Well friends, in addition to Tuesday being a day for inspiration, it’s also a day for insight- Pro Insight that is! This week’s Pro Insight post comes to us from a new member of the Every Last Vendor photographer family, Studio Eleven One! Today Micah is sharing an experience with us in regards to a wedding day schedule and logistics- two very important things for a wedding day! Take it away Micah!
This past summer I had a wedding that went way off schedule and was almost a disaster. The piece of advice that I want to share today with all the brides and grooms planning their weddings, is to not do what my couple did!
In a nutshell, the couple rented a room at a hotel to do all the pre-ceremony getting ready part of their wedding. The problem was that they only rented one room, against my advice. I really tried to impress upon them the importance of two separate rooms for the bride and groom, but they were trying to be budget conscious and so they only booked one room. Let me give you a little history on how the day occurred…
My brother and I arrived to photograph and film the bride, her bridal party, and family getting ready at their hotel. They had a party bus come to take them from the hotel to the wedding venue across the bridge- not exactly a quick ride down the road. The groom and his party were to arrive when the girls left so that we could do their getting ready shots.
Well first of all, how many times are a bunch of guys having a good time going to arrive on time? It definitely didn’t happen this time- they were 30 minutes late. (This is a large amount of time when you’re having a wedding that runs on a schedule, and that is outdoors just before sunset. People may wait, food can be kept warm, but the sun waits for no one.) The bus arrived back to the hotel to pick up the guys. We climb aboard and are over halfway to the venue when the groom realizes he forgot the rings, the marriage license, and the money for the caterer. So we turn around to retrieve them. I remained calm but as I am sitting there, I can see the sun sinking fast.
When we finally made it to the venue, we leapt out of the bus. I ran inside to get a shot of the reception before the guests entered and then ran out to the ceremony. There was no time for adding flashes or lights to our equipment even though the sun was going down. The ceremony went on without any problems and it was beautiful and emotional. Regardless of the delay or anything going on around them, two people in love were being joined in marriage. No stress, no problems, just the two of them was all that mattered. We did our job and we still got amazing photos and video. We didn’t let the setback stress us or ruin their big day.
But there were consequences to that one decision. The bride did not get her beautiful sunset photo after the ceremony that she had dreamed about and spent over a year talking with me about… it was dark and the sun had set into the horizon. The reception was also delayed and therefore shortened their time to enjoy their party. Luckily, we had a trash the dress session scheduled and we gave our bride the photo of her dreams- just with a different sunset and not on her wedding day.
We all understand the need to try to stay on budget and stretch our hard earned dollars. This couple had spent well over a year planning their dream wedding and invested a great deal of money. Then, in the name of saving a few dollars, their wedding day was almost single handedly destroyed.
The moral of my story is don’t take the chance to have your whole wedding go sour over one small expense. In the whole scheme of your budget and wedding day, it’s a small amount. In addition to that, the best decision overall is to hire a wedding planner so that they can be there to assist you and make sure that things aren’t forgotten like they were at this wedding. Why spend your wedding day having to deal with all the details when you don’t have to? You should be able to sit back and relax during this one special day in your life- and let boys be boys!
Wow, definitely something to consider! Let me tell you- organizing the wedding day is definitely quite a feat! You have the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the parents- and the transportation for every can be killer too! So do yourself a favor and make it as simple as possible. Have 2 rooms or places for both men and women to get ready at, and if you can, hire a wedding planner so they can worry about it! :) A big thank you to Studio Eleven One for sharing this insight with us!
Lauren
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“Then in the name of saving a few hundred dollars, their wedding was almost single handedly destroyed. ”
How is not having a sunset photo a destruction of the wedding? I assume the couple still ended up married,,, so, what’s the problem? If capturing one photo or having everything run on time overshadows the rest of the day, then, frankly, I think the point of the wedding has been missed. I appreciate and recognize the need for organization, but keeping the big picture in mind is WAY more important.
I don’t think he meant the lack of a sunset photo would have meant “destruction”- it was more the running behind part, because all of that pushes everything back and in essence shortens the amount of time you have to celebrate and enjoy what was paid for. But he did say that everything did turn out wonderfully because in the end, no matter what happened, two people who loved each other got married! :)
Maybe I should have explained myself better but they nearly were married in the pitch black as there was no outside lighting for the ceremony and they had a limited amount of time in their venue so everything was being thrown off course. maybe to some a sunset photo is not important but to this bride it was. in fact it was so important that on the redo she had her hair redone and another bouquet made. of course it was about the marriage, but the “wedding event” could have been ruined. it wasn’t fun the stress that she went through waiting at the altar for her groom as the sun disappeared into the horizon, she was stressed and upset. all things that could have been avoided by that second room and a wedding planner to help. and i am glad to share this story if it helps only one couple in the future.
Can you give a ball-park estimate on what you can expect to spend on a month-of wedding planner,? I realize there is a large range – but is it possible to estimate?
Hi Shari! It definitely depends on where you’re located, and also of course what is included with the package. There is a large range, but I would estimate month-of to be around $1000 to $3000.