Bride and Groom shots, really on the wedding day?

Do any of you wedding togs take pictures of the groom and bride - in her wedding gown - before or after the actual wedding day? Some of these wedding videos (like the Jerry Ghionis videos from BH Photo) show pics of brides and grooms that are very complex (in a rowboat?), so I don't see how they shoot these pics on the actual day of the wedding unless the bride and groom leave the reception just for a few hours of pictures.

I shot some photos of the bride and groom basically straight after the wedding and before the reception. I think this is the normal for most weddings.

Agree with Scott that in between wedding and reception is probably the norm. Beyond that depends on what the customer wants and what they are willing to do. Most would not want to leave guests waiting too long, but I could imagine festivities (think open bar) occupying the guests while the bride gets the photos she wants, especially if the rowboat is right there in the lake beside one of the locations.

Here in Utah it is not uncommon for the bride and groom to go out and do pictures together fully dressed well before the wedding. I remember the first time I saw invites done with them already pictured (I'm a transplant to Utah from Detroit). I was then enlightened on this normalcy and have seen it done many times since.

Hmmm. I was always under the impression that it's bad luck for the two of them to see each other the day of the wedding but before the ceremony especially with her dress on.

Well, Im not sure how it is the US. im not up to date. I live to the right of the map. and the BG portrait session is a big issue here. usually the order is we go meet with the bride at the hair/makeup salon. we start the shoot there. shes ready and the groom comes and they meet. usually they have people with them..brother friend whatever whos the driver. we go with our car to a location and start doing pictures there. it can be between 30 minutes to 2 hours depending how much time is available how much the couple can suffer haha.

after that, its off to the venue. family portraits, guests arrive then the ceremony (at the venue) then party time all night long. in between first course, main course we also do a round of pics at the table (if they request, we never force it)hope that helps.

but the images are done on the same day and these images are quite priority. a photographer who has some background in fashion photography really can use it to his advatange. a wedding photographer needs skills in many aspects. fashion photography with a strong knowledge of lighting and EC. ceremony, extreme pressure to get the proper shots and adding an artistic view to them. dance floor where basically we work in the dark. family formals where you need understanding of studio portraiture.

Always book in a few hours between the ceremony and reception. That is where the magic happens!

It seems a popular trend for the bride to have 2 gowns now, one for the wedding and one for the reception, so the idea of potentially soiling the gown between the two during photo taking isn't as heartbreaking. The cost of the two gowns, on the other hand, sure can be.

BackdoorHippie said:

It seems a popular trend for the bride to have 2 gowns now, one for the wedding and one for the reception, so the idea of potentially soiling the gown between the two during photo taking isn't as heartbreaking. The cost of the two gowns, on the other hand, sure can be.

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youre absolutely correct. have seen that many times. moms of the BG also like to have a 2nd dress. and the fathers groom take off their shirts and go with their undershirts.

Thanks for all the replies. I grew up with the same superstitions as FastGlass... the B and G don't see each other before the wedding. What MoabMan and Rocketman said is exactly what I suspected must be happening, given the elaborate BG portraits I have seen in some of these presentations. (Either that, or the pics I saw were not real BGs, just models.)

Blade Canyon said:

Thanks for all the replies. I grew up with the same superstitions as FastGlass... the B and G don't see each other before the wedding. What MoabMan and Rocketman said is exactly what I suspected must be happening, given the elaborate BG portraits I have seen in some of these presentations. (Either that, or the pics I saw were not real BGs, just models.)

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Thats very much a possibly Blade. Im sure some may be.

Wed I went to a month back, the bride/'s maids were shot between the ceremony and the reception. I'm guessing groom was as well.

Typically (in the US), wedding formal photos are taken after the ceremony and before the reception. The couple gets married, the wedding party does photos, then they take a limo ride to the reception hall. I would label this as "traditional". Some couples are open to having photos done together before the wedding. This obviously gives the photographer infinitely more options and flexibility, but it's not the norm by a long shot. Even today, a lot of couples hold on to the tradition that it's bad luck to see each other before the wedding.

I've been successful with getting shots before the wedding of just the bride with others members of the party (bride with bridesmaids, parents, grandparents, etc.), and just the groom with other members. It helps keep things running smoothly and quickly.

A good portion of those fancy shots you see on the internet are just models.

After the reception it a good time to take some pictures, the groom and bride are not so stressed taht time.