This post was written last year but it bears repeating!

So often we’re asked, “so what do you guys do, anyway?”  I figured it would be fun to share a list of unusual tasks that a wedding day brings.  As a real-life example, I’ll use Melissa & TJ’s wedding from Memorial Day weekend.  Here’s a list of things we did in a span of about nine hours:

Ceremony preparation:

• Pinned corsages on the mothers, godmothers, special aunts, and readers
• Pinned boutonnieres on the fathers, groomsmen, and groom
• Distributed bouquets to the bridesmaids, flower girl, and bride
• Tied reserved signs to chairs for the ceremony
• Poured sand in vases in preparation for the sand ceremony
• Determined the color of the table linen for the ceremony (a last-minute addition)
• Found an out-of-the-way place for the string quartet to leave their instrument cases
• Discussed cues and the ceremony with the quartet
• Gave the reader her copy of the reading

Ceremony:

• Cued the ceremony musicians
• Lined up the parents and bridal party before the ceremony
• Passed the marriage license to the officiant so he could fill in the form
• Held the wedding rings before the ceremony began
• Helped the flower girl down the steps to the ceremony so she didn’t trip over her long dress
• ‘Floofed’ the bride’s dress and fixed her veil before she headed down the aisle

Reception preparation:

• Asked the caterer to get linens off the truck so the cake baker and DJ could begin setting up
• Made sure all the family members were in place for the formal photographs
• Worked with the florist when there was one table arrangement missing
• Asked the venue contact about where the DJ’s power supply was located
• Held up the bride’s train while the bridesmaids bustled underneath (often we’ll do the bustle on our own)

Reception:

• Politely invited guests to their seats so we could begin
• Lined up the bridal party before the introductions were made
• Worked with the DJ and caterer to ensure the timeline was upheld
• Brought the bride and groom drinks from the bar to their sweetheart table
• Updated the bride and groom before each major event of the reception
• Found the site manager when the one and only light bulb in the restroom was burned out
• Ensured the photographers and DJ ate their vendor meals when they wouldn’t miss a moment of the action
• Quickly showed the bride and groom how to cut their wedding cake
• Had a chair ready for the bride to sit on during the garter toss
• Boxed up two slices of cake for the flower girl and her father who had to leave early
• Boxed up two slices of cake for the bride and groom to eat in the limousine
• Passed out sparklers to the bridal party for the send-off
• Lit the sparklers once everyone was in place
• Had the driver move the limousine to the correct position in front of the house to allow guests to make a pathway from the front door for the send-off
• Made sure the caterer swept/mopped the floor at the end of the night (a venue requirement)
• Carried wedding gifts & leftover liquor to the family’s cars

Keeping things moving:

• Directed guests to the right location for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception
• Offset the timeline so the photographer could get all the portraits done
• Showed the photographer the venue and several location options for formal photographs
• Did a final sweep of the building to ensure nobody left personal belongings
• Served as an incognito test lighting subject for the photographer
• Distributed vendor tips on behalf of the bride and groom

If you’re not planning on hiring a wedding day coordinator, think of who will do all these tasks when they arise on the wedding day.  Also consider if that person will stick around through the end of the reception or if they’ll take advantage of the open bar and be worthless by midnight.  Most of these things don’t fall under the caterer’s or venue’s responsibilities so don’t assume they’ll be handled by the professionals you’ve hired.

Here are some photos from other weddings of me in action!

Organizing & directing Kinley’s wedding rehearsal:

Directing Alison & her dad at another rehearsal:

Troubleshooting with a pew that’s not designed to hold bows:

Telling Lynette & her bridesmaids when it’s time to line up for the ceremony:

Showing Ashley & her bridesmaids where to go:

Pinning Ashley’s dad’s boutonniere:

Showing Jamie & John how to cut their cake so their photos look nice (then getting out of the way before they do it!)

Confirming with Evan (MyDeejay.com) about the timeline and adjusting events as necessary (yes, this is the worst photo of us):

Our wedding month coordination service is a reasonable $1,925!  Compared to the cost of your entire wedding, I’ll bet this is not a big amount.  Why not invest a little bit to ensure you’re able to enjoy every minute of your wedding day instead of worrying about all these little details?

Lindsay & Sam’s bridal party poses for DC wedding photographer Greg Gibson

Have you created a formal photo ’shot list’ for your photographer yet?  This list is a simple guide to help your photographer capture all the combinations of family portraits you want taken.  Since they don’t know who your families are, a shot list can help keep things running smoothly and quickly.  Besides, who wants to spend time getting formal photos taken by an unorganized photographer when they can be enjoying cocktail hour?

Here’s an example of a very simple, traditional, and basic shot list:

1. Bride, Groom, Bride’s Parents, Bride’s siblings, Bride’s grandparents
2. Bride, Groom, Groom’s Parents, Groom’s siblings, Groom’s grandparents
3. Bride, Groom, Bridesmaids, Groomsmen
4. Bride, Bridesmaids
5. Groom, Groomsmen
6. Bride, Groom

Of course you can augment this list any way you like!  Have a bunch of sorority sisters who always get a group shot at every wedding?  Or a special family friend who helped raise you?  Maybe your parents or grandparents want a photo with just you and them.  Add all the combinations you want but remember the longer your list, the less time you have to mingle with guests at the reception.

I prefer to get the family photos taken first, then the bridal party, then the bride and groom.  This allows us to get the larger groups finished and sent off to the cocktail hour.  Besides, the less people you have standing around and staring while you have photos taken the less stressed you’ll be!

Photographer Heather Z, lining up the family photo at Kirsten & Daniel’s wedding

Be sure you TELL YOUR GUESTS if they are to stay and get their photos taken.  We recently had a couple who wanted some select guests to take photographs at the church after the ceremony ended.  These poor guests had no idea and got on the buses with everyone else.  While your coordinator or photographer can help gather family members and put them in order, we won’t recognize your aunts, uncles, and cousins to pick them out of a crowd.

Are there any photographers out there who have additional advice on creating a shot list?  Please share your thoughts in our comments!