Pictures before Mass?

sassnspark

Hi ladies!  I am so happy to have found this board but I after scrolling through a bunch of topics I have yet to see the one I really want to find right now: pictures.  My finance and I are getting married on a Friday and per the parish priest we cannot have our wedding Mass until 5 pm, when the parish school kids are sure to be gone and parking will be easier.  This is disappointing to me as I was hoping to push that time up an hour or so to make sure there is some sunlight after the ceremony for pictures but like so many things, I have no control over this! Believe me I tried!:)  Anyway, what I want to know is this: did anyone or will anyone have pictures taken with their man before the wedding and if you did how did you feel about this?  In my head, I picture him seeing me for the first time at the altar and really love this thought.  I have thought of doing pictures with the bridemaids before...
Ladies?

professorscience

Welcome!

We did all the WP pictures beforehand and did our pictures together after the mass.  I love love love the picture of my husband's face as my dad and I are coming down the aisle.

However, "first looks" are becoming a huge tradition (at least where I am) and I really love them.  I think if you Google "Wedding First Looks" you will find lots of great pictures to get ideas, if this is something you'd want to do.

What time of year are you getting married?  I don't know about MSP, but in Dallas, the sun is out almost until 8 most of the year!  It should only take about thirty minutes or so to do your group pictures, so I would think you'd have plenty of daylight!

And finally, a fun fact: the Catholic church actually recommends that the couple process down the aisle together, rather than the groom standing at the altar while the bride is escorted by her father.  This is to symbolize that the couple are entering into the marriage together, and that neither is "being given" to the other!  Now, how often that is actually DONE is something I don't know.  My H and I learned about it at our Engaged Encounter.  We considered it (and would have done pictures before the ceremony if we'd done it), but decided in the end that my father would really love (and did) walking me down the aisle (and I loved it, too).

ellen73

We did pictures before hand-  and both priests we did prep with encouraged it!    We also got married on a Friday (either at 4 or 4:30), the parish did not have a school.  We did do a "first look" and that was really great.  Any jitters or nervousness were gone & we were able to fully enjoy & celebrate the sacrament by the time we got to the church.   We also were given the option  of greeting our  guests as they came into the church (but we didn't).  That is definitely something I wish we did, though!

My ILs processed together in the early 70s.  We talked about it and seriously considered it, but didn't for the same reason prof said.  

TeaForMe

We did pictures beforehand, too. I'm also in MSP (there seem to be a lot of us on this board) and I remember checking the weather almanac early in the planning phase to see when the sun would set on our wedding day, hoping we'd get some nice sunlight through the stained glass windows!

 We were also a Friday night wedding, though ours was at 5:30 and wasn't a full mass. I would highly recommend considering pictures beforehand because your hair, makeup and dress will still look flawless, the sun will for sure be up, and then you can get right to the reception after the wedding. But I understand the excitement of not seeing each other until you walk down the aisle, too.

We did a first look, but both my husband and I didn't really care. We basically saw each other all morning, had lunch together, drove to the wedding together, checked in on each other while we were getting ready, etc. But I have seen some very cute and ideas and photos.

BTCarolus

I'm having the opposite problem. I was hoping to do pictures before, because there was no wedding scheduled before ours. And then right at the last moment somebody scheduled one for the noon slot. We're at 2 pm, with absolutely no wiggle room. Now I'm not sure where we're going to do photos. I was thinking of going to the reception site early, but the problem is it's a half hour away, so we'd be buiding a lot of extra driving time into the schedule. My mother says we should just do it after, and have the ceremony start late, but I feel bad about that because the guests wouldn't have much to do. We could overlap the cocktail hour and photos at the same location, but that makes me feel like we're ignoring our guests. (Incidentally, that's what my parents did, and it made them feel like they were ignoring their guests, so that's why my mom wants to put a gap in.) I don't know what to do, especially since the vast majority of our guests are not Catholic, and not used to a gap.

professorscience

Are you having cocktail hour?  Our guests went straight to the reception site for drinks and hors d'oeurves while we did pictures.  We ended up missing all of cocktail hour, but it wasn't really meant for us, anyway, you know?

BTCarolus

We aren't allowed to do photos at the church after the ceremony (we have to clear out for the evening mass). So we could let the guests go to the reception site, but we'd then have to either do the photos there with the guests watching, or else find yet another site to do photos.

Calypso1977

we did all of our pictures before hand.  it just made sense.  everyone looked their best and then it gave us more time with our guests and to enjoy the reception we paid for.

professorscience

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_pictures-before-mass?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:618610ab-73d9-4bea-a04d-43b41845c7cePost:c90b1db2-c01f-470b-a6e6-6d7b384368a7">Re: Pictures before Mass?</a>:
[QUOTE]We aren't allowed to do photos at the church after the ceremony (we have to clear out for the evening mass). So we could let the guests go to the reception site, but we'd then have to either do the photos there with the guests watching, or else find yet another site to do photos.
Posted by BTCarolus[/QUOTE]

Oh.  That stinks.  Have they told you this?  I only ask because the booklet our church gave us said we had to be out within 45 minutes of the ceremony ending, and then the church coordinator said we could take as much time as we needed as long as we were out by about 4:30 (2 pm wedding, 5 pm evening mass).

Hrm......  is your reception in a location where you could do pics outside while your guests mingle inside?  Most of the weddings I've been to where the ceremony and reception are at the same place are kind of like this.  The guests go over to wherever the reception part is, while the B&G do all their pictures.  I've actually snuck over a few times and taken my own pics, and I never minded.  That's part of the wedding process, and I feel like, even if you think you're neglecting your guests, as long as they are fed and watered (or otherwise lubricated), I doubt they will mind that you are taking pictures.

sassnspark

To the Professor, Ellen73, and TeaForMe~
  Thank you for writing a response!  I appreciate the insight.  For me, I guess it is just a change in expectation and getting used to looking at a situation through different eyes...not the first time I have had to do this during my wedding preparation!  My fiance prefers taking the pics beforehand and I do too from a time standpoint and for the convienence of our guests...it's just me letting go of the idea in my head of a first look at the altar.  And in the scheme of things, I want to build a marriage and let the small details of one day roll off me!  The sun sets at 6:30 around here in October (I checked, and ugh!) so with Mass at 5 it would be best to do all the pictures beforehand.  Thanks again ladies for your support!

professorscience

The people I know who did pictures beforehand said it didn't change anything about the anticipation and excitement of walking down the aisle, but it did let them relax a little!  I think it will be perfect, no matter what.

sassnspark

Thank you!  I appreciate the shared insight you all are giving me!  I am sure that it will be fine...he keeps reassuring me that it will be too! 

futuremrsbruno

I would find out from your church what they think and go ahead and make your decision from there. I really think the decision to see each other before the ceremony is between you and your FI. I will be spending the night before the wedding at a hotel near our church with my MOH and a few BM's, while FI will have the house along with the BM and GM's. I won't see him for about 24 hours before I walk down the aisle. However, both of us had always pictured that for our weddings so it's not a big deal.

We are getting married at 2 and cocktail hour at the venue starts at 4. We arrive at 5. So it all works out. I am planning on getting BM pics before the ceremony.

You said that the sun sets around 6:30 and your ceremony is at 5? I think that would work out perfectly then. You would get some pretty gorgeous shots of the sun as it sets. It would make for very nice photos.