Wedding Group photos – do you have to do them?

At least that’s what I imagine you’re thinking as you read this, as I get asked this a lot!

Well, no, you don’t.

But you might regret not doing them. And they can be fun, done in the minimum amount of time, and they give you photos of the most important people in your life gathered together on your wedding day.

So… Here’s my guide to the pitfalls to avoid, the golden rules to stick to, the best way to get them done in the shortest time, and with the minimum of fuss!

Should you have wedding group photos?

When you look back on your wedding day photos in years to come I think you’ll be glad that you included the wedding group photos, sometimes referred to as ‘the formals’.

These days families and close friends regularly live far apart across the country, or even abroad. How often in the future are you likely to have the opportunity to include them together in the same photos taken by a professional photographer?

What puts some couples off wedding party group photos is their experience at previous weddings they’ve been to. So, it’s important to follow some rules to avoid unnecessary stress on your wedding day!

There aren’t many, but they’re soooo important…

The rules for wedding family portraits

To make sure that your wedding formal photos are frustration free, here are the rules that you should follow.

Have your wedding group photos immediately after your ceremony

I can’t stress this point enough.

Once your guests get to the drinks reception (or start the drinks reception if your ceremony is at the same venue) they will feel like they’re ‘off the hook’. Alcohol will only make things more difficult too.

It will be virtually impossible to gather the right people for your wedding family portraits in a short period.

The result – the timings on your wedding day will run late.

Here’s a scenario to explain this:

• Two people are missing from a group photo

• One person from the group goes to find the two missing people

• The two missing people return (perhaps from the bar or toilets)

• You are now missing the person who went to find the two missing ones

• Your group photo is still held up until that person returns to say “I can’t find them anywhere” only to see them back with the group!

And that’s just the first photo!

When you can’t have your wedding group photos outside the church

Unfortunately, on rare occasions, it’s not sensible or possible to have your wedding party photos outside of your ceremony venue.

If, for example, your church or ceremony venue has scaffolding outside so that there is NO location there suitable for your wedding formal photos, the only option in that case is to have your wedding group photos at the reception location/venue.

In this scenario:

If your ceremony is at a Church or other venue such as a registry office, you or your fiancé should announce in the church (e.g.) that the group photos will be in front of the hotel/reception venue, before drinks are served.

Or, if your ceremony is at the same venue as your reception, I suggest telling the venue not to serve any drinks until your wedding group photos are complete.

Trust me – doing the above will avoid you no end of frustration, will get through your group photos more quickly, and your guests and you both will have more time to enjoy yourselves on your big day.

How long will my wedding group photos take?

If you’re worried about how long these photos will take, I have a carefully crafted order of photos that allows me to zip through the ‘formals’ in the most time-efficient way.

Naturally, the more group photos you have, the more time is needed, but it’s worthwhile not rushing this session as you’ll look back on these photos for decades to come and appreciate that you allowed enough time for them in your timeline!