Taking Pictures BEFORE the Ceremony

mb2712 · March 2010

How many of you are taking pictures before the ceremony? I know that it saves a lot of time betwen the ceremony and reception, but then the groom sees the bride before the wedding. I am not sure how exactly I feel about it. Is it really common to take pictures before the ceremony now? Is it just me who isn't sure about the whole concept? Maybe I'm being too old-fashioned...

526SadieSadie · March 2010

The only pictures we're doing before the ceremony are the separate ones of us getting ready. We're doing all the formal portraits during the cocktail hour because I definitely want him to be surprised!!

Huskerfanz · March 2010

We did all of the pictures before and I'm really glad we did. I did a little reveal moment with H before the pictures so I got to see his reaction and talk to him which was really nice. I couldn't really see him at the ceremony until I was close to the front.

The day flowed really nice, too. We got all of the pictures out of the way and even had time to do extended family photos (which the grandparents love). After the ceremony, we could just relax and party and didn't have to worry about coordinating photos.

The best part is the guests didn't have to wait for us to get done with photos. We got to the reception about 10 minutes after the guests arrived and ate right away. The parents with kids there really loved that part.

klutes8 · March 2010

We plan on doing all of our pictures before the ceremony. Mainly just so we can go right to our reception with our guests (we're having a shorter reception). And I think I'll be less nervous if I get to see and talk to him before the ceremony.

psichick · March 2010

we're doing all our pictures before the ceremony. we want to be at the cocktail hour with everyone and don't want to spend two hours taking pictures after. plus everyone that we've spoken to that has gotten married recently said it was the best thing that they did and it made life so much easier.

Jenni83 · March 2010

i was a little hesitant at first but we ended up doing pictures before hand and it was still pretty special, our photographer had us meet at a secret location where noone else could see, i think its better to do it before bc it takes up so much time,and i think it made our ceremony a little less stressful on us,

caseyandlizzie · March 2010

Right now we are planning on doing all of the pictures which don't include FI and I together before the ceremony. We are having more of an informal wedding, but I really don't want him to see me before the ceremony.

aggiebug · March 2010

what stagemanager and caseandlizzie said. If you get most of your pics, and save only the ones that include both you and FI for after the ceremony it should only take about 30minutes.

Ishaba11 · March 2010

FI has really strong feelings about not seeing me before the ceremony. We will probably do pictures with bridesmaids and groomsmen before but he really doesnt want to see me and I am glad because I am traditional in that respect too.

felicia220 · March 2010

We are also doing most of our pictures before the ceremony. We wanted to go to the cocktail hour so it was the only way to make it work. I have decided that after I am dong getting ready, I will be kicking everyone out of my room except the photographer and he will come up to get me and bring me down to take pictures. We really wanted the first time we see each other to be in private, and be able to take a moment together. Our mothers seemed a little sad that they wouldn't be able to see this happen so our compromise was to have the photographer takes pictures. They seemed happy about that.

aerinpegadrak · March 2010

I'm really looking forward to doing pictures before. We're going to have a private reveal on a really pretty staircase at the hotel, then we're taking the wedding party around Las Vegas in a double-decker bus to get some fun shots. Then after the ceremony, we'll bang out the posed family formals in hopefully about 20 minutes or so. We're spending most of the day before the ceremony together, so it just made sense to go ahead and get as many pictures as we can.

My friend did pre-ceremony pictures in the church, and when she was walking down the aisle toward her husband, he had the biggest smile on his face. The way I see it, that moment is still special no matter how much you see of each other beforehand.

e_jarrett · March 2010

We're doing photos before the ceremony too and have planned in time for just the two of us. We'll have a reveal moment in the church before going to a park to do photos with the family/bridal party/others. I'm really excited about doing it this way as it will give us a few moments to truly just enjoy being together before all the crazyness begins!

meredythhope · March 2010

Many of my friends have done it both ways. I personally really want the time when I walk down the isle to be the breathtaking moment for my man. While, taking pictures before reduces the wait time for guests to see you at the reception - it just isn't my style. To each her own though!

zippityb · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_taking-pictures-before-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:14Discussion:35d8312d-c325-4bd1-b4d4-bdf9137424a9Post:aa91f95b-a90e-489c-832e-e7a8e2f5874d">Re: Taking Pictures BEFORE the Ceremony</a>:
[QUOTE]We are also doing most of our pictures before the ceremony. We wanted to go to the cocktail hour so it was the only way to make it work. I have decided that after I am dong getting ready, I will be kicking everyone out of my room except the photographer and he will come up to get me and bring me down to take pictures. We really wanted the first time we see each other to be in private, and be able to take a moment together. Our mothers seemed a little sad that they wouldn't be able to see this happen so our compromise was to have the photographer takes pictures. They seemed happy about that.
Posted by felicia220[/QUOTE]

I like this idea.

fallbride1109 · March 2010

Its a personal choice of course, but I am so glad we decided to do it. I really wanted a picture of my husband's face when he first saw me, and I was afraid he would be too afraid to show much reaction in front of 100 people. The pictures of our reveal are my favorite from the whole wedding. Plus it made the rest of the day so relaxing--the stress just melted away.

Your husband will still be surprised and that moment will still be special whether it's before the ceremony or during, it's simply up to you.

BTW, this was my husband when he saw me.

angie9661 · March 2010

We are getting married at 7PM, so we will be doing all the pictures before the ceremony. I kind of like it this way also, because we can goto the reception shortly after everyone else. And it will give us some daylight for the pictures.. hehe.

sophistryliz · March 2010

Thank you so much for asking this question! I have been wondering what to do about this too. Another lady in another post made a good point...she said that before the ceremony everyone's really excited and their make up and hair are fresh. She said that the excitement really shines in the photos, and I think because of that, we will do them before the ceremony. ...I think... haha

LDYGTR13 · March 2010

I really feel like the moment that a groom sees his bride coming down the aisle is such a touching moment that I wouldn't want any of my guests to miss his face. I know he'll be shocked. We're going to take all of the pictures we can before the ceremony, but nothing together until after we're husband and wife

mstar284 · June 2010

We would not have time to do all the photos either before or after, so we are splitting the photo sessions in half. We are planning on doing the following:

BEFORE ceremony:

-getting ready photos
-only bride
-only groom
-bridesmaids and bride
-groomsmen and groom

AFTER ceremony:

-family pictures
-entire wedding party
-bride and groom pics
-fun photos

And since the ceremony and reception are in the same building, taking pictures after won't take much time away from us being at the reception, but it will give the guests a chance to mingle and grab a drink before our "appearance"

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