Wedding Wednesday with Em Series | Lynchburg Wedding Photographer
Welcome to my weekly wedding day education series!! I love educating newly engaged couples plan their dream wedding day photos! After all, it’s probably your first time planning a wedding you only have one shot at it!! So now is the time soak in all the information and tips you can as you finalize all your details and vendors!
There are so many photography teams out there these days. I know that for a newly engaged couple it can be so OVERWHELMING to narrow down the search and today I am hoping to shed some light on why you deserve a husband and wife team!
View this Aviation Engagement Session HERE
Engagement Session Introductions
James and I included an engagement session with our Wedding Experience for a very specific reason. We, of course, want you to have beautiful photos of you two to remember such an exciting time in your life, but that’s not the main reason. We offer this complementary session to get to know our couples.
We have seen over and over again how important it is for us to meet and get to know our couples. The groom especially is always nervous for photos and at this session we are able to meet and get those nerves out of the way. This also takes away the awkward vibe on wedding days!! Who wants to be followed around all day by a stranger??
On your wedding day we show up and you feel relieved, not nervous. Knowing both photographers on your wedding day can change the feel for the bridal party, family formals, and of course portrait time with you guys!
Side note: You get to know us BOTH! This is a huge benefit because you now know the photography team that will be capturing your day!
View this Glass Hill Engagement session HERE
Wedding Day Prep
I sent out a questionnaire to all my brides so I can have an idea of all the wedding day events and details. James and I discuss the questionnaires in detail once our couples finish filling it out so we are both on the same page. We work on memorizing bridal party names days before the wedding so that on the wedding day we aren’t saying “hey blonde girl in the back”, we try to call everyone by NAME. We have met very few photographers who do this but there are some husband and wife photographer friends that do!!
Now I’ll be honest, after the wedding day I can’t guarantee I will remember ALL the names but on the wedding day James and I find that its so much easier for directing bridal parties and family formals! Not all husband and wife teams do this much preparation before the wedding day. I’ll be honest, I ask a lot more of James on wedding days than I would ask another local photographer assistant (sorry babe).
This communication and preparation is another perk of having a husband and wife wedding photography team!
View this Virginia Tech Garden Wedding HERE
Dependability
So this one is another perk for a husband and wife team. We carpool and save our clients on travel expenses. Travel more than 2 hours away we do require specific accommodations to ensure there are no issues with traffic or unexpected car trouble.
For our winter brides, I have James as my chauffeur in case there is bad weather! For everyone’s safety I stay off the roads when it snows but James is one of those crazy drivers who LOVES to drive in the snow. So in the winter months, I rely on him to get me to weddings and shoots.
James’ role on a wedding day is so much more than my second shooter. He knows what our couples need, knows the special details to capture, and is always prepared to capture those candid moments.
I never have to second guess or wonder if he “got the shot”.
We have really honed in on our strengths and weaknesses this past year and together we can depend on each other to help when needed, be consistent, and be prepared on wedding days to give our couples our very best.
View this Fall Rustic Wedding Here
Communication
This one sounds like a basic thing for a “head” photographer and a “second shooter” but this can make or break wedding days. Not only does there need to be clear communication on the wedding day, the photographers also need to know each other’s unique lingo and phrases.
What I mean by that is, if I say something in a weird way or word something wrong James is fluent in “Emily Lingo” to know what I am trying to say. I know that if I had to explain myself to a new second shooter every wedding I would be wasting so much time.
James and I have also mastered the language of head nods, raised eyebrows, and body language. So during a ceremony or quiet moment of prayer we can still communicate without interrupting anything. I know these are very specific examples but we have totally done these things on a wedding day!! 🙂
Communication is huge in a marriage and in business. Having a husband and wife team means next level communication and we hold each other to much higher standards. As a newly engaged couple, you know how important communication can be, am I right??
Bonus Pro Tip for Photographers: We use our Apple Watches to communicate on the wedding day using the Apple Walkie Talkie App! That works wonders for us because we don’t need to get our phones out to text or call! It’s so convenient to hit one button on your wrist and be able to contact each other even when we are 20 minutes (or further) away at different wedding day locations.
View this Fall Sundara Wedding HERE
Simultaneous Coverage
The bonus tip leads me to my next secret behind a husband and wife photography team. One of the most helpful things about our husband and wife team is, I can be with the ladies and James can be with the gentlemen AT THE SAME TIME.
James plays it cool when he’s with me checking in at the beginning of the day with our bride. I know that if he had to cover the ladies by himself he would feel weird (same with me if I had to cover the guys). It is just easier for him to stay with the guys! At our own wedding, it was important to us to have a female photographer with my girls and I, and have a male photographer with James and his groomsmen. That is one reason why we chose the phenomenal husband and wife team beyond Mullins Photo Co.
I would NEVER photograph a wedding by myself because something would be missed.
James and I photograph the bridal party separately and guide everyone through the day up until the portrait time and the ceremony. We coordinate bridesmaids and groomsmen photo locations to be separate from each other (which can be tricky at a smaller more intimate venue) and then carefully set up the first look. We also capture ceremony set up, ceremony details, extra bridal party photos, and more since both of us are there!! It really does help having 2 cameras in action at the same time.
Keeping our Walkie Talkie app on hand we keep everyone on schedule with plenty of time to spare before guests arrive. This couldn’t happen if I didn’t have James working on the other side of the venue (or anther location sometimes miles away). James and I have even had to change up timelines to fit wedding day emergencies too, so relying on James to change things up but keep my expectations for photos is a huge relief and help for me (and in turn, my couple)! 🙂
Need help creating your wedding day timeline?
View our Emily Hancock Bride Reunion HERE
Invested Beyond the Wedding Day
This is by far the biggest secret for our husband and wife photography team. Five years ago we were in your shoes. We were excited for a lifetime together and relieved to finally have FUN and enjoy our “Best Day Ever” that seemed like it would never get here. We have also overcome the struggle and challenges a new marriage brings. I talk like we are way older than we are… we still have those hard times and challenges.
As a husband and wife team, we celebrate your special day a long side of you and capture those precious moments you’ll remember forever. Once the wedding day is over our photography services are finished, yes, but our experience continues! We love keeping up with our couples after the wedding day and love our reunions with them!!
The first in person reunion was a Tea Party where we made succulent planters! This fun girls day was such a unique way to celebrate these beautiful ladies and their new marriages! Some of these girls had never met before but now they have new friends in the same season of life as them!! I am so glad that this EH Bride community has been such a blessing and resource for them.
We pray that whatever life brings for our couples,
that they will keep each other and their marriage a priority!!
In an age where divorce is so common, we hope and pray our couples beat the odds and remember those sweet moments captured in their legacy album and final gallery. Marriage is a beautiful thing and James and I consider it an honor to be a part of our couple’s love story!
I would love to answer any questions you may have about husband and wife photography teams! Message me on social media or inquire for your wedding experience!
Until next time,
Learn more about our services here!
Featured
Hey there, I’m Emily! James, and I are a husband and wife wedding photography team based in Lynchburg, Virginia. We specialize in weddings and engagements and serve Virginia, DC Area, South Carolina, and beyond!
Browse the Blog by Category:
Today on the blog I am sharing our first ever New Years Eve wedding! It was the latest wedding we’ve ever worked but I have to say it was the most fun we’ve had ringin in the new year in a few years!! You don’t wanna miss this wedding day that was full of surprises!
Read More →