Columbus, Ohio / Delaware, Ohio Wedding + Engagement Photographer || Tell All Tuesday: Have the BEST Reception Group Photos!
Welcome to our series here on our blog and instagram, Tell All Tuesday! Being in the wedding and photography industry for nearly 12 years, we are always happy to share our tips, knowledge and secrets when it helps our clients have successful sessions and wedding days! This series also opens up the opportunity for our following to learn more about us and we can share our stories when it comes to success and creating a business!
This week’s topic touches on an older trend that is becoming more popular again by way of TikTok: Group photos at the reception!
Now, this isn’t to confuse with the more ‘formal’ and planned family, wedding party, and newlywed photos done in a controlled setting… no! These are fun group shots, casually put together, during the reception that are great to have and look over for years to come. So before we get into it, you know the drill…..
** Disclaimer: This blog content is based on experience, previously given advice and our own opinions. We fully encourage you to speak to evaluate your own plans and capabilities. You do what you feel is in the best interest of your own personal situation!
Venue: Mohican Gardens - Loudonville, Ohio
DO: Make A Plan
These group photos during the reception can be done in several different ways! It’s ESSENTIAL to have a plan in place with your vendors (specifically your DJ and photographer) to have a when, where, and how long answered for these shots. This helps everyone understand the expectations and standards.
DON’T: Ruin your vibe.
This goes for any couple, but specifically the summer brides and grooms of the group. Let’s set the scene: It’s the day of your wedding. You are so excited to get ready. So excited that you can hardly eat! You get ready, get to your ceremony and say ‘I do!’. You’re serotonin is at it’s peak! OMG YOU’RE MARRIED! We move on to family photos…. about half way through you feel REAL drained. You’re so confused. You were happy 30 minutes ago. Well, the nerves took a toll on you, it’s hot outside, you've drank some mimosas but haven’t ate. You’re coming down off the bridal highs babe! So you’ve got a few more photos to do and then it’s to reception! (Yay! Food and party!) But you just remembered that you planned to hold all your guests at cocktail hour and greet and take photos with them individually as they enter the reception. What you once were excited about, you just want to skip! We can always change the plans but you’ll likely feel obligated by your venue or catering to do it because they were looking for the 30 minutes of greeting and photos to have dinner ready. YIKES! What do you do?! This can ruin YOUR vibe for YOUR big day! It’s hard to plan something you’d never experienced first hand before. But I have seen it happen time and time again and you’ll be happy to step by step think through your day and how the series of events will effect you and your partner!
DO: Make It FUN!
There are a few ways to make this activity fun and create it as a point of entertainment! The point of a reception is to celebrate THE COUPLE. Making anything feel like a chore is never going to be fun. Here are some scenarios we have seen to make this a point of laughter, smiles and joy during your reception:
- Make it a photo dash! Have your DJ plan 1-3 songs and race from table to table to create impromptu and unique photos. (See the included TikTok here for example!)
- Have your DJ use trivia and right answers to choose which tables you go to and take a photo with that table.
- Before your photographer leaves, arrange a large group photo! With the couple in the front, have all guests gather around the couple as if they were all fitting into a Photo Booth
These ways make guests excited to get their photo with you and it’s fun to watch as well!
DON’T: Get In the Way of Food
The last thing you want is upset guests. I am a BIG supporter of the couple putting themselves first on their wedding day but two exceptions I have to that is, one, exposing your guests to extreme conditions like having them sit for an hour outdoor ceremony or sit in a venue with no AC in 104 degree heat, having them have cocktail hour in the snow. The second is making them wait for two and a half hours with no food or drinks. I understand when guests get upset with these things. I would too. When you plan your group reception photos, don’t delay or bottleneck the process of your guests having a meal. We have personally seen guests get very upset and leave due to delays like this. We get it. They want to see you, having fun with you, and they have waited for dinner and drinks to celebrate you. If you use photos to delay or deter from them having a meal, you WILL get comments about it as unfortunate as that is. So in the end, plan to have these group photos after dinner.
Venue: Camp Mary Orton - Columbus, Ohio
DO: Place a Time Restriction
Going from table to table is a great way to greet guests and photograph the loved ones you carefully chose to have at your wedding! For this scenario of the goal to get photos with your guests, a time constraint is a MUST! Referring back to my ‘make it fun’ tip, having the photo dash is a great way to accomplish this. It does three favors for you:
It breaks the ice with guests and allows them to feel seen. A quick hug, hello and photo gets them comfortable!
You won’t ‘eat up’ all your reception time with the task of getting photos. You can always wander back around between dance breaks!
It gives you an excuse to pass by guests you don’t know well and avoids awkward small talk! (Like that Great Uncle who mom wanted to invite but you don’t know well…)
In the End….
Jon and I have seen these group reception photos go SO well and it become the talk of the entire night. We have also watched it go very poorly and when that happens, we feel really awful for our couple because our goal is to ALWAYS help you have THE BEST day! We truly love all the groovy, happy, silly photos receptions give us. We can’t wait to see what your reception brings in front of our cameras!
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