Their Realities!)

So many unique ideas for making your day extra special quickly make their rounds on social media. Sometimes, they simplify the day, while other times, they require a little more thought and planning.

We love helping capture all these special moments for you, and we wanted to share some tips and trick for the most common wedding trends we've been seeing.

Matching Pajama/Prep Outfit Pictures

Getting cute, posed photos of your wedding party in matching prep attire (robes, pajamas, sweats, shirts, etc) is a sweet way to remember this exciting time with your friends. However, if you decide you want some of these pictures, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding the scheduling of your day:

You'll likely want to wait until everyone has their hair and makeup done, which doesn't always work with your existing schedule and hair team. Talk to everyone - including hair and makeup vendors - to see if this would be possible.
Figure out who will help you get dressed. In most cases, it is the mother and maid of honor and possibly one or a maximum of two other bridesmaids (it's best to keep this number low to keep the calm vibe while getting dressed). If your "dressing assistants" will be in the matching pajama picture, you need to factor in the time for the photos before they get dressed, pushing back the time you'll be getting dressed.
These pictures can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on where you'll take them in relation to the prep room, how many people are involved, and how extensive you want the photos (e.g., popping champagne and making toasts).
Make sure everyone involved in this photo knows it will be taken and knows what time it will be done so they can be ready and where they are supposed to be with enough time to spare.
If you decide this is more planning than you would prefer to work with but still want to capture the cute attire, let us know if there is anything special people are wearing, and we'll capture the details candidly while everyone is getting ready.

Sparklers

They make for some beautiful and romantic photos, but like anything else, there are things to be mindful of:

Talk to your venue to ensure they are allowed and when they are usually done. To allow for this, the music portion of the reception may need to be cut 15 minutes earlier than the end of your reception.
Do you have a rowdy and party-heavy group? (AKA the drinkers) Sparkler exits are adorable until you end up with wasted family members stumbling around with lit sparklers. Also, are you sure you can walk through them yourself?
If you know you want to take some beautiful sparkler photos but have concerns about any of the above, consider doing solo portraits in the evening with them or bringing a handful of friends who would be competent and sober enough to help.

Pocket Boutonniers

This is one of the best trends we've seen pop up in a while! Pocket boutonnieres are made on top of what looks like a sturdy index card. They are then just slipped into the jacket pocket in lieu of (or in addition to) a pocket square.

Here are some of the most significant benefits:

No pins! No one needs to be bleeding on your wedding day.
It is easy to remove any specific pictures or activities that might otherwise potentially damage a pinned-on boutonniere temporarily and then pop it back in as needed.
Less likely to get crushed and slammed around as you hug and greet people throughout the day.
Flowers are slightly off to the side and less under your nose.

TikTok

If you or anyone involved in your wedding day is looking to create a TikTok, please make sure and schedule time to do so. Unless your entire group are all actors and dancers, you'll most likely need a few takes to get anything right (especially if rehearsals are needed). We understand the desire to create something you have in mind, but we want to make sure it doesn't take away from other important parts of your day.

Private Cake Cutting

Many of our couples are choosing to either do private cake cuttings or entirely forego the old way of doing cake cuttings where the DJ gets everyone's attention and people chant for cake smashing. Here are some combo ways (and the benefits) of altering your cake-cutting plans:

Entirely private
- Best for: Limited coverage; couples who don't love having so much attention and pressure put on them; brides who are changing into a different dress but want their cake photos in their ceremony dress; couples who want to dance the night away but don't want to be sweaty messes in their cake cutting photos.
- Usually done at the tail end of cocktail hour just before your guests are ushered in, it gives you both a chance to share the first bite of sweet food quietly. You would cut a small piece of the back of the cake (allowing it to still be on display during the reception), and then when the time is right, the venue will whisk it away to cut it up for your guests.
- You could also choose to do a more traditional cutting later as well.
- Bonus: It doesn't stop the dance party!
Semi-private
- Best for: people who want to keep things more traditional food-wise (not having a bite of dessert before dinner); people who don't love having all the attention on them; brides who have a different reception dress and want that in the pictures.
- This is usually done at the same traditional time (after dinner, just before they cut the cake to serve), but off to the side of the main reception room while the DJ continues the dance set.
- Bonus: It allows family to watch, but there tend to be fewer drunken uncles shouting about smashing cake in the bride's face and fewer aunts who want to stand between the cake and the photographers with their iPads.

Extended Family Portraits Done at the Rehearsal Dinner

If you have a very large extended family that you want to make sure you get nice portraits of together without making your Family Sot List take 2 hours, consider having us photograph a small portion of your rehearsal dinner. That way, you can get multiple different combinations of photos of cousins, aunts, uncles, "like family" members, and more without taking up your entire wedding day with photos.

You can still plan on taking 1 or 2 large group photos the day of the wedding for each family side while saving the more minor breakdowns for the rehearsal dinner.

If you plan on doing this, make sure those family members know this will be done so they dress accordingly for the rehearsal dinner and are on time.

Multiple Wedding Dresses

This fun trend allows you to feel as princess-like as you want for the portraits and ceremony and enjoy the dance floor without worrying about your dress! Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Figure out when you will make the change and what parts of the day you want to be in your first dress for. Will you be doing a cake-cutting? Which dress will you wear? Will you be doing special "night" portraits? Which dress will you wear?
Ensure your photographers know there is a second dress when we are working on detail photos at the beginning of the day so we can get a few of that one as well!
Assign a bridesmaid who will be in charge of helping you change. Ensure they know this is their job and when it will be done. It will probably be most logical to make it whoever is in charge of knowing how the bustle works and doing that (they'll have a working knowledge of the dress then).

Multiple First Looks

You may want to do First Looks with other family members or wedding party members, even if you decide against a First Look with your soon-to-be spouse.

Plan out who you want to do First Looks with in advance, and ensure we discuss all these options during your Timeline Consultation Meeting. This way, we know how much time to schedule and when, and we can make sure those people know they will be needed and fully dressed.
We often do a separate reveal with bridesmaids anyway, as we usually have our brides get dressed as separately as possible, so keep the confusion and chaos at a minimum during this special time. However, we'll want to hear how extensive and "set up" you want this to be. For example, do you want plenty of time for them to fawn over you and get emotional, or do you want a moment to walk past on your way to your portraits/First Look?
Other people/groups you may want to do a First Look with (keeping in mind that time could quickly add up if you opt for multiple First Looks):
- Father and/or mother and/or siblings
- Grandparents
- Children (your own or nieces and nephews)
- Anyone else of significant importance you want to have a quiet moment with
If you are doing a First Look with your soon-to-be spouse, you might also opt to do a first look as a couple with both sets of parents or your bridal party. They don't have to be done solo!

Photo Dash/Photo Blitz

This is a fun and exciting way to capture you and your guests during the reception. The scheduling is usually coordinated with the maître d', DJ/Music entertainment, and your photographer.

The DJ will need to announce the actual blitz, and then the photographers will need the maître d''s assistance to prepare the next table while the photographer is shooting the current table. This is very important to keep the photo blitz moving!
This trend is great for many reasons! It helps you get photos with all of your guests, quick photos with those who may have mobility issues, and last but not least, you won't get stuck talking to people at the table after the picture (which will allow you to enjoy more of your reception).
It's essential to consider certain things when choosing this trend for your wedding day. When choosing the song you will use, it needs to be long enough to accommodate your number of guests. Remember that some people move slightly slower than others when getting the table together. Though you'll have some sitting, part of each table will move to stand near the people sitting, so you'll want to remember how close your tables are.
Another thing to keep in mind is that some of your guests may not be at the table when this is happening. They may be at the bar or the bathroom, so you have to be comfortable with the fact that people might be missing from some of the photos. Because it's a fast-moving trend, we can't sit and wait for everyone to get back to the table.