The Ceremony
Church Ceremony
11 years ago when I started photographing weddings I would say 90% of my weddings were taking place inside of a church. Churches, especially Catholic churches have tons of restrictions that include no flash usage or not being able to move from a certain area of the church. I have to follow their rules and they will be certain to let you know the rules months prior. When they do tell you the rules, I would love if it you could forward those rules to me so I can review but I will also reach out to the church itself and inform myself so we can all be on the same page.
During this time I have little to no control of anything that happens. I am there to document everything as it happens and you will get some many great images. Typical church wedding ceremonies last about an hour so in that hour I will get hundreds of images and you’ll love them all.
More Church Ceremonies
I wanted to add that although church ceremonies have decreased over the years they are still very popular and even though they have more restrictions than any other type of ceremony, you will still get amazing photos. Flash or no flash it does not matter to me because my equipment can handle any lighting situation.
Back Yard Wedding Ceremony
I know what you’re thinking. This is not a back yard wedding. It actually is though. It is a very nice back yard and I use my telephoto lens to zoom in and blur the background as much as possible to reduce to the visibility of anything you don’t really want to show in the photos. I will typically have no restrictions here and I will be all over the place getting this shot, and that shot and that shot over there. I would say the one thing you should think about here is what time you will be having the ceremony. If it’s high noon and the sun is guaranteed to be in your face during the entire ceremony then that is no bueno. You. don’t want the sun in your face anytime let alone during the time you are saying “I DO”. Sometimes there is no avoiding this of course but if you can avoid it by preparing for it that would be amazing. Either way though I will be all over the place capturing this ceremony in every which way.
Indoor (Non Church Wedding)
I love these type of ceremonies. The sun will not be a problem here since we are indoors and since it’s not a church I won’t have any restrictions. This particular ceremony took place in an area that did not have the best lighting but that’s okay because i am prepared for anything. I use my flash and my color gels to match the ambient lighting and bam you get wonderful images like this. Typically the only restrictions I would have are the ones that happen because of the tight squeeze to move around the place.
The Beach Ceremony
You knew it was coming right. The beach ceremony! I love the beach so much. It’s always cooler there, there usually is a nice breeze but you know what most beaches also have? Sand and it gets everywhere. That’s not a problem for me. hopefully it’s not a problem for anyone else too. The sand though is not really a problem at all but what can be is that there will be no shade on the beach. None, zero, nada. You are going to have the sun in your face. Hopefully though the sun is to your back. If you could get the sun to be to your side but preferably your back you won’t be squinting and you’ll be so happy for that and I will be so happy I can get so many great shots that way too!
Outdoor Ceremony
Outdoor ceremonies are very similar to the back yard weddings because, well they are both outdoor ceremonies. The difference for these outdoor venues that offer outdoor ceremonies is that they were designed to look amazing for ceremonies. The same concerns apply to this type of outdoor ceremony as any other ceremony that takes place outside which is the sun. You really don’t want the sun in your face. With so much gorgeous space to photograph I will use my wide angle lens more often. Typically an outdoor ceremony will last anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and I will get tons of amazing photographs!
Check Out The Next Portion of a Typical Wedding Day - The Group Portraits