Wedding Family Portraits - Who To Include & Who To Leave Out

Wedding family photos- simultaneously some of the most important photos taken, and the most dreaded time on a wedding day.

There, we said it! I don’t think we’ve ever met a single couple or family member who looks forward to taking family photos at a wedding, and I also don’t think we’ve ever met a single couple or family member who regrets spending the time doing so, after the fact. These formal family portraits are pretty darn important as they capture a moment in time for you and your family members you’ll never get back. They also, however, take up time during your day, and, let’s face it, have the capacity to take away from your overall experience if not done right.

If you are one of our wedding couples, you’re probably reading this because we’ve asked you to submit your family photo shot list for your wedding day. And if you’re here gathering inspiration for your own wedding, congratulations! One of the things we most often hear from our couples and their families is how painless we make the wedding family photo experience. We are hyper efficient when it comes to taking these all important portraits, and this begins with education!

Below you’ll find a sample family photo shot list for your wedding day. Some tips when compiling your own list we find helpful:

• Keep it simple. Seriously! There really is no need to have every possible combination of humans in formal portraits. Keep it to the most important people, and consider taking less formal portraits with other extended family members or friends at another point during your day (cocktail hour is a great time to do this!).

• Consider how much time you actually want to spend taking formal, posed photos on your wedding day vs. how much time you want to spend relaxing, taking a moment to hang back with your person, or socializing with your guests. If you want to spend more time taking photos, plan for a longer shot list. If you want to spend less time taking photos and more time doing other things, include only the most important people on your list!

• If you want to include extended family members in your photos (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.), one big extended family shot for each side of your family will work. Trust us!

• Make sure you take individuals with each grandparent. These are so special and worth making time for!

• Once you’ve made your list, notify everyone on it that they’ll be a part of your family photos, and let them know when and where they’ll need to be to take them. It also may help to have them stay away from the bar until after photos have been completed. This will make it much easier to wrangle people, and will make this process so much more efficient.

Now that we’ve provided you with a little strategy, here’s a sample wedding family portrait shot list—

Bride’s Family

• Bride, Groom, Immediate Family

• Bride, Groom, Bride’s Parents

• Bride, Groom, Bride’s Siblings

• Bride, Bride’s Parents

• Bride, Mom

• Bride, Dad

• Bride, Individuals with Each Sibling

• Bride, Individuals with Each Grandparent

• Bride, Groom, Immediate Family, Grandparents

• Bride, Groom, Grandparents (one for each side/set)

• Bride, Groom, Extended Family on Mom’s Side (if you’d like)

• Bride, Groom, Extended Family on Dad’s Side (if you’d like)

Both Families

• Bride, Groom, Bride’s Parents, Groom’s Parents

• Bride, Groom, Bride’s Immediate Family, Groom’s Immediate Family

Groom’s Family

• Bride, Groom, Immediate Family

• Bride, Groom, Groom’s Parents

• Bride, Groom, Groom’s Siblings

• Bride, Groom’s Parents

• Groom, Mom

• Groom, Dad

• Groom, Individuals with Each Sibling

• Groom, Individuals with Each Grandparent

• Bride, Groom, Immediate Family, Grandparents

• Bride, Groom, Grandparents (one for each side/set)

• Bride, Groom, Extended Family on Mom’s Side (if you’d like)

• Bride, Groom, Extended Family on Dad’s Side (if you’d like)

Please feel free to copy and paste this list as you compile your own family photo shot list! Of course, if there is a special person in your life who isn’t family, but is important enough to include in this formal portrait time, definitely include them too! We hope this was helpful to you!

Poppy and Vine - Phoenix Wedding Photographers

Howdy friends! We’re Katie & Joseph, a husband and wife team and Arizona wedding photography duo.

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 are based in Phoenix, 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!

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