A wedding day can be somewhat like a circus.

Yep! Even with all the well-laid plans, things can go awry. After all these years, one thing that I’ve learned is that I can help by keeping the portraits as brief and as organized as possible. Several weeks before the wedding, I send my couple a questionnaire to help put together our timeline. I ask them about the names of everyone in their immediate family, I provide a list of suggested group portraits, and approximately how much time we’ll need for group and couple portraits.

Here’s a secret: make sure everyone who you want photographed knows when and where they need to be for the group portraits.

Because if not, inevitably someone will be MIA. And isn’t it crazy to send someone who’s ready to be photographed to go looking for that one person who went MIA?They’ll either be in the bathroom, outside smoking a cigarette, feeding their baby, changing their shoes, or looking for some h’ors d’oeuvres. You get it. So I work with my couples, giving them suggestions on how to have everyone ready and on time. I hate it when the wedding couple misses their entire cocktail hour because too much time was used taking photographs.

The photographs you see here are typical for my couples.

Those who hire me like portraits that are more spontaneous, natural, and timeless.

And from my perspective, going to a particular “spot” where every other couple has been photographed is overrated. Because the truth is, lighting and natural expressions are WAY more important than what’s in the background.