Guest Post: Planning Your Wedding for the Most Beautiful Photos

Hello, friend. My name is Geneva Boyett and I’m a wedding photographer whose full time job is to tell the visual stories of your beautiful, exquisite day. The truth is, stunning wedding photos are the product of collaboration and hard work. Although they are aesthetically beautify, they inherently hold a deeper beauty as well - a kind of beauty that is profound, true, and paramount to the heart and soul of the wedding day. When both the tangible details of your wedding align with the intangible deep beauty of the people and things that matter to us, stunning wedding photos become the natural result. Through my experience as a photographer, I’m here to share a few thoughts on things I’ve seen to be helpful in guiding you towards a beautiful, meaningful, and personal wedding experience.  (See more of Geneva's Photos at the end of this post!)

Trust your people

Hire wedding professionals who mesh well with your vision and personality. Delegate tasks to family members and friends who will honor and respect your desires. Come to terms with the fact that you can’t and shouldn’t do everything alone but if you hand off as much as you can to the people you trust, it will leave you with a greater capacity to enjoy the planning process and wedding day. It also creates a deeper joy as you begin to realize that your day is the product of hard work and talent from those you love and respect. Trust your people.

An ideal timeline

Create the ideal timeline for you and your guests with plenty of room to enjoy each moment. Don’t exhaust or create unnecessary stress for yourself by packing too many things in things in a short window. Invest in making sure you have enough time or choose to make time for the most important things and get rid of the rest. You know what you need in order to be fully present as you walk down the aisle - you don’t want to be counting the minutes left before you need to move onto the next thing.

Create a wedding that feels like you

Talk with your partner about the traditions that are meaningful to you. Take those and leave the rest. Remember that you are free to plan a day that feels personal and authentic. Don’t feel locked into what is “traditional” or expected of you. (Check "Wedding Traditions Worth Breaking" for 5 ideas!)

Good light is magic

Talk with your photographer and make sure you plan around good light. Not only will it make a world of difference in your photos, it will also make the experience much more pleasant for you and your guests. We all know what it feels like to strain to keep your eyes open while taking photos in harsh sun. Your eyes are watering, you don’t feel beautiful, and you’re not enjoying it. Good, golden, soft light is magic. It’s the foundation of a beautiful photograph and you’ll be able to see and feel the difference both in real life and in your images.

Budget wisely

While planning, always pick quality over quantity. Don’t believe that you need every single decor item for a beautiful day. Choose a venue that naturally has the feel you want - beautiful spaces don’t really need much decorating to begin with (amazing nature or beautiful architecture) and it’s going to be cheaper/easier than trying to create that look from scratch. Work within your budget and choose to invest in select, quality pieces rather than spreading yourself too thin for all the bells and whistles. (Check out our hidden expenses sheet so you aren't surprised by fees!)

Don’t miss the point

At the end of the day, these are just things. The hair, the decor, and yes, even the photos. Their importance pales in comparison to to person you’ve chosen to love and commit to. That in itself is infinitely more beautiful than any other detail and when that is the centerpiece, everything else will naturally fall into place.