On the day of an event, your wedding planner is like a Maestro, overseeing an orchestra of different vendors. We believe that if we understand the position and perspective of each type of vendor, it will allow us to do our job even better and make for bigger, more amazing events!
I had the great opportunity to shadow Carrie Wildes of
Carrie Wildes Photography at a wedding at the
Resort at Little Harbor. We’ve worked with numerous photographers, but this was a true treat for us! It was an up close and personal look at what they go through on wedding day. Between lugging the expensive and (surprisingly) heavy equipment, to getting that perfect shot, the pressure is on for your photographer to capture every detail of your day!
Carrie started by answering all of my questions about the equipment that she carries and the different lenses that she has. After arriving, the atmosphere seemed fairly relaxed. We scouted the property for some fun locations for the family portraits, wedding party, and the bride and groom pictures. Luckily the reception setup was ahead of schedule and nearly complete, which allowed Carrie to capture the detail and reception shots with ease. Once the bride arrived at the resort, we headed to her suite to start the “getting ready” shots. We gathered all of her accessories and the dresses to capture these details. It required some furniture rearranging, but it’s “just part of the job” for Carrie! We then snuck the bride’s gown away to capture some amazing shots of it hanging in the hallway, the lobby, and a quite intimate shot, over the bed.
After all the gals were dressed, we started the bridal party shots. These included posed and fun pictures, and these girls were relaxed and having a blast…a dream for a photographer. The guys then arrived so we got their shots, including “the first look” for the bride and groom. I couldn’t resist my natural “planner” mode, so I took care of pinning the boutonnieres on all of the guys. After a few more wedding party shots, we headed over to the ceremony area.
Normally, I’m running around finalizing details and I never get to enjoy the ceremony, so it was quite a treat to sit through the entire ceremony. The couple was married on the beach, and Carrie was definitely not sitting. She was busy capturing every detail of this short ceremony. After the ceremony concluded, we headed over to get all of the family portraits done. I assisted Carried with checking off each shot as it was completed. After all of the family portraits were done, we headed out to the gorgeous pier on the property, to capture a few more wedding party shots. Finally, the couple was all Carrie’s! She told me this is her favorite part, to not be rushed and to get creative and experiment with different pictures of the couple and boy, did she capture some amazing ones! It’s very important to allow a good amount of time for these “alone” shots with your photographer. In a relaxed environment, you’d be amazed at what your photographer can produce! She even risked falling into Tampa Bay to get that perfect shot. She told me to “save the camera!” :)
The reception was also fairly relaxed. She captured all of the important shots – introductions, dances, toasts, etc. After the pressure was off, it was time to get some great dancing shots. And before we knew it, the wedding was over and all that was left was the beautiful pictures that Carrie took that day!
Here are some of the amazing shots that she captured!
Thank you Carrie for allowing us to learn from you! We hope the knowledge that you offered us will help us to understand our photographer's position better. We can’t wait to work with you again!
