A Day in the Life of a Wedding Photographer (Part 4)

So this is the final instalment in my "Day in the Life of a Wedding Photographer" blog. This is the part that is leading towards the end of the wedding day, but is still full of exciting things to come.

The Speeches

The ceremony and mingling are complete and in most cases, the group and couple shots are done. I will have captured lots of wonderful candid photographs of the guests chatting and laughing together prior to the meal, but as previously mentioned, not in an intrusive way, from afar so you hardly know I'm there. People will take their places at their tables and now we hit the speeches. These usually take place before the meal, but every wedding is different, so at times, they are afterwards.

This is a great opportunity for me to get some excellent shots, I can move around easily and capture people's expressions and emotions while the speeches are being read. The best man's speech is usually one of the best, with funny stories about the groom's past and things he may have got up to, prior to meeting his new wife.

In total, these can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on how many people are doing speeches. For those less confident participants, they can be as little as 5 minutes each, but still have a lot of purpose to the day's offerings.

Feed Me!

Once the speeches are finished, people can tuck into their delicious meals, have some refreshments and start to relax and get to know the people on their tables as in most cases, people are sat with others they may not know too well. At my wedding, we purposefully sat people that weren't necessarily familiar with each other together as we thought it would be a nice way for all our family and friends to get to know one another - we had icebreaker fortune cookies on the table containing funny talking points and activities, which went down really well. I'm pleased to say, it was a success and everyone got on like a house on fire and are still in contact to this day!

While the guests are eating, I am usually lucky enough to also be fed. I take this opportunity to have a well deserved break, rest my feet and flick through the photographs I have captured so far. If there is also a videographer, we will catch up on the highlights of the day and chat about other experiences we have had. If the weather is cooperating and we are lucky enough to have a golden hour, this is a fantastic opportunity to capture some more photographs of the couple. Golden hour, or magic hour as it's sometimes referred to, is the part of the day before sunset which is redder and softer than when the sun is at its highest in the sky. You can get some beautiful shots during this part of the day and a lot of couples request having photographs taking at golden hour.

The First Dance and Cutting the Cake

Along with the confetti shot, these two events are equally as exciting. The first dance can be tricky as there is the lighting to contend with and trying to navigate around the guests whilst trying to stay inconspicuous! Then the guests join the happy couple on the dance floor and the frivolities commence. I will generally stay and take some shots of the day and evening guests dancing and depending on when the couple want to do their cake cutting, this will also be factored into the evening at some point.

Once I'm finished and packed up, I will say goodbye to the happy couple and thank them for letting me be part of their special day as I consider being given the opportunity to capture someone's wedding, a complete honour.

Thank you for reading my series of blogs on "A Day in the Life of a Wedding Photographer" and I hope it has given you an insight into what it can be like. If you are in the process of planning your wedding and you would like to know more about my packages, you can either view them under the 'Services' tab on my website, or get in touch at coopersphotographic@gmail.com.