summertime (+ the livin's easy)

The absolute DELIGHT of summer weddings is that you can basically get away with doing photos in short bursts anywhere until about 9pm. Is there anything better than that? Long summer nights make me happy unlike anything else in the world. Not even as a wedding photographer, but as a whole entire human :)

so what, right? WELL! Whenever I get to talking with a couple about their day, we’re, of course, going through the timeline. The hill I’ll die on includes: Make sure you ENJOY your wedding day and don’t just schedule everything around the photos, kay? I say this with the caveat that: your wedding needs to be a summer wedding ;) I know I know, FALL THOUGH! But hear me out.

The freedom that comes with a summer wedding means you can schedule your photo time in a way without getting overwhelmed. If you’d like to do a first look, do that (those photos? they’re the best because you require about ZERO PROMPTING).

What’s great about first looks, and, well, me is that I won’t make you do anything that doesn’t feel right. I can pretty much guarantee my prep will sound like, “ok, you’re in line together, now….take it as it feels right. Do it your way.” There is way too much pressure in how we live now + all the wedding images our eyes consume to be perfect. Guess what? You’re going to see each other, it’s gonna be perfect.

So once that’s done! You get to spend the day with your partner! Such a relief, wow! What I do next is assess the day. Is it hot? How are you feeling? ready to knock out some portraits of one side of the bridal party? Need a drink? SO MANY OPTIONS BECAUSE, you guessed it (!), SO MUCH LIGHT LEFT IN THE DAY!

When it comes to couples portraits, here’s a controversial take: there’s enough time in the day that everything you choose to do is actually your choice. I’ve seen photographers insist on golden light photos…but guess what? I’ll never make you do anything. Don’t want to rush out after dinner? Cool, we’ve gotten enough during the day! (but here’s some goodness that you just have to see!)

what do you think? Is it relieving to get to make your own choices in this digital world of doing all the things we live in!? If you’re here for winter wedding advice, I’ll get ya on that soon, too!