6 Favorite Parts of a Wedding Day from a Wedding Photographer
Hi! My name is Jordan Varela and I am a Utah wedding photographer based in Salt Lake City. While I enjoy all aspects of a wedding day as a wedding photographer, there are some special moments that are especially fun to capture behind the camera. Below are a few of my favorite moments to photograph at a wedding.
The Details
The devil is in the details right? Usually I try to arrive to a wedding venue early to get the lay of the land and scout locations on the venue grounds for each event for the big day. During this time there isn’t quite a lot of action going on as the bride and groom are still getting hair and makeup and dressed. This is when I steal the wedding rings and try to get creative with the beautiful invitations and heirlooms that my couple’s provide. This is the time to capture all of that hard work that you put into designing and ordering those invitations and stationary on Zola!
2. Getting Ready Photos
Once the bride is ready, this is such a special and profound moment to reveal how stunning they look to their closest family members and friends. It' is always so nice to see and capture the bridesmaid’s reaction and the bride’s parent’s reaction. Usually tears and laughter follow!
3. The First Look
The first look. Whether it be at the altar or in a scenic location, this moment is one of the most emotional and rewarding moments for a wedding couple. Suddenly when you see your partner dressed to the nines in their wedding dress or suit, the reality of the day hits. Usually my couples will be so encompassed with emotions that they even forget that a photographer is there. I highly suggest opting to do a first look instead of waiting to walk down the aisle as it takes pressure off your big day early in the day!
4. Speeches
This is the time where those closest to you put it all on the line by telling a mix of heartfelt and slightly embarrassing stories about you! Whether it be the former or the latter, the reaction photos that come out of speeches are sure to be a mix of funny candids and emotional moments. During wedding speeches I’ll scan the crowd trying to anticipate which guest will laugh or wipe away a tear.
5. Guest Candids
Guest candids might be my hands-down favorite part of a wedding day to capture. This is mainly because they are spontaneous! These are the moments or interactions that the bride & groom might miss during their heavy-scheduled day. These are truly those special moments that are the culmination of putting your favorite people in the world together to celebrate you! I try to capture as many of these as possible so that when you look back on your wedding photos, you can see which friends interacted with each other and also see those little unplanned events that occurred during your wedding. We’ll call them “happy accidents”
6. Reception
GET DOWN ON IT. This is the time to let your hair down and try that one dance move you’ve never tried before. Reception photos are always so much fun regardless of the age of the participants. Because everyone is moving and gyrating to the beat, you pretty much have to let the flash and camera shutter fly. It is truly so much fun to go through these photos after the wedding and see how crazy and chaotic the dancefloor was!
