Filed in : Wedding Photographer

My sister and I were walking out the door towards the horses at my wedding venue and my soon to be husband was standing right there in front of me…but he WAS NOT supposed to see me! Not the best day ever.

This was the biggest reason that I had NO FAITH in wedding planners. Because my own wedding planner let me down. Back then I was not a big wedding photographer. I think I had two small weddings under my belt but those were a few years prior to my own wedding. We opened Lininger Rood Photography here in Kansas City and the 2016 wedding season was super busy! I think for the most part I could say I was on my way to a successful business. I had second shot many weddings previous to our opening year so I could handle all of this right? I could take the place of a planner and be the best photographer right?

I didn’t know how wrong I was until I started looking at all the things I do as the wedding photographer. I started helping brides with everything on the wedding day. Finding flowers or coordinating drop offs from vendors at the venues or even finding mother in law’s or family members without knowing exactly what they looked like. All of this was so outside of what I was supposed to be doing. How could I be the one greeting vendors if I was the one that was supposed to be capturing moments. Brides, this is why you NEED a wedding planner! As a wedding photographer I think it is so important to be able to help our brides out on the most important day ever, but it may cost you some really important details about your day.

A wedding planner or a day of coordinator is a person that will tie up all of your loose ends and make the wedding day go with ease. I love working with planners because they understand what needs to be done. Communicating with them is key. Letting them know exactly how you want things makes their job so much easier as well! A lot of brides rely heavily on the photographer to double as a planner. Frankly, that is not at all why you hired us.

Communicate with your vendors and let them know exactly what you want. I have never met a bride that didn’t have minor regrets after her wedding was over. Let’s face it, we didn’t have an unlimited budget! So communicate all of your thoughts about how you want things to your vendors. Now in the photography aspect this is SO IMPORTANT! I recommend writing a list of shots you want down for your photographer. One thing we hate to hear, it actually makes us feel like we are going to be sick, is that a bride wanted these shots and that bride did not receive them. This is the worst feeling for both the bride and the photographer. Most of us are not wedding image factories where we just kick out anything. A lot of us take pride in what we do and only want to give you the best product! Jotting down those ideas is not a bother. We welcome it!

Factor in the time to take pictures! This is HUGE!!!! Brides, you must factor in the time for pictures with many different people. We know it’s overwhelming but again, we don’t want the sick to our stomach feeling. After your ceremony someone should announce where guests need to be heading next so that we may begin the family formals. I know you want to say hello to friends or family members and while we won’t stop you from visiting remember to take minimal time to visit, you get to see them in just a few at your reception. We like to take the bridal party and family away from the area where the ceremony just happened. By doing this we limit the number of visitors to the ones that want to say hello because they aren’t going to the reception. The next time factor would be time for portraits with your groom. This time is precious and these are the portraits you are going to be dying to see. All of the others are important but these will hold a special place in your heart. Time is needed for both sets, don’t skip out on it. Your reception is going to last a few hours and these images only take 30-45 minutes. you’ll thank us later and love these images for a lifetime!

Your best friend should not be your wedding planner or makeup and hair artist if she’s in your bridal party. This is STRESSFUL! Having your best friend or family member as a vendor and also a part of your bridal party is stressful for everyone and typically doesn’t work. I know because I DID THIS! My sister was my makeup artist and doubled as my Maid of Honor. She was trying to do everyone’s makeup and then tried to do her own but we ran out of time. As I was getting into my dress and needed to be zipped up I was calling for my sister so we could have that scene photographed, but of course she had to do her own hair, makeup and jump into her dress. Needless to say, I walked down the aisle over 3o minutes late because I didn’t hire a vendor that could have come to my venue for makeup. Instead I placed all of that stress on my sister who had never even been in a wedding before.

Don’t forget to HAVE FUN! No matter what’s going on or how bad you think things will get, remember it’s your wedding day. Have fun and stay positive! Everyone is there for you and will try to help you in any way they can. Get a good nights rest, drink a lot of water and have your favorite food for breakfast!

We want you to have an amazing wedding day. Use these tips while you plan so you won’t have those post wedding regrets. Ask us for recommendations on vendors. We know some of the best vendors Kansas City has to offer!