Montreal Wedding Planning: An Unconventional Glossary for Memorable Celebrations. Letter A: Artful Couple Portraits
A Montreal wedding couple dances their first dance among the flower beds of Centennial Park in Dollard des Ormeaux.
Artful wedding portraits are something that I believe every couple wants to capture during their Montreal wedding celebration. Some couples wish to keep things simple because they don’t love being the centre of attention and feel awkward in front of the camera. For others, it’s the most important part of the day! Whichever camp you sit in, here are 3 important things to keep in mind to assure the success of wall-and-album-worthy portraits on your wedding day:
1. Sufficient Time
Weddings seem long, with rightful emphasis on the word seem. They go by in the blink of an eye. While it’s not the most romantic concept, creating a schedule is the best way to ensure you have love and romance captured when it matters - during the time allocated for portraits.
Timelines are tight during weddings but it’s hard to truly grasp this in advance. Many couples have told me the day of, that they couldn’t comprehend how time was flying on that day! One small delay can snowball into longer delays as the day draws on, which can make it challenging to get things back on track. I encourage couples to allocate about 45 minutes to an hour for just their portraits, not including the bridal party. You will want to plan closer to one hour if you have a venue with large grounds where there may be several lovely places you wish to capture portraits in. It takes time to walk between locations, sometimes in grass and in heels, with a weighty wedding gown!
When you have allocated sufficient time, you can relax knowing that the next scheduled element isn’t pressing in, and that allows for much more natural expressions and body language during the session. It also allows for more creative liberties for spectacular portraits! It also doesn’t stress anyone if a delay cuts into portrait time, because enough time was given that if the portraits are compromised by 10 or 15 minutes, it doesn’t spell disaster. A seasoned professional is able to adjust to fit portraits into 20 or 30 minutes if they must. But schedule 15 minutes and there is a 15 minutes delay? Not not even a professional can fix that time has run out and the caterer is waiting to serve dinner!
This couple opted for a first look, with portraits immediately following. We had a healthy amount of time before the ceremony, which allowed us to breathe easy, try some creative things and fully enjoy the portrait experience.
2. Privacy
I request that couple portraits are alone-time of just me and my clients, and insist that well-meaning or amateur photographer guests cannot accompany us. Many of you might understand that being affectionate isn’t easy when your parents, siblings or relatives are watching you like hawks! In order to capture love and connection on that day you must already invite the photographer into a very personal place and while it may be challenging enough to be loving and romantic in front of that extra person, couples can get over it for the sake of building their visual legacy. But a cast of others can tip the scales of awkwardness and stress. You feel the eyes and pressure on you as you try to be romantic! During a wedding there are plenty of opportunities for guests to take photos. The couple portraits need to be sacred for the 2 of you! If really needed, a bridesmaid can accompany with a bag of necessities or a wrap if it’s cold, as a makeshift assistant.
When there isn’t another soul around, you can fully relax and focus on the surreal dream that you’ve just married your best friend!
Lucy is a
Montreal WEdding, Engagement & Family Photographer
I’m here to photograph your joy, and [hopefully] make you ugly-cry (even if in private or just on the inside!)
My mission is your dream wedding.
Photo Credit: Talia Dezso Photography
3. Keeping the end in mind
I agree it’s not easy to be romantic on cue, nor is it easy to be romantic in front of another person in a pretty intimate setting. During this high octane day, it’s also easy to lose energy and get fatigued and want to get the portraits done. So it’s important to keep the end in mind; knowing that you are doing this for a very good reason - documenting an important milestone day in your lives to last on for generations and build a visual family tree.
When couples are able to remind themselves of why they are doing this, it helps to neutralize feelings of being put on the spot in the moment and any feelings of impatience to finish up. It helps to have a Montreal wedding photographer like me who is well versed in human behaviour and dynamics (Psych Major in University!) and has over a decade of experience, to gently help you keep the energy up. It’s worth it!
Future generations can witness the love that carries through if you can surrender to the moment for some really meaningful moments brought to life.
Trust and experience are significant photographer qualities that help the success of obtaining artful wedding portraits. You have taken so much time and put so much love and care into the wedding planning process that you want a Montreal wedding photographer who will honour those efforts and make it a day worth remembering.
