It is the morning of your wedding day, and for the Groom, this time of day is no sweat, right?! You and your groomsmen are just doing what you do best- maybe enjoying some frosty bevs, getting in some last minute sandwiches (pregame food is a key ingredient to being a less hangry and full of energy on your wedding day) playing cards, etc.

A sudden knock on the door disrupts the festivities. Then your buddy with a camera and a man bag (hint: it’s me, your friendly photographer) enters into your sacred getting ready grounds. At this time you may be thinking “great, here I am with my closest friends on one of my most important days, and there is this elephant in the room named Steven.” Well do not fret my friends, we are about to embark on a journey filled with tips and helpful info to help you feel more comfortable with what to expect on your wedding day. This four part series: Details and Getting Ready, First Look, Portraits, Ceremony and Reception, will be an outstanding guide with a lot of photos to reference prior to your wedding! This is the Grooms’ guide to wedding day.

Detail– n. an individual feature, fact or item.

As mentioned before, I have arrived to your room & our introductions are complete. The first thing I will do is not throw a camera in your face and start clicking! I am here to tell the story of your day, not to make you feel incredibly awkward and agitated. When I first arrive to the Groom’s room on wedding day, my camera is put down, and I’m most concerned about getting to know the guys and filling them in on the plans for shooting this part of the day with them. The beauty of it, is that as the “husband” part of our husband and wife photography team, I’m there to photograph this part of your day as it unfolds (while Amanda is with the Bride).

The first shots I like to do are your details! What’s that? By this time through the pinterest boards, instagram feeds and blog posts, you have most likely heard the word “details” millions of times, but rarely has it pertained to you, and yet here I am, arriving on your wedding day and it’s usually the first thing I ask for! Your details can be features or items that you wear that day, such as a watch, cufflinks, tie/bowtie, shoes, special socks, etc.

However; that’s not where the list ends- your details can be anything that is special to you that we can incorporate into your wedding day. Maybe your Bride gifted you with a new bottle of cologne, or your Grandpa wanted you to have his pocket watch. Lets photograph it!

Maybe there’s a letter that your Bride just gave you or you’re super pumped about your suspenders or the Cougar cufflinks you got just before you graduated. Maybe you love your car or motorcycle and you want cool photos with it. This part of the day I’m focused solely on you, what you’re all about, what’s important to you, and documenting it.

Sometimes with all the chaos of wedding planning, it’s always nice to have a reminder that the Groom is just as special as the Bride. You’re sharing in the joy of the day, dedicating your lives to each other, and the journey is 50/50. The great thing is now that your details are no secret, it will feel like you’re not so put on the spot when I say “hey, can I get your Grooms’ details.” Extra points if you have the items you’d love photographed out and ready for me in time for my arrival!

Getting Ready

This is the time where we are going to transition from me photographing your details to you getting dressed for the day. It also means that my camera is going to have to point at you at some point! For the most part thus far, the camera has been on your special shoes, tie and socks, and candids of you and your buddies. I’ve gone as long as I can without getting you too much in front of the camera, but in order for you to be in your getting ready photos, you have to be in them, right?

Now, this does not mean that you and I are going to be stuck in some awkward moment where you’re standing in your underwear and I am just snapping away. No, that costs extra! Just kidding. In the past, I have found that getting ready photos best work for photographing you putting on your shoes, tie/bowtie, cufflinks, vest, watch, jacket. Not in any particular order and it does not have to be any or all of those. I do realize that putting on articles of clothing in front of a camera may feel a little un-natural. I’ve been there. On my wedding day the photographer never stopped shooting while I put on my clothes, my tie etc. He wasn’t looking for just those key moments at the end of me getting ready, thus making it super awkward. I don’t want that for you! It might throw you off at first, but the amazing part is, your natural expression is what looks best in your photos. Worst case scenario, it looks a little off, I let you know and we get a mulligan.

 

As a matter a fact, you get as many mulligans as you want, IT IS YOUR WEDDING DAY! Getting ready photos can include your groomsmen too. Say for instance you have gifts you are giving, or gifts you are receiving- this is the time of day to photograph it. After you’re dressed would be a great opportunity to do this. One of my favorite things to do if we have some extra time is BRO Photos (aka Bro Phos)! Say we have a balcony or cool patio. You and your Groomsmen can get out there and do some stellar photos (if you want to). Not only do they add a little extra to your day, they also give the groomsmen an opportunity to warm up in front of the camera.

More than anything, if you snag one tidbit of advice from this post, it’s that this part of the day is about you and your friends, celebrating that you’re about to embark on this journey called marriage. I’ll be there to photograph it, but it won’t be awkward, and in fact, it can be really fun. We’ll put together your details, I’ll photograph them, and before you know it, we’ll be heading out to the First Look! (more on that soon!)