Comments | weddingplans: Photography between the ceremony and reception

ocnative in weddingplans

Photography between the ceremony and reception

May 18, 2008 18:36

Quick background - my ceremony and reception are in the same venue (ceremony outdoors, reception indoors and the two spots are really close together. (Think office building and patio / garden area distance.)

We have narrowed things down between two photographers (and just making that choice is really hard for us) but the first one said that he ( Read more... )

photo booth, timeline, photography

Comments 11

goingtoguam May 19 2008, 01:53:00 UTC

I don't have any advice, but I'm in the exact same position, except on Long Island.

alli_h May 19 2008, 02:20:09 UTC

why are pre-ceremony pics out of the question? we really have no other option since between the ceremony & reception we will only have 30 minutes for formal pics & then only about 4 hours of reception after that (not enough time to leave for pics for sure!). does you FH just want to see you for the first time when you're walking down the aisle? my FH wasn't thrilled about "spoiling the surprise" and seeing me before the ceremony but we are left with no other option. :-(
where you'll be is only about 20 minutes from the beach, if you wanted to do pics beforehand there. there are a lot of parks in that area that overlook the beach, so you won't actually have to get down on the sand in your dress (and risk getting dirty) to get great pics. also, less than 10 minutes from the TechSpace building is Soka University and they have a beautiful campus. That would be do-able for during the reception, or before depending on what you decide. i think even if you do stay on site for pics your photog can make it work. i've seen more urban-looking ( ... )

ocnative May 19 2008, 02:45:06 UTC

Oh my gosh I didn't even think of Soka! I will go check it out for sure (I was there once a few years back and you're right, its AMAZING.)

The no pics before is totally FH not wanting to see me / spoil the thrill for him and since we can easily add hours to the end of the time frame, he is adament. (I did the shots before the wedding at my first wedding and loved it, but this isn't just my day...)

Must go check SOKA! (Since we are just a few miles from main beach in Laguna, that could work, but I prefer Soka.) THANKS A MILLION!!!

alli_h May 19 2008, 03:25:45 UTC

yeah, same with me, i was at Soka years ago but i remember there was a bride there doing her wedding pics!
maybe you can compromise & do pics beforehand but not see each other. do family shots or attendants or whatever, then do they couples shots after the ceremony. i've heard of couples on here doing that so it is done, i just don't know how well it will work out. :-/

ocnative May 19 2008, 07:04:27 UTC

That makes a lot of sense. I think the guys will be shooting pool in the cafe, so that's cool (kinda boring) but me and the girls could be over at Soka doing our thing and then caravan back, hit the conference room for any touchups that need to take place and then BAM - let's get this party started!

letsmakememorys May 19 2008, 02:50:51 UTC

omg...you just asked my question! i have the same problem... deciding if we should take photos before or after the wedding. i definitely am not going to leave between the ceremony and reception (our is like yours...ceremony and reception is located in the same area) because i dont want to miss the reception and i dont want my guest to get bored. i reallllly want to meet like 2 hours before the ceremony and have our photos taken, but FH doesnt want that. but i think that is the only choice. i dont think you should leave your wedding. so i will probably just have to talk him more into it. also we need to find a beautiful location to take the photos. you should probably ask your photographer, they will know of places.

i am from oc too, but we live in vegas now. been here 3 years.. originally from anaheim and fullerton.

ocnative May 19 2008, 06:51:09 UTC

Wow, small world. I grew up in Garden Grove, moved to Fountain Valley and then bought a condo in Laguna Hills. (My joke is that I've just moved South along the 405.) I went to FJC and then CSUF and now I work at CSUF ;)

***edited to remove calling my FH stubborn. That was unfair.*** I also hate the idea of leaving so I am half thinking "day after" shots at Soka, and see if there are any other secluded places along the garden area on property.

But whatever, I want this to be OUR day.

evolutionary_me May 19 2008, 03:21:06 UTC

imo... why would you want your wedding portraits taken somewhere your ceremony or reception weren't held at? maybe if you think of it not as a portrait session of you guys in your wedding clothes, but as official photos of your actual wedding (including capturing the beautiful space you were married in, or celebrated in), it might help you make the decision? we have an hour between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception and we will take photos then, as well as the whole set-up shots beforehand. but we have a long reception as well (5 hours too!), so we're not worried about being late. in fact, we kinda want to be fashionably late anyway.

i also doubt you will feel like dressing up again and going to take photos the day after... enjoy your first day of husband and wife together!

ps -- passed hors d'oeuvres? :)

ocnative May 19 2008, 06:54:22 UTC

LOL, I always remember the word, but I can never spell hors d'oeuvres without having to copy / paste it! (So thank you for that!)

Our reasoning in my first marriage was that it was a cool change of background for shots of just the two of us. But as I posted above, I think I'd like to just find another part of the property where we could go to. It's a pretty interesting set of buildings and all that.

dreaming_soul May 19 2008, 04:38:00 UTC

from a photographer:

a good photographer will know how to make absolultely any location a beautiful location for wedding photos. maybe take a little walk away from your reception location for some alone time. we can make beautiful portraits next to a dumpster in a back alley. what's important is that you get these photos done without using up an hour of your time and are able to spend some alone time together before the reception begins and proceeds to fly by. travel time between locations is really what eats up time.

ocnative May 19 2008, 06:57:59 UTC

You are my wise sage today!!! The more I think about this, the more I think we can sneak off to the other arch structure or some wildlife, or the side of the building or something and I'm sure he can make it look fantastic. Keep it to a minimum and then get on with it.

A friend of ours used to be a wedding photographer but just kind of let it lapse in her moving around. She came and took our engagement shots so we;ll see how those turn out. We may ask her to do some funky / artistic shots afterwards too.