Make Time for Family|Toronto Wedding Photographers

I recently posted a family photo on Instagram and was reminded of the importance of these images. The mention of family photos often evokes a unified sigh, but these images hold cherished memories of those who are nearest and dearest to you. Often we don’t realize the value of these photos until they stand as the only moments in time we have of our loved ones. So, when mapping out the timeline for your special day, be sure to plan enough time for what will become a treasured collection of images.

The time required depends on the number and size of your groups. As a general guideline, we advise our couples to allow 3 to 5 minutes per group. We also ask our couples to provide us with the list of their desired groups six weeks in advance of their wedding day. That will give us time to make adjustments to the timeline, if necessary. See our blog post on Wedding Timelines for more information about planning your day.

To keep things moving as smoothly and quickly as possible, we suggest that you have one or two guests/family members who know everyone in your group photos to act as a point person during this session. They can ensure everyone is present when needed, which not only saves time, but frees up your photographer to focus on arranging the groups and capturing those important moments. Letting everyone know in advance that they will be participating in a group photo session, as well as where and when it will be, can also help keep things on track.

There is a lot happening on your wedding day, so keeping this portion of your day as simple as possible can be helpful. Following is a suggested list of basic groupings we provide to our couples as a starting point:

Bride with bride’s parents
Bride and groom with bride’s parents
Bride and groom with bride’s parents, siblings
Bride and groom with bride’s parents, siblings & significant others
Bride and groom with bride’s parents, siblings, significant others & grandparents
Bride and groom with bride’s grandparents
Groom with groom’s parents
Bride and groom with groom’s parents
Bride and groom with groom’s parents, siblings
Bride and groom with groom’s parents, siblings & significant others
Bride and groom with groom’s parents, siblings, significant others & grandparents
Bride and groom with groom’s grandparents

Of course, the list is personalized to each couples’ needs. Keep in mind, the more groups you have and the more people in each group, the more time you will need to allow. A list similar to the one above requires approximately 40-45 minutes.

Regardless of the number and size of your group photos, just be sure to plan for this important part of your wedding day.

~Sheryl and Kevin