1. Do the First Look before the Ceremony
I know, I know, but it's tradition! If you are a stickler for traditions, this is probably not the blog post for you. Unless you love people staring at you, you may not love being on the spot. Some people can really tune people out, but if you are like my husband and I, we really didn't love having all eyes on us. We were really glad we decided to do the first look before hand where we could really be ourselves. This is a great time to exchange a letter or a sentimental gift!
2. Officially Schedule in Time Together in the Day Of Schedule
This may come as a surprise if you have never been a part of a wedding before, but the day of can get a little wild. This can often lead to the bride and groom actually not seeing much of each other. Bummer, right? One of the best ways to combat this is to intentionally schedule in time together the day of. If you choose not to do the first look before the ceremony, this will be even more important! A wedding planner comes in very handy for this but you can also enlist a bridesmaid to remind you. Make sure and tell them that you intentionally want to steal away a few moments together. Plan 10 minutes to have a drink together or plan 15 minutes to catch the sunset with your photographer during the reception. It could be anything!
3. Book a Wedding Session Before the Wedding
Grab your partner, photographer and videographer and head out sometime before the wedding day to share a special moment together. Bring some drinks, some eats, and something sentimental to share with one another. This could be a sneak peek at your vows or the exchange of special gifts. Chloe with Cicada Films Co. had a vision to capture something similar to this idea that I had and she so graciously brought me in to work with her on this idea. You must check out her blog post from this shoot for all the details and a little behind the scenes, featuring yours truly. Many couples I know wish to elope but they know how important a wedding might be to family or friends. Chloe did some great elopements this year and I say, you can still have the intimacy and adventure of an elopement, even if you still have a traditional wedding.
You know those epic wedding portraits you see all over the internet? You might wonder, do that many people really elope? Or, how did they have time to go to all these beautiful places on their wedding day? Well most of those don't happen on the day of the wedding, they are sometimes (but not always) models or the couple opted for a shoot separate from the wedding. For some couples this might seem too untraditional. Some couples opt for going out for a photo session after the wedding, in order to keep the wedding day more traditional. Sometimes getting dressed up and going out and remembering your day in private (well, almost private), and having that captured, can also be so meaningful to look back on! If 2020 has taught me anything about plans, it's that the more we adapt and think about what really matters most, the more meaningful memories we can make regardless of the current circumstances around us. If your wedding plans got thrown out the window this year, I hope that this inspires you to still get out there and capture something special to remember the year (or maybe that courthouse ceremony). If you are planning on 2021 being your year, I hope that some of these ideas will inspire you to make your day exactly what you want it to be.