Whoa! Is it already time for ANOTHER Wedding Wednesday post?! It seems like it was just YESTERDAY when I posted for Wedding Wednesday LAST WEEK! Phillip and I were just talking last night about how fast time is flying by! Isn’t it strange how your perception of time changes how much from when you’re younger?! It seemed like days would just creeeeeep by…now, I feel like I don’t even have ENOUGH DAYS!

Anyhoo! Getting back to the Wedding Wednesday post, since it IS Wednesday and all! Today I’m going to talk about the importance of getting those “untouched shots” of your reception space or venue.  It’s possibly one of those things you most likely haven’t even thought about, you busy Bride-to-be you! But think about it, getting those shots of your reception venue or ceremony space before all of your guests come piling in is SUPER important for YOU to be able to SEE your vision of your wedding day come to life through the images I capture.  This kind of shot that I’m talking about is a wide angled shot of your reception venue and ceremony site completely empty! It’s all set up for your wedding day with the flowers, the china all laid out, and your table settings and centerpieces are at absolute perfection.

Here’s why making sure you get those perfect untouched reception and ceremony shots are a must-have for your wedding photography album and your wedding story!

Get the FULL EFFECT of your reception WAY before your guests arrive! Some, not all, wedding guests are EXTREMELY early arrivals to wedding ceremonies! Don’t ask me why, but I’ve seen some eager guests arriving as early as an hour and fifteen BEFORE the ceremony even begins! (Yes! I know! If it were me, I’d still be drying my hair by then!!) So when guests start arriving, they’ll want to stake their claim and find their seats WAY before anyone else.  They’ll drape their jackets over the backs of chairs, throw their purses down on the tables, and sprawl their things out on their table leaving it all a mess.  I make sure that I get my shots WAY BEFORE any of those early guests arrive and without all that extra “stuff” just lying around.

Capturing a wide angle empty room shot of your reception venue and/or ceremony site is really and truly the ONLY time my Emma Loo Brides and Grooms will even SEE their wedding day visions come to life.

Believe me, after MONTHS and MONTHS of planning, setting up, and organizing our centerpieces and tablescapes for our very own wedding, not ONCE did I see them at the wedding itself! We were too busy talking and going around hugging our guests…needless to say, we were having SO much fun! Although I was quite a stickler about the centerpieces and tablescapes BEFOREHAND, when the wedding day rolled around…they were an afterthought to me and I never even SAW THEM!  I’m SO GLAD our amazing photographers, The Schultzes were able to capture EVERY element of my vintage table designs.  Those images are some of my favorites of the wedding because I know how much work and time I put into designing each centerpiece! (Each table was different, filled with vintage books, teacups, glass bottles and jars, flowers and greenery…it was BEAUTIFUL!)

After all that hard work of planning and making your wedding day absolutely perfect, making sure that you build enough time into your wedding timeline for me to capture those untouched shots is vital.  I usually capture these kinds of shots either when I first arrive if it’s already set up or I rush around to get those shots during cocktail hour or .  I’d advise that for shots of the reception, make sure your reception is fully set up about 2 hours prior to my arrival, that way I have enough time to really capture the true essence of your reception!

Shoot it for YOUR STORY! When I shoot your wedding day, I’m not just shooting you two as you say “I Do”…I’m telling YOUR love story! So when I shoot your wedding, I’ll will tell your wedding story throughout my images.  You want to be able to look back on these images years from now and be able to relive the day over and over again.  These detail shots of the INSIDE and the OUTSIDE of your reception venue show the true look and feel of the entire day, and I want you to be able to look at those untouched shots and remember exactly how beautiful your wedding day truly was!

Your VENDORS will THANK YOU! Shooting a full reception shot won’t just look pretty in your wedding album, but it will also look great posted to your wedding vendors websites and Facebook pages!  Trust me, good photos will speak VOLUMES to your hard working vendors and they’ll love the fact that you shared some of your images with them! A couple of weeks after I return the images to you I’ll also email your wedding day vendors the gallery as well.  From there, they’ll be able to download and use the photos for their own site along with proper photo credit.  Great photos and great reviews from previous Brides go A LONG WAY for wedding industry professionals! So do your vendors a favor and leave enough time to capture those shots of the reception florals, catering set ups, and rentals, send them the images, and leave them a great review on either WeddingWire.com or TheKnot.com!

Getting those wide angle untouched empty reception and ceremony site shots is vital and most Brides WILL want these shots to be captured on her wedding day! Planning ahead of time is vital to make sure that there is enough time to capture it all! Still don’t feel like your wedding day timeline can fit it all in? Make sure you hired a second shooter to come along as well! That’ll help make sure that those shots are taken!

I hope this has helped some of you Brides-to-be in the planning process! Although you might’ve look past these shots and wonder WHY they are so IMPORTANT….I hope you realize just how important these detail venue shots are that make up your wedding story!

Thanks again for reading & happy Wednesday! XO! -Emma Loo

 

Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about y’all! Grace+Mike’s wedding at the GORGEOUS Alexander Homestead was just breathtakingly beautiful! Thankfully, Grace and her team of amazingness had put together and set up the ENTIRE reception the DAY BEFORE! SO when I arrived, it was ALL SET UP and just STUNNING! One of my all time favorite reception venues! SO PRETTY!
Getting a wide angle shot of an “untouched” reception venue can insure that you’re getting a shot of what your guests saw.  You’re getting the “look and feel” for your wedding day through the guests eyes…and not having to worry about all that extra “junk” lying around that guests tend to leave behind!

You can also make sure to get a cool detail shot of your “Thank You” gifts or a cool personal touch that you have left for your guests.  A lot of planning and thought went into that tiny little detail…why not capture it in a beautiful way?Your florist will just LOVE you if you’re able to give her/him back these types of shots! Imagine you being a Bride planning for your own wedding and you’re able to see what your florist is capable of!! Plus, these images are “Pinterest” worthy and could give other planning Brides some great ideas of how they’d like their own reception!  Simply LOVED this wedding venue at Rolling Hill Farms in Monroe, NC! Mary+Anthony’s wedding day was a simple set up but nothing short of fabulous!! The venue itself is just so rustic and naturally pretty!  Johnson Carriage House & Meadows has this GORGEOUS NEW open-air pavilion which would be PERFECT for ANY wedding reception! I was able to capture a few details of Chelsea+Derek’s reception set ups BEFORE their ceremony and BEFORE the guests arrived and took over the tables! Those coral and gold painted wine bottles are just so stinking cute!!