Four Tips for the Perfect Wedding Ceremony
Our ceremony was our favorite part of our wedding day, hands down.
It was such a beautiful 30 minutes in which everything seemed to fade away, all the people, all the commotion, every bit of hard work that went into it. It felt like it was just us in our own little world, making promises to one another before God and our closest family and friends. It was slow and peaceful, it was full of laughter, and it has become something we look back on fondly as we reminisce on that day.
Between years of working in the wedding industry and planning a wedding of our own, we have learned so much about each element of the wedding day, and want to let you in on some knowledge that we’ve gathered to make your wedding day as magical and stress free as it can be! Today we’re focusing on four tips for the perfect wedding ceremony, but you can check out a whole bunch more wedding tips here!
If you’re able, choose a shaded ceremony site with even lighting.
Friends, we cannot stress this one enough. This goes beyond just the sake of the photos. For everyone’s comfort, we highly recommend choosing a ceremony space that is shaded. Especially if you’re in a sunny place like the Phoenix like we are, you’re almost guaranteed to have a warm, bright wedding day! Save either yourselves or your guest from having to stare straight into the sun as you exchange your vows! Overheating, squinting, or having makeup melt off makes for a less than enjoyable experience for whomever is soaking up the sun. Save everyone from this and find some shade!
Since we are photographers, we would like to address your wedding photos, because, well, it’s our specialty.
The most optimal scenario for photos would be to have your ceremony in a space that is shaded, with even lighting. Here in Arizona, we have a TON of oak trees and these seem to be a popular spot under which couples get married! This is beautiful, but sometimes these trees’ leaves are a little sparse, leaving little holes and cracks for the sun to leak through. This uneven lighting scenario can make for spotty pictures. Your photos will still be beautiful, it’s just going to take a little extra work on our end to make them that way! If it is possible to avoid this, your photographers will thank you!
If your venue doesn’t have a shaded ceremony space, don’t fret! We recommend setting up your altar so that the sun is directly behind you. Tell your guests to bring sunglasses! Your bodies will be “shaded” with the sun behind you and will offer the best lighting for your photos. If you can, we recommend avoiding your altar being side-lit. This would leave one of you staring at the sun, and the other shaded, making lighting for your photos a little less optimal!
Here are a few tips we recommend for making sure your altar is in the correct location before your wedding day! We love to use the Lumos app to track the level and position of the sun at different times of the day when we are scouting any location! If you are able to visit your venue close to your wedding day, fire up Lumos and figure out where the sun will be during your ceremony to place your altar! Another option is to have your rehearsal at the same time as your wedding ceremony and test the lighting there the day before! This gives you the chance to find the optimal spot and adjust your altar accordingly. We love coming to rehearsals to help with this, just ask us :)
2. Make it a tech-free ceremony!
Aside from the COVID-era Zoom live stream, you will appreciate your wedding ceremony being completely tech free! Politely request for your guests to keep their phones, cameras, iPads, etc. away during your ceremony. This most especially allows for everyone to be present during some of the most important moments of your lives, and all your loved ones to fully partake in such a joyous occasion! We also guarantee the professional photos you paid for will look better without Uncle Bob’s Nikon Coolpix poking in the corner!
We love getting photos of the sweet reactions from your family and friends as you promise each other forever, and we don’t want your sweet grandma’s happy tears to be blocked by an iPad! Do everyone the magnificent favor and make your ceremony tech free :)
3. Sit all your parents/siblings/grandparents up front!
This may seem like an obvious one, but we do have to mention it just in case! As we previously mentioned, we are all about photographing the sweet reactions of your loved ones in addition to you two during your ceremony, and this gives us the perfect opportunity to do so! But this tip is way more important than just photographs, friends!
These people have played such an integral role in your life, your upbringing, and you reaching this point! Chances are they are incredibly proud of you marrying your person, and this is a moment you get to share with them! We love seeing our couples share sweet glances with their families during the ceremony, laughing together as stories are recounted, and crying the most happy tears alongside each other as vows are made. Give yourselves and these people the gift of intimately being a part of this special moment, sit them as close to you as possible!
4. Take time to center yourselves before your ceremony!
This is a day in which emotions run high all over the board. You two have been through so much to get here, and you are now in some of the most important moments of your life! Do your best to focus on one another and the beautiful commitment you are making to one another. Let everything else fade away and be wholly present in this moment! Coming from us, we can’t recommend this more! Here are some ways to prepare yourselves to do just this:
Schedule in time to relax before the ceremony. We prefer to stop all photos 30 minutes before the ceremony to give you time to breathe, center yourselves, and get your heart in the right place to marry your best friend. Whether you have seen each other or not, take the time to sit and breathe with your people, just your bridesmaids and groomsmen, or all together. DRINK WATER, read over your vows, pray by yourself or with your people, write one another letters to read during this time, do whatever you need to let any stress or nerves slip away!
Have some type of intimate moment together before you walk down the aisle. You don’t need to see each other if you don’t want to! Whether it’s a first look, first touch, prayer, or written letter to one another, some type of slow activity with one another does WONDERS to center yourself and remind you why you’re here.
Take a sip of liquid courage. Some folks are incredibly nervous to stand in front of an audience full of people as the center of attention! If this will help you settle down and focus more during your ceremony, we highly recommend it! Whatever your poison is, get the nervous shakes out by having a little sip of something to calm those nerves!
Now that you have some more tips in your arsenal, let’s get to planning your perfect wedding ceremony (and day)!
We’re Katie & Joseph, a husband & wife team, and wedding photographers in Phoenix.
We are big fans of documenting wedding days in an unposed, raw, genuine, and honest way that allows our couples to maximize their experience on their day while also receiving a gallery full of stunning images that communicate how it felt to be there.
Though we’re based in Arizona, we’ll travel anywhere for a good love story (and dance party). We invite you to follow the links below to learn more about us and our services, and to get in contact with us!
