Welcome to the fourth episode of our series – What Weddings Are Made Of – From Proposal to Honeymoon.
Today, we’re talking about all the opportunities for photography and videography throughout your engagement and wedding planning experience. We’re going to discuss the purpose of these different photo ops and help you figure out which ones you do or do not want to include in your own wedding.
The photographs and video you want can have an impact on how you structure your wedding day, so it’s important to know what’s important to you when moving forward with determining how you want to document your wedding.
To learn more about our movement visit: https://www.unweddingmovement.com
Transcript
Sydney Spidell 0:11
Welcome to the Un-Wedding Podcast. I'm Sydney
Corina Waldie 0:14
and I'm Corina
Sydney Spidell 0:15
We're two neurodiverse wedding planners who are committed to empowering nearlyweds to throw out a wedding rulebook, shrink their guest list and create a meaningful, purposeful wedding experience. We're taking the wedding industry by storm and disrupting the status quo, where the Un-Wedding Planners and we invite you to join our movement.
Corina Waldie 0:33
We record our podcast from Treaty Six Territory, a traditional gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Metis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, Annishinaabe, Inuit, and many others, whose histories, languages and cultures continue to influence our vibrant community.
Corina Waldie 0:58
Welcome to episode four of our series, what weddings are made of from proposal to honeymoon. Today, we're talking about all the opportunities for photography and videography throughout your engagement and wedding planning experience. We're going to, as should be expected by now discuss the purpose of these different photo apps and help you figure out which ones you do or do not want to include in your own wedding. The photographs and videos you want can have an impact on how you structure your wedding day. So it's important to know what's important to you. So when might you say cheese?
Sydney Spidell 1:30
So that journey with a photographer, so we're not and we're not going through like the whole vendor process, we will definitely be talking about that in a future episode. But in terms of when you might actually be having photos snapped. Usually people will think of the engagement shoot,
Corina Waldie 1:47
Absolutely, that's usually one of the first times that couples will get together with a photographer to have their photos taken. Unless, of course, your partner did a great big grand proposal and had the photographer hiding in the bushes. For the most part, the engagement shoot is when you get that opportunity to first work with a chosen photographer. And a lot of photographers include that in their base wedding packages.
Sydney Spidell 2:12
Yes, and the reason being and not only do you have really cute photos that you get to share and use on any of your, you know, stationery that you're sending out of your wedding website, which is always great to have. But it is so that you can develop a rapport with your photographer and see how well you work together, see if you like their style and what it is that they're giving you. Because if you do not mesh on your engagement photography shoot, that at least gives you some time then to look for other photographers and see if you can find someone who's going to be a better option for you for your wedding.
Corina Waldie 2:46
In many ways, it is like an audition for the photographer.
Sydney Spidell 2:50
And for the couple like I think it's important to a photographer feels comfortable working with a couple
Corina Waldie 2:54
Oh 100% too, because like it really is some of the most personal things. And really, let's be honest, it's one of the only things that you're going to keep beyond your wedding. So there is a great deal of importance in making sure you jive with your photographer. And I have
Sydney Spidell 3:08
Everything else fades in history. Like there are very few things that last beyond you get like the jewelry, or maybe somebody's taken very, very good care of some dried flowers, or a wedding dress that gets reused. But primarily or you know, eating your cake a year after. But primarily the only thing that's gonna have any longevity beyond the legal agreement between you guys is is those photographs, right? And I mean, if you think about it, those things that get you excited about weddings and stuff when you're a kid are those wedding photos. So it makes so much sense to really invest in them and take the time to think of what you want as your keepsake from that day
Corina Waldie 3:53
very much so and and just you know, in terms of those engagement photos, if you don't like the, whether, if you don't like the quality of the photos, if you don't like what that photographers produced. Please, please please go find somebody else that you do jive with. Yeah. And I speak from personal experience within my own family
Sydney Spidell 4:10
Or at least discuss with your photographer the issues that you have and see if you can remedy them as well. Like can we can we do a reshoot because we have these issues with it. And it's not the quality that you were expecting, there might be a reason for that.
Corina Waldie 4:22
Well, and I have actually have a really solid story about this in the sense that so when my brother got married about eight years ago, him and his wife wanted to use a photographer that was available locally in her hometown, who didn't have a whole lot of experience - totally fine. Everybody started somewhere. But when they did the engagement photos, they were very unhappy with the photos that came back. Talked to her again about a reshoot. Same thing. Wasn't very happy with the quality of the photos that came about, but continued to use her for the wedding anyway, and I promise you as somebody who attended that wedding, who was in the wedding party, the photos are the most awful awkward looking photos, they are not great. And the thing that, they are, they, Yeah, they were just really not great photos, there was really awkward posing. And so I think it's so so important that if you don't feel that connection with your photographer, please find somebody else. Like don't just kind of keep going with that person, because they're the cheapest or the whatever. Yeah, find somebody that you know you really jive with? Because like you say, these are the photos that are going to last forever. And yeah, really, really, really want to make sure that that they're good quality. Yeah,
Sydney Spidell 5:32
yeah. And then, you know, it doesn't have to be just the engagement shoot you that you might have interactions with this person before your wedding. And frankly, you might actually hire multiple different photography companies or photographers to capture different elements of the wedding process, in terms of opportunities where you might have photography other than that engagement shoot before the actual wedding itself would be things like any of those rehearsals or showers or pre wedding events that we talked about earlier in the series. You again, that's something that is, you know, not typically what people do, but it also doesn't mean that it's not something that you might want to document as well.
Corina Waldie 6:17
We're also seeing to a lot of couples and women or brides choosing to do what we like to call boudoir, or female empowerment or couple empowerment intimate portraiture. So that's not necessarily something your wedding photographer is going to specialize in. So you might go to somebody else for that. But it's also a great opportunity to really capture your connection on
Sydney Spidell 6:36
Yeah, absolutely. And if you have somebody who is talented in like both of these styles of photography or event photography and more that intimate portrait photography, like our pal Yahoska, just because that's something that she has absolutely,
Corina Waldie 6:55
Gabriela Cruz Photography
Sydney Spidell 6:56
Yeah. And that, like my friend, Tyler, actually, their engagement photos were very much like a sexy Calvin Klein style photoshoot, which I love and whether or not you're using, again, like I said, that same photographer, it doesn't have to be the same sort of style for your engagement photos. Again, you're trying to figure out that rapport, you're trying to figure out if that's you, because photography is an art.
Corina Waldie 7:04
Very much so
Sydney Spidell 7:13
It's something that you get that you can be talented at, you can be skilled, technically at, but you can also be talented at it. And part of that talent aspect comes not just from composing a photo like that is more that technical thing. But instead being able to look at your composition, and draw the emotions and feelings and connections out of that. So your photographer, even if they have taken beautiful photographs of someone else. You want somebody who's going to be able to connect with you and draw you out and make you feel comfortable in your own skin. And doing something sexy is such an awesome way to really lower those inhibitions and give you an opportunity to, to show that connection with your partner, and include your photographer in it. So it's going to be that much easier to pull out that connection on the day of your wedding to
Corina Waldie 8:11
Absolutely, we actually have a client we're working with right now as another prime example. Especially if you're really anxious or nervous about having your photos taken, whether that's intimate portrait, or whether that's even just your engagement session. It gave them an opportunity to have their photos taken. And now they're really excited to get their photos taken on the wedding day. Yeah, engagement photos are gorgeous.
Sydney Spidell 8:31
They're so great. Yeah, that that puts, if you are an anxious person, it makes that person your ally for the wedding day, because you've already been through something together.
Corina Waldie 8:40
Exactly. So yeah, there's definitely lots of opportunity, I think to to, to engage with photography and to capture these moments. Because you know, wedding goes beyond so much more than just the one day or the weekend, we do have all of these things. And yes, of course, we live in the day and age of smartphone cameras, and pretty much everybody's got a phone on their camera or phone on their camera camera on their phone. Yeah, nowadays, and they're getting better and better. So you know, essentially
Sydney Spidell 9:05
phone on their camera.
Corina Waldie 9:07
It's true
Sydney Spidell 9:10
So yeah, yeah, you can, you can still have those moments captured. And you don't have to hire a professional photographer. You think there was a big trend a million years ago, that lasted for a long time, and then kind of had a revival too - is getting disposable cameras and film cameras and having that sort of guest perspective in there. And that is something that you can, can do. I know the more modern version of that would be post this with our hashtag and then it gets shared on our slideshow. So we're getting that.
Corina Waldie 9:40
The other thing you can do is like create like a folder, like a Google Drive folder or a Google Photos link that you can share with your guests that they can in turn add photos, add photos to there's lots of great opportunities to collect those photos because yes, those guests perspective photos are just as fun as the ones that are professionally produced.
Sydney Spidell 9:57
Yeah, and your photographer might not think Capture, you know, a group photo of all your friends from camp, but your friends from Camp might say
Corina Waldie:exactly, right. Okay,
Sydney Spidell:so yeah, then you're you're moving on from that pre wedding event now we get to the day of and still the same like we've talked about them these past couple of episodes there are things that come on the day that aren't the ceremony or the reception.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, very much so. And a lot of times with many people they choose to do getting ready photos. So these are the photos of them getting dressed, perhaps finishing up hair and makeup. You know, those sorts of things, they can be a great way to sort of, you know, when you watch your album later, you flick through your album later is this anticipation
Sydney Spidell:Yeah, right. I think that's for me that like the purpose again, if we talk about the purpose, then so the purpose of those is you've you've already got that connection formed with your photographer. So now Yeah, that's exactly what it is. It's about capturing the emotions of the day, and the little bits and pieces that led up to it. And the things that got you to that altar.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, very much. It's also great like if you're choosing to exchange gifts with your partner, then the photographer's there while you open it, you get that moment. We had one client where her and her partner actually wrote each other a love letter that they read, so they got all dressed and the photographer was in suite and they read the letters just before they went into their first glance photos
Sydney Spidell:Too cute.
Corina Waldie:So there's lots of opportunities to take those getting ready photos and and do something to really ignite a connection and a purpose and and make that more than just the to be honest typically dummied photo with the make-up brush
Sydney Spidell:Yeah so we get into, Corina What are your thoughts on on getting ready photos, because I know that you feel things
Corina Waldie:in terms of getting ready photos, I think I think they're great if you want to include the extra hours in your package for that. But it is important to be aware that very rarely, you know your hair and makeup is typically done a couple of hours or even an hour or so before the photographer arrives just so that you're using however many packet like package hours you have in the most efficient way. So often times hair and makeup photos are actually completely dummied
Sydney Spidell:Yeah. Where anyones arm doesn't matter the planner or bridesmaids exactly attending to be your makeup artist or hairstylist
Corina Waldie:literally like said to the bride. Hey, can you give me one of your makeup brushes, and then we've done close ups of like, yeah, me just put, like pretending to put a little bit of eyeshadow or whatever,
Sydney Spidell:like wrestling. Totally staged,
Corina Waldie:totally 100% staged. But it's also this opportunity to to capture some beautiful like details like so the dress hanging in the window, I love those photos, it's a great way to really capture your dress capture your accessories before you put them on your body. So there is a lot of there's a lot of perks to being able to do that.
Sydney Spidell:And also too I think quite frequently people are spending that time with their wedding party if you have a wedding party there. So those that getting ready photo opportunity is a really great option to bring in again, we're talking about capturing connection, we're talking about capturing feeling and emotion. And you're probably riding a high with your best pals there. So you you got to like include them in that. And, you know, if you're, if you're not doing the getting ready portion with your partner and instead you're opting to either not see each other before you meet at the ceremony or do a first look photo. That time and that anticipation is usually something shared. Are you getting these girlfriend's and and guy friends? And you know, the whole squad photos any other time? Probably not? Are those going to be photos that your pals reshare and reshare? And reshare? Absolutely, they will be. Yeah. So that that's a that's a pretty big benefit to that. But it's definitely a another time commitment in the day.
Corina Waldie:Yeah. And another thing you can do too, with the you know, the getting ready photos is you can incorporate a first glance with parent with a parent, or parents or with your wedding party, which is a great opportunity as well. We've talked a little bit about that capturing of the moment or capturing that emotion
Sydney Spidell:especially if you're doing if you're waiting until the ceremony and you still want that like intimate reveal. Yeah,
Corina Waldie:I have these beautiful photos from my wedding of when my with my dad seeing me as I kept down the stairs in my parents house. And considering as we all know, I've talked about it many times he passed away a couple of years later, these photos are like I love Yeah, the photographer did this wonderful job of capturing his like the emotions on his face and on my face. Because there was two of them to have this this very special moment and I've seen it multiple times, many times actually with other people who have chosen to engage in this while I'm in the getting ready suite in the morning. And it's really lovely, lovely way to capture that relationship
Sydney Spidell:I think those photos allow you to, they give you a visual reminder of a moment in time, right? I mean, that's what a photo is, Wow, thanks lexicon Sydney. But in the situation where you'll never have that moment again, having that keepsake and that visual reminder of that, like that photo that allows you to feel those emotions from him, right?
Corina Waldie:Very much.
Sydney Spidell:You don't you don't get to have him around to feel them in person. But you can look at his face. And you know, apply it to wherever you're at in your life and feel that comfort. Like, that's so cool. Photos are sick, man.
Corina Waldie:Photos are wonderful. They're wonderful way to Yeah, to really kind of revisit memories and to go back and and be able to say at a later date, like, Oh, that was a great day. I remember that time. They really good reminders that that Yeah. And it's also too doing these first glances with, you know, family members, if you're choosing to do some kind of first glance, with your partner, whether that's first glance, first touch, whether you're not choosing to see each other at all, it's a great way to, to also kind of have that little transition between getting ready and before you move into that next set. Because usually, like first, when we do first glance photos, first touch photos
Sydney Spidell:you're on your way
Corina Waldie:Yeah, you're going to wherever that formal photo place is happening. So you're not in your room anymore. So it does kind of sort of fill that time a little bit between your your makeup and your hair.
Sydney Spidell:And we're really big on an uninterrupted experience i n terms of not, not necessarily being, you know, hyper anal about schedules and everything, but instead, going, every transition is an opportunity for some other, you know, moment of engagement to really lean on the principles of experiential design and find an experience in there. Yeah. And, and yeah, you can, you know, you're going from this place to some other place. So what what can come in this interim, that's going to mean something to you. And I think it's important with those things, because your reception photos, your your portraiture, your, your ceremony, photos, whatever. In typical fashion, that come later aren't going to change too much of how you schedule your day. But if but you really do want to think about if you want those different photos before, because that could totally change the way that you want to play around with the order of things that you do. And we're going to talk about toward the end of this when you would choose to let go of something or when you choose to embrace something. But yeah, it is important to keep in mind that all of those are going to have an impact on the order and arrangement of your different events throughout the day. Yes,
Corina Waldie:very much like, it's sort of, you know, this philosophy of getting some of the formal photos, the group photos done, or normal portraiture. But
Sydney Spidell:yeah, cuz that brings us into that next section, which is that day, and like, let's say we, we all know that part of that photography, probably the most important part is going to be couple portraits.
Corina Waldie:Yes.
Sydney Spidell:And the reason that people might do that first look, photo is so that they can have the couples portraits before the ceremony. And so that is primarily a timeline centric thing, like the reason that you have those, the main purpose of that is, is for your timeline, and thinking about your guests. So your your portraits might be before they might be, you might do them first thing in the morning, like the second you're ready, and you might not be with your your wedding party or anyone else. And instead, just have your couple moment first, and then bring other people in. But, you know, they they could also be after the ceremony as is pretty classic, typical traditional, because you're not seeing each other until you're at the altar, or walking down the aisle, in which case those portraits would have to come after.
Corina Waldie:Yep, exactly. Right. So but if you are going with that, in terms of the couple portraits, it's great to get a lot of your family your formal family photos and your wedding party photos out of the way in that transition
Sydney Spidell:you know those essential people are already there. They've probably been with you through that getting ready process anyway. And you're not bringing in all these other guests that aren't attendants, that aren't part of the wedding party.
Corina Waldie:Yes.
Sydney Spidell:So you're not taking any other time. And because
Corina Waldie:what it also achieves as well is we don't have this huge massive gap while photography is happening for your guests where they're sort of standing around. I have talked a little bit about this in the past, but because I got married on December 17, which of course is very close to winter solstice. So the sun goes down at like four o'clock. We actually ended up having a noon ceremony because my husband and I, Jon and I really did not Want to see each other, we were very traditionally minded at the time. So we ended up having like a noon ceremony. And then we went to take all of our photos. And there was like a four hour gap that our guests had to sit around. And I would never do that again knowing what I know now.
Sydney Spidell:But when you're focused on on what's going on with a couple, then that is that is so such an easy decision to make. And when you come out of from the approach of experiential design, and you're thinking about everybody involved in the event, then it really becomes a glaring Oh, that's a big gap that we're not, we're not filling with anything
Corina Waldie:Very much so.
Sydney Spidell:So now then when you're in the ceremony, thinking about those moments that you might want to capture. There are the classic ones, the the processional of everybody coming down the aisle. The the, the, you know, reveal moments if you're doing a reveal moment and that aspect of the processional. If you're doing somebody giving someone away, and then the ceremony itself and any ceremony elements that might come in there
Corina Waldie:readings, soloists, yeah, if you're doing any kind of unity ceremony like Handfasting, or candles, or sand or whatever. That's usually typically captured. And then of course, there's the you know, your first kiss typically, if you're choosing to do that, yeah. Which hopefully if your officiant remembers, will get out of the way for. Yeah, there's really funny, our first kiss photos from our wedding. Are we kind of ended up forming with our faces in the way that shot was that you could see our officiant right in the hole between our necks and our bodies
Sydney Spidell:Which is okay, if it's like, if they're making the right face, and if they're the right person to have in the background and everything, but if you just got like some, some, like priests looking down at his stuff, they're like, in the middle.
Corina Waldie:So most officiants nowadays, they've kind of realized, like, step aside, a photographer can get those photos. But I also think it's really important to make note of something especially we were talking about cell phones, cell phone cameras, and iPhone cameras and things like that, that people have. And this is something that comes up a lot is guests taking photos, because we've all seen those photos of the guest. I love the one especially of the guest holding up the freakin iPad that blocks the professional photographer. Yeah. So you know, we have a lot of these like, we encourage to have the phone, you know, put away
Sydney Spidell:phone free ceremony
Corina Waldie:an unplugged plug ceremony,
Sydney Spidell:people often have a little sign or a little reminder in the program or something, saying we have paid for professional photography, we Please resist the urge. We get it. Yeah, but please resist the urge.
Corina Waldie:And oftentimes, even if you have signage, it's important to have the officiant mention it again, because people don't read or don't listen,
Sydney Spidell:or don't care,
Corina Waldie:or really don't care, actually the wedding recently, in the fall, where it was an elopement, they had a professional photographer, there's a ton of photos where it was actually the two, it was his dad and her dad, were recording everything on their cameras, even though we had a videographer and a photographer. And it actually is in all the pictures, you can see these two holding up their phones. And I think for me as a guest, you're really, when you're thinking about capturing a photo during ceremony, you're really missing out on the experience, you're not listening, because you're actively thinking about your phone, you're thinking about taking that picture, you're thinking about lining up the shot. You're thinking about whatever. So it really is an opportunity
Sydney Spidell:If capturing those memories are that important in this, then that's why you hire professional. And if it's not, then, you know, then you don't need to have your phone out you can just be present in it.
Corina Waldie:And another great way. Actually, this is an idea I heard recently, which I think is a wonderful way to sort of kind of get the best of both worlds, is you ask people to put their phones away. And then once you and your partner are up at the altar, you actually basically have like a photo moment. Yeah, where you kind of turn to your guests and you say, Okay, everybody go take a picture, like right now. Yeah, it just lets everybody kind of have that moment. Yeah. Okay, put the phones away. And then you continue on with the ceremony. So it's a great way to sort of let people get that image at the altar that most people are trying to get
Sydney Spidell:Bro it's happenin'
Corina Waldie:For your Instagram story or your Snapchat or whatever. And then you can, you know, move on with ceremony and let the professional photographer, continue taking the balance of the photos.
Sydney Spidell:Yeah. And then I think too in those moments, you know, that brings up a really good point of if people have their phones up and stuff. Do you want photos of your guests in that moment, right? The photographers generally aren't going to be thinking or concentrating on the guests, their primary, primary attention is going to be used. So that might be something that you might want to negotiate with your photographer and or your second shooter to be like, I do want to include photos of the guests at the ceremony or I don't because if you think about it, again, if we're talking about capturing emotion and reactions, your guests are going to be a treasure trove of that as your going through
Corina Waldie:right, yeah, having, that's really where a second shooter typically would come into play. And they can capture the faces of your guests and those emotions and what's going on
Sydney Spidell:and you also get that opportunity to have, because theoretically, you guys are facing different directions. So throughout it, if you want to be able to capture the facial expressions on both of you, at different moments throughout the ceremony, having that second shooter can also provide that as well,
Corina Waldie:especially with larger groups. I think if you're having a smaller wedding, you know, like elopements or micro weddings, you're probably fine with just one photographer, because that photographer doesn't have so much to capture that they can't do both. But once you start moving in towards larger weddings, we have larger groups like I'm going to say 50. And up, it's ideal to definitely have that second shooter who then can capture the moments from multiple or allow the photographer to really capture things from multiple angles.
Sydney Spidell:yeah. And then to after that, typically, you've got I mean, your recessional. That's the last thing, you know, every like that walk down the aisle. But then once you're gone from that space, what typically follows would then be your group portraiture. Which again, like we've said, if you're doing your first look or anything, then you can get that out of the way earlier. But that is typically what we'll see is then there's an interim time where people in the ceremony space or in another predetermined space, would then take those photos with your VIPs, basically, and get all of that captured. And during that time, then you'd have some sort of transition for your guests, ideally, like a cocktail hour or something. And again, depending on how many people depending on the interest level of what's going on at your cocktail hour that something then that you're a second shooter can come in handy with too because those two timeline elements are happening simultaneously throughout your day.
Corina Waldie:Absolutely. It's also actually during cocktail hour, it's not something you know, we think about it as wedding planners, because portfolios. But it's also a great opportunity, if you have that second shooter to capture the details, especially, you know, whether you've hired a planner to put together all these beautiful details for you or not, you know, if you've put a lot of effort into your decor, I'm sure you want photos of that before people come in and start sitting down and interacting with it. Because it doesn't look as pretty, you know, one of my favorite things is seeing that room set up after you and I have worked so hard to put up the plates and put out all the details.
Sydney Spidell:No one has touched anything yet
Corina Waldie:exactly
Sydney Spidell:You're like I understand that we're building this for you. But please get away. Like this is our art
Corina Waldie:this is an art form. And I can get like really like crazy. You watch me get crazy OCD, making sure the chairs are lined up. And then I've got I don't know, actually, you know, I'm gonna borrow from you because you use it all the time. Downton Abbey, you know, at the opening thing, we have the butler with like the ruler.
Sydney Spidell:Yeah,
Corina Waldie:yeah, I need one of those. Because,
Sydney Spidell:I know right?
Corina Waldie:like,
Sydney Spidell:It would be perfect
Corina Waldie:every time I've seen those, I'm like, I need one
Sydney Spidell:I mean, they're built for that. And it makes sense. Right?
Corina Waldie:Right. Just to make sure that everything looks perfect. But yeah, it's capturing those details, because those detail shots are a for us. You know, as professionals, they're great for portfolio work, for sharing with all the other different
Sydney Spidell:and that's not just like your photographer or your planner that is literally every vendor involved. That's their marketing material, right?
Corina Waldie:Very much Yes,
Sydney Spidell:This what they're able to then use their real weddings, when you go on something, and you're looking for those examples. And you're like, I want to see what they've done. If they're, you know, all of these clients, photographers have only been instructed to capture the couple and the people, then none of these vendors are getting anything that they can actually use towards their marketing. And yeah, your goal, your purpose is not to provide marketing opportunities for whatever businesses that you interact with, although kind of theoretically it is. But when we let's, let's go right into the fluff your ego and stuff. If you have put all this effort into your into your event, you might want to have it in a magazine, you know, you might want to get it published and and share it around. And similar to looking for these real life examples in somebody's portfolio that magazines care far less about how good you looked and your guests. They care about what your wedding looked like overall. Exactly. So yeah, if submission is something that's on your mind, or your photographers mind or whatever, then you do need those detail shots in there too.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, definitely. And also kind of in the same vein, one of the things that's really fun for us to do as planners when we have that opportunity is once the room is set. If the couple haven't seen us set anything, it's almost a first glance of the reception room with the couple too.
Sydney Spidell:Yeah, this is what everybody's gonna be coming into. Are you excited?
Corina Waldie:They're great photos as well, that that are another possibility. I actually stole that one from David Tutera because he has this one cable show. I'm forgetting which one it is. He's got a few of them. And he does that and I'd like I was like, as soon as I saw that, I was like ooh, I'm doing that for my clients
Sydney Spidell:Yeah. I and and you know, that also then sort of provides It's an opportunity for them to get the lay of the land or for like a couple to get the lay of the land for when they want to do their grand entrance, if they want to do a grand entrance, because if we, when we move from that transition time and we move into our reception, typically your guests are going to populate that space, and then somebody is going to announce you guys as a married couple for the first time. And that gets us back to like that purpose of that reception, which is to be received as a married couple by your people. And so often, you know, we've seen so many viral videos on these big entrances with the whole dancing in and all of that, you know, you can do a flash mob, whatever you want to do, it's an opportunity to be really personable and excited. To shine through who you are, and, and engage
Corina Waldie:all of your guests. And also just to have that again, have they captured through your photography. Yeah. You know, cuz again, it's another important moment
Sydney Spidell:Its your debut.
Corina Waldie:It's kind of like a debut. A debut, a debut
Sydney Spidell:It's because I said it like that but I'm really, really glad that you echoed it that way. That's funny.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, and then honestly photography, kind of moving on to capture all of those typical moments or traditions, whether that's first dances with each other with, you know, your new spouse, first dances with parents or other figures in your life, paternal figures,
Sydney Spidell:you might do some people I know, chose to do their unity ceremony at the reception instead. So you know, have have that moment, or that cake cutting moment exactly. The toasts and speeches.
Corina Waldie:But there's something though, like, you know, because as, as wedding professionals, and I speak, I think for every single wedding professional that works on site, you know, the, during dinner, you don't need photos of that. That's our opportunity to sit down. So it is really important to, to really think that, you know, that's going to be really the one moment that you're likely not going to have any photos of and that's going to be dinner. Yeah. And that's simply because that's a first off, nobody wants to have their picture taken while they're shoving food into their face for one. But it also allows us to, you know, really refuel ourselves. Because as vendors, you know, for photographers, especially, it's very physical job for us, for other on site, on site vendors throughout the entire day, we need that time to sit down, and to sort of recharge ourselves so that we can go for the second part of your wedding
Sydney Spidell:because we'll expand on this in a couple of minutes here. But all of the stuff that we have mentioned ends up being quite a time commitment.
Corina Waldie:Exactly.
Sydney Spidell:For photographers. So they're, you know, as much as as we can dream that they're just bionic wizards, who can do anything. They do need human moments throughout the day, as well. And then, you know, the final moment is that that departure that send off because we've seen, like the sparkler send off, or, you know, let's go back to Downton Abbey. You know, your classic, leaving the church throwing the rice and the flowers, and and getting carted off. Sometimes that goodbye can be a really great photography moment, too. And again, like next week, we're going to talk a little bit about whether you need to do a send off or anything, but that's a photo op, if you do include it.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, very much. You know, and then of course too, there to be any entertainments if you've been dancing or whatever, that's something else as well, kind of prior to that, that the photographer can potentially capture. But you know, I know we've talked a lot about photography, but also many couples more and more are now choosing to do videography, as well.
Sydney Spidell:And live streaming too
Corina Waldie:and live streaming, live training has been huge, especially through the pandemic, because people were able to have smaller ceremonies and then live stream, their ceremony or elements of the day. So that unlimited guestlist Unlimited, really, the guests could also engage in the day, which is great, especially if you have distance, you know, people don't necessarily have to travel, but they can still participate in a way if that's an option for you. But in terms of like videography, it is you know, a lot of these moments too, are great opportunity to have that captured by the videographer.
Sydney Spidell:If you think about when you would want to have videographer included again, the purpose of that is going to be the same thing capturing those emotions capturing the feeling of the day. And so it's going to be the exact same moments throughout the day as your photography would be to have videography.
Corina Waldie:And really if you choose to hire a videographer, your photographer and videographer need to work as a team. Yeah, because they are trying to capture the same moments and so is there
Sydney Spidell:you don't need any competition
Corina Waldie:Exactly and also too from the scope of a videographer, they can't capture moments they so they need a continuous shot, whereas the photographer can corner standoff a little bit to the side. So let's say for let's take for example, the first kiss, right? So a photographer can sort of stand off a little bit to the side get a different angle so that they're not in the shot. But with a videographer, they need to have that ability to continuously record that, or else they miss it. Yeah, so it's really
Sydney Spidell:or multiple camera setups,
Corina Waldie:exactly.
Sydney Spidell:But either way it takes preparation,
Corina Waldie:it does that, you know, a lot of, you know, really well experienced, well established videographers are going to have all of this equipment so that they can capture these moments in different ways, because there is a very different way of going about it. Like I said, photographers can sort of kind of get into whatever nook and cranny they need to because they're
Sydney Spidell:pretty good argument for like, including these people in your rehearsal too or at least, like, even videotaping your rehearsal and sending it off to those vendors who are going to be there. Think of it kind of like a choreography plan that you're sending off to Well, all of your dancers,
Corina Waldie:and many photographers, if they don't offer in house videography, will have videographers they've worked with in the past that they know that they can rely on So yeah, if you
Sydney Spidell:also too, theoretically, you might want a similar vibe, feeling style between those two. Yeah. And therefore having that connection is important, too.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, especially like I said, if you're planning to invest, because the bottom line is typically video is just as expensive as photography. So you really, if not more, so you really want to make sure that you find a team that really jives quite well together.
Sydney Spidell:And part of what makes this so expensive, like I said, we were going to talk about in a couple of minutes, is we've just gone through your entire day and before the day, so every single moment that you're doing something suggesting that somebody might be there capturing it. So photography might come in packages, or you might be able to sort of build something a la carte based on what it is that you're you're asking for. But if you're looking for ways to bring that cost down, look through that timeline and see, is this a moment where we need to capture that emotion or it can this moment be combined with other moments too. And that can sort of streamline that photography videography process.
Corina Waldie:So you know, one of the things that's really important to remember, because most videographers and photographers will sell you a package of so many hours four, six, eight, twelve, whatever that looks like, and you'll pay accordingly. And part of that reason is like they're not let's be, let's be 100% clear here. They're not just shooting those 12 hours, they then have to go back to their studio or their office. And they have to edit all of that as well. So yeah,
Sydney Spidell:If you think the day of photography as long, arduous process, think of the fact that they're taking like 1000s of photos, usually during that time. And then they're going to be looking through each and every one of those, and going between one that was taken a millisecond after the other and going better, worse, better, worse. Like don't tell me you haven't sat in an optomitrist office going between one and two and not being like this is the most tedious shit ever. That is what they are doing
Corina Waldie:very much and they're creating and crafting this gallery for you. Or if it's a videography, their videographer, they're typically going through all of the footage. And if they've had multiple cameras, they've got to go through multiple hours of footage, and then figuring out what footage works best to produce the video that you're creating. With photography, especially I've heard the statistic and I'm sure photography might call me a photographer might call me on this, but on average, I believe for every hour they've shot. It's about three hours worth of editing. Yeah. So if you're wondering why it takes weeks and weeks for your photos to get back, especially in high wedding season, when they're shooting probably multiple weddings like they may be shooting a wedding on Friday on Saturday and on Sunday. That's why because
Sydney Spidell:Yeah, quick moment of appreciation for all the event and particularly wedding photographers and videographers out there who do this work with and, and have this massive responsibility of capturing something that is so incredibly emotionally important and sentimentally important to people and keeping their heads on. Like it is a stressful job. Like we already said it is an art, an art form. So, you know, respect to your photographers and videographers people. Call to call to round of applause for these folks who work their butts off and are worth every single penny.
Corina Waldie:Absolutely. Because, you know, I've said it before I've said it again. Everybody does have to start somewhere. But unfortunately in this industry, you very do typically get what you pay for. It's painful, but it's true, right?
Sydney Spidell:That's why high School photography programs that are good, they're blessing. Start there, find a really excellent photography teacher in high school and then go after all of their students. I'm talking to you Conan Stark, you rock. He's, he's produced some really good Southern Ontario photographers I believe I think I'm gonna have to send him this on Instagram.
Corina Waldie:Absolutely. And then so in terms of you know, like photo, you know, talked about usually within those packages, there's usually a certain number of hours, but it's also being aware of what else you're getting for that that money so some photographers will just provide the hours shot, and then they'll provide you an online gallery. Very rarely do we see USBs or CDs being distributed anymore. It's all just a, it's an online software, you get mailed the link, email the link, and then you can just download those photos and different you know, the one of the most common ones I see, they'll usually give me an option to download the videos download all of the content in high res for like, yeah, print. And then they'll also let me down at a slightly lower res for social media, websites and stuff
Sydney Spidell:Might use Google Drive might use Dropbox or similar things to that. It's unlikely that it would fit any email or anything there.
Corina Waldie:Yeah, you're used to talking about with photos, particularly several gigs, yeah, several gigs.
Sydney Spidell:And two, you might also be able to purchase framing and printing as well. On top of that, you know, get a gallery
Corina Waldie:or albums
Sydney Spidell:of your top 10 images or Yeah, totally, totally made album, All things that can be added on. But again, we're going to talk about that another time. We're just getting so excited about photographers and videographers right now. But understanding all of that, that goes into the expense of it, the amount of time that is included in that. And once you have an appreciation for that understanding, going right back to where we always start from - what is the purpose of your wedding? What is the purpose that you're trying to get out of this entire day and experience? And what of the big old list of photo ops that we just mentioned, are the ones that are going to actually elevate that purpose and target that purpose and uplift it? Start there, and customizing becomes so much easier. If your purpose is to connect with family and have moments of building a new family and sharing that then you know, that you probably do want those getting ready photos.
Corina Waldie:Yes.
Sydney Spidell:Because that that those those times those moments with parents and siblings, and maybe future in laws, before you're there and making that commitment, are going to then elevate that purpose. If your purpose is to have a rockin good time and party hard dude, then you could probably skip those getting ready photos unless you're doing a mimosa bar in the morning, which again, please don't get drunk on the day of your wedding. Like, avoid, avoid that at all costs.
Corina Waldie:Well, I think I've said it before in Alberta, you cannot be under the influence. Your officiant can actually refuse will actually have to refuse to marry you if they expect if they suspect that you're under the influence of anything
Sydney Spidell:Don't drink or you've wasted money basically,
Corina Waldie:That's a lot of 1000s of dollars to flushed down down the drain for you do have enjoyed several mimosas that morning. So
Sydney Spidell:So yeah, if you're if you're going for that party, then you are going to be wanting to think about your photographer having energy into the late night, right and thinking about when they're going to start their job and thinking about your timeline and arranging things that way. As long as you're doing this with a purpose in mind. And, and remember the humanity of the vendors that you're working with. You can structure this however you want. There's no prescribed outline, even though we kind of just gave you a chronological outline
Corina Waldie:it is important to note though, that typically on your wedding day, when you have set number of hours, it's continuous. So if you have travel time built in there, like let's say you're getting married at a church, and then you're going to another hall or going to other locations, if those are further distances apart from each other, that travel time actually is part of those hours of shooting. So don't think that
Sydney Spidell:It's from when they arrive to when they go
Corina Waldie:exactly its from when they arrive to when they depart their you know any meal break in there that is also included. So when you're you're negotiating
Sydney Spidell:Typical labour laws
Corina Waldie:These sort of things, you know, and thinking about okay, do I want the getting ready photos? Well, that might happen, you know, maybe early afternoon, I have an eight hour package which means you know, maybe that's one to nine. Okay, well, what do I need to accomplish by nine o'clock? Yeah, right. You know, do we combine moments? Do we, you know, I've seen before where, especially if you want to have the like crazy DJ party until the wee hours well, you don't want to necessarily capture all of that with the photographer, you know, you can
Sydney Spidell:You can also look into like if you have a favorite club photographer, and that is kind of your goal. You can always like we said at the start of this if you have different purposes for your different photos, your different timeline events, you can have different photographers in there too.
Corina Waldie:Maybe it really depends.
Sydney Spidell:On contracts.
Corina Waldie:Yes, because some photographers do actually many photographers have a clause in their contract that require them to be the sole photographer of an event so that you know
Sydney Spidell:Yeah, theoretically then if you're doing that you would have to then legally structure them as separate events and have like your your party night be separate event from your wedding. And there are ways to do that. But if all of this hullabaloo is like making your brain go bananas, what an opportunity to hire a wedding planner. Let us do it for you.
Corina Waldie:Absolutely. But I was gonna say there, you know, like so things like for example, if you are doing like a sparkler send off. That's something that we've seen many times before where you'll do the sparklers sendoff, even though the party is far from over. So the photographer can depart and then yeah, you guys will continue partying into the the wee hours. So
Sydney Spidell:And my argument against that because I'm a stickler is again going back to that experience like the concepts of experiential design in there and thinking about the experience for everybody. So continuity is a major part of that. Does that asking your people to leave the space where they're partying, to go out and do a thing and then come back? Take them out of that? Is it going to actually interrupt the feelings and the vibes? Consider that and consider that when building your timeline.
Corina Waldie:Yep. The other thing to consider, especially getting married in the summer months, like up here in Edmonton, the sun stays up to like, you know, so, so, so, so late. Yeah. So it's really hard to capture these photos, at least in the high summer, which is the sunset photos, those are also quite beautiful photos, depending on the time of year that you're getting married. But typically, if there is opportunity for that too your photographer will kind of pull you and your partner out of your reception to go do golden hour photos for about a half hour or so before sunset, they're so beautiful
Sydney Spidell:I just showed Corina an album from my friend's wedding literally a couple of hours ago and was gushing about the sunset photos in the farm over the corn fields.
Corina Waldie:Exactly.
Sydney Spidell:They were stunning.
Corina Waldie:There's there's so many different opportunities and so many different things that can be potentially captured. So it's ensuring that you literally book your photographer and or videographer you know, enough time to capture those things so that your not
Sydney Spidell:If you don't have a planner, especially somebody who isn't considering experiential design. If you're doing this on your own, then make sure you are conveying and having conversing with your photographer about what their needs are for the day. What those different transitions for them might look like and include them in that timeline planning process. So that you are then able to Well, I mean, you're sharing with them your purpose, hopefully you're getting them on board, you're getting that buy in, and then they're supporting you in that
Corina Waldie:Well and the other thing to just point out to typically if there is no planner involved, whether that is a wedding management coordinator, or that's a full blown
Sydney Spidell:that your photographer
Corina Waldie:Yeah, your your photographer will typically drive your timeline. Yeah, that kind of tends to fall on them. So you know, definitely make sure you're collaborating if you don't have a planner, with the photographer. Even for myself as a planner for us as planners, when we, we get to a certain point, about six ish weeks, typically, we will send our timelines to the photographer to make sure that they feel good about timing, because it's very collaborative in nature. So we want to make sure that you have enough time for those things. And you know, when things need to be done, or tweaked or whatever, based on the number of hours that you've booked with them.
Sydney Spidell:Yeah. All right. I think that's kind of all those opportunities. I'm pretty sure I'm pretty sure we ran the gamut.
Corina Waldie:I think we did.
Sydney Spidell:But we know we got really excited about this. And we're obviously going to have so many more opportunities and things to talk about when it comes to photography and videography and your wedding. And down the road. We are going to be doing vendor series we are going to be bringing, bringing photographer friends on because we do have some amazing ones that you can hear their perspective and and understand all of the things that come into that.
Corina Waldie:Yeah,
Sydney Spidell:But for today, running through those opportunities for it. That's it. So when you're wondering what of those you want to include in your wedding, remember to bring it back to your wedding purpose, to find opportunities to address that purpose. And that might mean doing things in a totally unconventional order. And we're here to say hell yes to making unconventional choices. Consider this your official executive approval. Next week, though, we're going to skip right over the ceremony. I know you're dying to hear it. We're going to go right into everything that happens once you've been pronounced married. So in the meantime, visit our website unweddingmovement.com for resources and for information or join our movement on TikTok and Instagram and wherever you want to find us. You just follow @unweddingmovement and we'll see you next week. Until then.
Corina Waldie:Cheers.
Corina Waldie:You can find us on the Internet at unweddingmovement.com or on Instagram TikTok Facebook and Pinterest @unweddingmovement. Our podcast episodes are released weekly and available wherever you like to stream.