3 Location Disasters Brides Make!

One of the most exciting parts of my job as a wedding photographer, is that I never know where, when or under what conditions I will be asked to work in. For this very reason many professional photographers want nothing at all to do with weddings, but honestly I rather enjoy the challenge. That said, there are three situations I have found myself in, that you should avoid for the sake of your comfort, your guests comfort, and the overall feasibility of having wonderful pictures.1. Do not make your guests sit in a sunny field in one hundred degree weather with no shade. It's not safe and honestly, it's hard for your photographer to shoot great images when they are about to get heat stroke and are shooting into the noon sun because nobody thought about where to put the wedding arch when they were organizing the wedding. It's a great idea to speak with your photographer ahead of time and see if they have worked at your location at all. Check with them to see how the light will be at that time of the day. You may be inclined to have your wedding a little later in the day, or maybe face the chairs in a different direction so your guests are not burning in the direct sun if no shade or umbrellas are available to them. I have also seen adorable weddings where large, stylish, hand held umbrellas were provided for the guests, I have to tell you, everybody really appreciated it and thought the bride was a genius!2. Snow. Now I have worked with several brides who thought a magical winter wedding would be just the ticket, and in theory it's a beautiful idea. However, and I can't stress this strongly enough, my camera is a piece of electronic equipment. It does not function with snow getting dumped on it. My partner and I have worked in several blizzards where outside snowfall was several feet during the event and it was not possible for the happy couple to go outside at all for any formals because her hair, make up and dress would have been destroyed by the gale force winds. June is wedding month for a reason, that's all I'm going to say about that! If you know you want an off-off season wedding, and for financial reasons it's the only thing that will work for some brides budgets, find a location that is as beautiful inside as outside, so in the event of severe winter weather, you have someplace to take your formals that you will be truly happy with. If you're not happy, then we're not happy.3. No nice backdrop at all. Your wedding is such an important and usually expensive day, that it's worth it to plan ahead and make sure that you know where your formal and romantic couples portraits will be taken. I have been to some weddings that just had no sizzle to the location and the couple just thought we would wing it. Some churches for example aren't sitting on much real estate, so there is no place pretty and green to take your pictures. Plan ahead! There are almost always public beaches or parks nearby. You can coordinate with your wedding or event planner and your photographer to quickly and easily transport the core family and bridal party members to a great location and be back in time for the reception. Now, this does take planning if you will have to drive to the location, but if you make a list of shots that your photographer can quickly move through, you should make it back in time. Your other option is to photograph family and wedding party members at the ceremony site, and just head off with your new spouse to the secret location for some intimate portrait time together. Very romantic!I'm including some images of locations that I think are really nice for wedding pictures. I was so very tempted to include pictures of some of the worst wedding locations I have been asked to photograph, but you know, that just wouldn't be nice. Feel free to email me at RachelLevinePhoto@gmail.com for any help, tips or location ideas in the San Francisco Bay Area or the Lake Tahoe area. Be as creative as you like, but keep in mind the lighting and time of day. Ask your photographer well in advance for input as they may know about some beautiful wedding photography locations that you were not aware of. It's our job to make you look fabulous, so just ask!