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Pictures before ceremony?

ophiophi89ophiophi89
First Comment
in Rhode Island
Hello! I am having my ceremony and reception in two different locations and was wondering if anyone has had or is going to have their pictures taken before the ceremony. The reason for this is the light issue. We're thinking of having the ceremony and the reception in the evening at the end of october, so it gets dark early. The way to get our outdoor pictures would be to either have the pics done before the ceremony or have the ceremony then the pics, but our guests would then have about an hour to themselves before the reception, since the pics won't be taken at the reception site. If anyone has ideas/suggestions we would greatly appreciate them! Sorry this is so long.~Ophelia :)
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Re: Pictures before ceremony?

  • jlsimon56jlsimon56
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hello, Friend!  We based our day-of timeline on the sunset.  This year, the sun is setting at 6:13pm.  I wanted to be taking pics by 4:30pm at the latest.  Our photo spot is ~30 minutes from the church (so 30 minutes of driving time).  Our ceremony is going to be ~30 minutes.  So that meant our ceremony had to begin at 3:30pm.  My FI did NOT want to do pics beforehand.  We will do some, but not together.  We will wait until the ceremony to see each other.When we are taking our pics, our guests will be at the cocktail hour.  We won't be attending that.  We will make our "grand entrance" into the reception at 6pm. 
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  • ophiophi89ophiophi89
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ohhh ok! Thank you so much :) I thought that I had to attend the cocktail hour, but I really wanted to wait until the ceremony to see my fiance. Now i can figure out my timeline. You're such a peach!~Ophelia
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  • soboddasobodda
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We're doing ours before the ceremony - I'd rather get to talk to everyone at cocktail hour and give everyone one less thing to worry about!
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  • meggetmegget member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    we're doing pics before the ceremony! like the pp, I want to be able to talk to everyone at the cocktail hour and drink of course hahaha! the night flies by so quickly, I much rather get the standard posed shots out of the way so we can be there to enjoy every minute of it!! FI and I are going to do something special when we first see each other though like our venue has this amazing spiral staircase so we might have him waiting at the bottom with his back turned while I come down and then he can turn around to see me...it will be sweet! =)
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  • mrsritter2010mrsritter2010 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am also having pics beforehand since we would only have a small window of time of sunlight if we waited until after ceremony. My mother is petrified because she is old fashion, but we are soo ok with it and want to enjoy cocktail hour (and the open bar, lol) with our guests. One thing for certain is that we are going to make sure to make a big deal of the big reveal - the moment when we first see each other earlier in the afternoon for the pics.
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  • kchabotkchabot
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Same here, pics before with our wp, parents, and a few siblings who aren't in wp.  Intimate.  I am making FI a blindfold to wear!  There's still that element of first seeing each other, just a tad earlier!  We want to go to the cocktail hour to greet everyone (or most peopl) and to avoid having to spend a chunk of time going table to table.  Besides, I think my potential faint factor will decrease when walking down the aisel!
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  • ophiophi89ophiophi89
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    thanks so much for all the suggestions! they're all quite helpful :)~Ophelia
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  • SharpbrideSharpbride
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    FI is ADAMANT about not having pictures before the ceremony. I thought that maybe we could get some of the formalities out of the way (to enjoy our cocktail hour) but since it means so much to him I can compromise. Plus, our ceremony and reception are in the same place so I won't miss much!
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  • legallybride2legallybride2
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We had a 6 hour reception so we weren't to distraught about missing the cocktail hour. We spent the time in between the ceremony and reception doing pictures in a few different locations - it was important to me to get a few different backdrops! Neither one of us wanted to see the other before the ceremony and I'm so glad we didn't. DH said that he was pretty close to tears as soon as he saw me start to walk down the aisle. It was a special moment when we met up at the altar.
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  • pmpkn219pmpkn219 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was also adamant about seeing him at the ceremony, not before (I'm not sure he cared really). But we did a lot of boy/girl shots beforehand... 2 photgraphers made it happen!So I didn't need any pics with my girls after the ceremony, or my mom... we knocked the formal stuff out fast after the ceremony, shipped the WP to cocktail hour (which we ended up missing) and did the couple shots.
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  • melinda478melinda478 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We got married at the same place as the venue but we did mostly all our pics before the ceremony. Lots of photographers suggest it if you don't mind seeing each other beforehand. Plus you can take as long as you want and get all the pics you do want in. I say go for it.
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  • eacosta1120eacosta1120
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We debated about pics before or after ceremony for a while. Ultimately we decided to take pics before. Most photographers really enjoy this and have recommended this because it takes a little bit of the stress off the couple before the ceremony. Also, if photography is important to you, it allows you more time to travel and take pics in some different locations. Most photographers will capture the first time that your fiance sees you and will set it up in a way to get good pics. Additionally, I wanted to be able to eat and enjoy my cocktail hour and mingle with my friends and family. I think this is a very personal choice-people have traditionally always thought that the groom shouldn't see the bride beforehand, but there are so many benefits to taking pics beforehand.
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  • 2BMrsMurph2BMrsMurph
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We really wanted the first time we saw each other to be when I walked down the aisle so we didn't do pics before the ceremony.  We missed our cocktail hour, and we were ok with that because our venue sets up a private cocktail party for our wedding party so we were able to relax a bit... and we also wanted our "grand entrance" to be at the reception.You can do whatever you'd like... everything wedding related is so interchangeable.  Good luck :)
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