See this image above? That’s how I want you to feel on your wedding day.

I put this guide together because, above all else – you should ENJOY your wedding. 
I’m talking about removing as much stress as possible on the day. 

After having our team photograph over 500 weddings, I’ve noticed that the most stress-free and ridiculously fun weddings that we photograph all have a few things in common.

Ps – the best way to reduce stress in your wedding? Work with my team of Tampa Wedding Photographers.

Alright, let’s get started with tip #1!

Location, Location, Location

Let’s face it, planning a wedding can be tough! Like, gut-wrenching, pointer finger paper cuts – going to the post office at noon on a weekday kind of tough.  

The best advice for coordinating your day and ensuring all goes right is to keep everything as close to one another as possible. The absolute gold standard is to host your ceremony and reception at the same venue. You can take a look at our list of favorite Tampa Wedding Venues here. This makes for so much convenience and ease, not just for you, but also for your guests. 

Now, I get it … That’s not going to happen if you are having your ceremony at your family church. I completely understand, heck, even my own wedding was at the church down the road.  Simply keep this in mind and try to keep the driving distance to a minimum. 

This same rule applies to getting ready. If the guys are getting 40 minutes away from the girls – it may cut into your plans.

On to Tip #2

The one time to unplug

When you picture your wedding day, you picture the best day ever…right?! Years from now, when you look back at your photographs, you’ll reminisce about just how perfect your wedding was.

Well, until you come across picture after picture of your guests leaning into the aisle to get that “perfect shot” on their iPhone – more concerned with making their own pictures than enjoying the celebration that you worked so hard to plan. This doesn’t seem like the best way to remember your wedding right?

Unfortunately, in our social media-driven society, we are seeing this at weddings more often. Everyone wants to get the perfect snapshot for Instagram or their Snapchat.

Meanwhile, you already had this planned out by hiring the best photographer out there; someone who will produce quality pictures that all your guests (and you!) can share as much as they want.

To prevent the above from happening, couples simply need to make it clear that they would like for everyone to put their phones (and iPad’s – yes I am serious, this happened!) away and be present for the joyous moment that everyone came together to celebrate, it will create a much happier day and your wedding album will be free of iPhones. Here are some great ideas and signs available for purchase on Etsy!

Tip #3

To love beauty is to see light

Can we talk about something important? I know this will sound self-serving as a photographer myself but you have to trust that I have your best interest in mind.

Lighting. 

It is actually the key to phenomenal photography.

It shapes each photo, gives a uniqueness like no other, and simply makes everything better! Now, we will have all kinds of tools and equipment available to make our own light, but let’s focus on natural lighting, that big odl ball of fire in the sky.

Natural light is not only flattering, it’s all-around fabulous! And for the most important day of your life, you want to be sure to incorporate as much of it as you can into your schedule, especially for photographs. The wedding party, family formals, and your portraits are best taken with a healthy dose of natural light because it creates the best aesthetic for the photographs. 

If you are indoors, this means that windows are your friend. Move towards them 🙂

What you love about our portraits is the natural-ness… and lighting plays a huge part in that! So, can you still have a candlelight dinner reception or a sunset ceremony? Absolutely! Just make sure we work together to create a schedule that allows plenty of time to capture your important photographs ahead of time.

p.s. I know what you are thinking … What happens if the sun doesn’t come out on your day because let’s face it, Ohio weather is as unpredictable as my next Verizon bill. (… just me?) 

The best photographers will bring our own light with them to make sure that no matter what happens – they can craft stunning artwork for you while still keeping things authentic! Take a look at some of the images we crafted even when the sun had set! 

Tip #4

You do you, Imma do me

When I hand you your wedding album at the end of this whole experience, we want you to be like

Not just because your photographs are simply gorgeous (which they will be) but we want you to be all “Will Smith WOW!” from the story it tells about your YOU-ness. 

• If you want to get ready at home because that’s what is meaningful to you, let’s make it happen. 
  
• If you decide to not have a creative session and go see your grandma at the nursing home instead, then let’s please make it happen! 
  
• If you and your fiance had your first date at a tiny little ice cream place and it means the world to you two, then, by all means, let’s go take some photographs there! 

Many people worry about where they want to take photographs, rather than thinking of why you want to have photographs taken at a certain location. 

We challenge you to dig deep and together, let’s come up with a location that will tell your story perfectly. 

Tip #5

It’s just a …

Planning for a wedding, and sometimes even the wedding day itself, can make people feel worried, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve learned lots of things from working at hundreds of weddings, and I want to share this one last thing with you.

You might have heard of something called Murphy’s law. It says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. But we don’t have to be scared all the time because of this. It’s just a reminder that sometimes we can’t control everything.

On your wedding day, this is super important to remember! Things like when the cake starts to melt, your uncle being late, or a button on the dress breaking might seem like big problems at the time. But guess what? You’re getting married! Yep, it’s your special day, all about you! I can’t count how many times I’ve said, “Don’t worry, everyone else will wait for you. You’re the star, and the day can’t start until you’re ready.”

It’s true because not everything will happen exactly like you planned, but I promise, it won’t matter later on.

So, no matter what’s going wrong, just say to yourself: “It’s just a _____, and it won’t ruin my day!”

We Got You

Wedding planning, and sometimes even the wedding day, can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. All of the tips that I’ve shared are based on the experience that we have gained from shooting hundreds of weddings each season.

The commitment that we give our couples is that when you choose Style & Story, you won’t have to worry about your photography. Our intentional process gets to the heart of YOU. This means you are able to be fully present and enjoy your own wedding, knowing you will have Authentic, Dynamic and Emotional images intentionally crafted by photographers rich with personality and beaming with passion.

If you’d like to talk to me more about your wedding day, or hear about some of my favorite local locations for engagement shoots, please give me a call or fire over an email. I’d love to chat!

I hope that you found my tips for having a stress free wedding day helpful!