Emily Fairweather Photography

Established 2005

Wedding Group Shots

Group Shots – Not more than eight.   Be organised and have an usher or member of the family to help gather those in the photos.

Try to do them as early on in the reception as you can

Choose a lovely background before the big day which has the sun coming from the right direction for nice soft, flattering light. 

Avoid midday when the sun is high and harsh.

Have fun with them so this is reflected in the photos – Formals don’t have to be formal.

Group shots are fun to have and framed prints make excellent presents for Grandparents and parents.  They can be traditional without being boring for instance you can have a formal line up with lots of laughing or with everyone looking at the person on the end of the line.  

Or they can be less traditional, as for instance below where the bride and her best mates are holding the groom aloft!  

In any event, I always strongly advise my bride and grooms to have eight or less group shots. This is because, with the best will the world, (and I am super organised about group shots and always ask for an assertive family member to assist in rounding up folk) these take time and on your wedding day you won’t want to spend more than 20 minutes doing them because you’d much rather be hanging out with your mates and enjoying your reception.

That said it’s often good fun doing group shots! 

When we have our walkabout at your Reception venue be it your family home or a Wedding location, I will suggest places with the right kind of soft light and no distracting elements for your group shots.   We will also have a wet weather contingency planned.  It’s great if you can arrange to the do the group shots late afternoon or at least not in the middle of the day when the light is harsher but if it is really sunny we will find a shady spot.

I love using the bough of a tree to shape a group shot.  Or somewhere a little bit private where you won’t have an audience, like a part of the garden shielded by the Marquee.

Sometimes you might prefer to have group shots done at the Church before the reception, or perhaps you could the more formal groups here such as the parents of the bride and groom and any younger bridesmaids and pages, and keep the more relaxed groups to be done more on the hoof at your reception.  Below are some group shots I’ve done over the last couple of years at some of my client’s lovely weddings.