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"ONE OF THE top         photographers in the us & Canada"

100

- slr lounge

We are so excited to celebrate day one of your marriage! Our main priority outside of creating beautiful images is that you have a stress-free and incredible day with your friends, family, and brand new spouse! This section is a walk through of a wedding day with us so that you can plan for your day, understand our approach and style, and have the most amazing wedding day possible.

the best day ever

you're going to have

I. GIRLS GETTING READY

II. GUYS GETTING READY

III. THE CEREMONY

IV. FAMILY FORMALS

V. BRIDAL PARTY PORTRAITS

VI. BRIDE & GROOM PORTRAITS

VII. RECEPTION

VIII. NIGHT PORTRAITS

GIRLS GETTING READY

We always suggest that our brides get ready in their honeymoon suite, so think about booking it for two nights instead of one! You'll be able to relax the night before the wedding, get a good night's sleep, not have to travel in the morning or be rushed, you'll have everything you need in one place, and your getting ready location will be gorgeous for photos! When you're thinking about which suite to book, look for one with very large north or south facing windows, luxurious furniture, neutral walls, and classic decor. We love The Four Seasons, The Marriott Grand, the Westin Downtown, the Magnolia, and the Hilton at the Arch. Some of our brides love The Sheraton Clayton, which is great if you get the walkout suite to the rooftop, and the Chase Park Plaza, but the windows are very small at the Chase, so your photos will be darker and more dramatic than they would be in a room with very large windows.

We schedule our arrival time for approximately 1-1.5 hours prior to the time the bride needs to leave to travel for the first event of the day, whether that be a first look, the ceremony, or pre-ceremony bridal party portraits. We arrive as a team, check in with you, and introduce ourselves to the girls. During the first 30 minutes, we focus on bridal details and candids of the girls. 

We plan the bride's hair and makeup to be completed one hour into our time so that we can get those beautiful hair and makeup shots without you only having one eye done and no lipstick! We also shoot those adorable bridesmaids photos with the girls in silk robes toasting champagne or laughing before the bride gets dressed. Make sure that you note that we want your mom, sisters, and maids of honor to also be finished with hair and makeup and in their dresses at that hour in mark so they can look beautiful, too, while you put your dress on! 

Shoes
Jewelry
Headpiece/Veil
Bouquet
invitation suite
wedding dress
gift from spouse

the details list

and anything else you want photographed

Once we are ready to get you into your dress, we are a little more editorial in our style, meaning that we put you in great light and give a lot of direction to get the images we need for your album: you getting dressed, putting your jewelry and shoes on, getting your veil put on, etc. Then we do our signature bridal portraits. If you're comfortable, we ask you to sit on the floor like a cheerleader to get that gorgeous soft light. Finally, because we've lost three of our four parents, we always give you and your parents time to have a moment (including a dad's first look), as well as some intimate portraits of the three of you, because truthfully you've all looked forward to this day for so long, but the day is a blur, and you never get to have those moments if time isn't carved out for them. We know you'll treasure those images once they're no longer with you, so we always encourage our brides to make time for them. Once that's all wrapped up, it's time to go!

For the most efficient timeline, we suggest two options for the Guys Getting Ready. The first is for the guys to get ready in the same hotel that the girls get ready in, and then we can squeeze the guys getting ready photos into the timeline before the bride is finished with her hair and makeup. While we do have some groups that choose this option, most of our grooms simply choose our suggested option of "faking" the groom getting ready portraits. We simply need a window or a cracked open door for our light source, and about 15 minutes to get those James Bond inspired getting ready portraits for your album. Guys are much less time intensive than the ladies!

Just like we encourage our brides to take a few minutes with her parents, we encourage our grooms to do the same. I'm the mother of a little boy, and we want to make sure to give the same attention and respect to you and your parents. So be sure to let your parents know what time to meet us so that we can include these incredible moments in your wedding album!

GUYS GETTING READY

THE CEREMONY

We always plan on arriving at the ceremony location about 45-60 minutes prior to the ceremony start time. This allows the bride to be hidden away, grab a bite to eat, and freshen up prior to the ceremony, as well as allows us to get the images of the groom getting ready and the intimate portraits of his parents. We also use this time to chat with the officiant, change cards and batteries, and document ceremony details and guests arriving. 

Once the ceremony is about to begin, Ashley is up front photographing the processional. Make sure when you and your girls are walking down the aisle, stand up straight, keep your shoulders back, chin forward and down, and look straight ahead and smile! Hold your bouquet down low towards your belly button. I know it's heavy, but refrain from holding it up towards your chest or face! If you do this, you'll look tall and gorgeous and confident, and you won't hide that beautiful gown!

When you see your groom, lock eyes with him and let everything else melt away! Those few moments are so precious, and we will want to focus on the two of you and document those fantastic expressions of excitement.

During the remainder of the ceremony, we simply take a photojournalistic approach. We do kindly ask that you let us know on your wedding questionnaire if there's anything unique happening during your ceremony, as well as the timing of your first kiss if you're having a catholic ceremony (immediately following the rite of marriage or right before the recessional). 

During the recessional, if you want a really incredible photo, stop halfway down the aisle for a really epic kiss with all of your guests in the background celebrating your newlywed status! Ashley always follows the two of you out to capture your first few moments alone as husband and wife, unless you want us to focus on the recessional (which aren't typically that awesome of photos).

Remember that formal receiving lines can eat a very large chunk of the day (sometimes up to an hour). In the past, we've had couples spend so much time on a receiving line that we've had mere minutes for their romantic portraits. In lieu of a formal receiving line, we highly recommend visiting with guests during the reception, but if you really want to thank your guests at the ceremony, we recommend releasing rows. This accomplishes the same thing as a formal receiving line but is generally much quicker!

Finally, be sure to discuss photography rules with your venue. There are usually time restrictions as to when we have to be out of the ceremony venue, as well as flash photography restrictions. We are limited by house rules, and while we're completely comfortable not using flash during a ceremony, it's nice to have if we can!

continue

The Suggested Family Formals List

BOTH FAMILIES
B+G with Both Sets of Parents
B+G with Both Immediate Families
B+G with All Siblings

BRIDE'S FAMILY
B+G with Bride's Parents
B+G with Bride's Immediate Family
B+G with Bride's Immediate Family and Grandparents
B+G with Bride's Grandparents
B with Bride's Grandparents
B with Bride's Immediate Family
B with Bride's Siblings
B with Bride's Parents
B with Bride's Mom
B with Bride's Dad

GROOM'S FAMILY
B+G with Groom's Parents
B+G with Groom's Immediate Family
B+G with Groom's Immediate Family and Grandparents
B+G with Groom's Grandparents
G with Groom's Grandparents
G with Groom's Immediate Family
G with Groom's Siblings
G with Groom's Parents
G with Groom's Mom
G with Groom's Dad

OPTIONAL LARGE FAMILY PORTRAITS
B+G with Bride's Mom's Family
B+G with Bride's Dad's Family
B+G with Groom's Mom's Family
B+G with Groom's Dad's Family

BRIDAL PARTY FORMAL PHOTOS
B+G with Entire Wedding Party + Ushers
B+G with Ring Bearer + Flower Girl
B with Flower Girl
G with Ring Bearer
B+G Alone
B Alone
G Alone

ADDITIONAL FAMILY PORTRAITS
as determined by the couple
(add 2-3 minutes per grouping)


Be sure to choose a point person to help us get the next group on deck for maximum efficiency!

If it's not obvious by now, we really value family, and we believe that family formals are a part of the day that deserves a lot of respect. However, if not approached correctly, this can eat up a huge portion of your wedding day. We recommend using this time for your family photos that will end up in a frame on a mantle, and simply save extended family photos and other group photos like coworkers and friends for the reception when we are not limited on time and sunlight.

On average, we plan on 2-3 minutes per grouping. Be sure to tell the people that you want in these photos that we need them to stay seated and quiet to get through the list as efficiently as possible. And although it seems obvious, let them know that there is a list that we are working off of, and anything not on the list will be photographed at the reception. Also, let them know that they'll receive copies of all photos taken. We kindly ask that nobody else take photos because it tends to cause our families eyes to dart in different directions, and that ends up costing our couples money to combine photos in post production if they want everyone to be looking at the camera (and I'm sure that's something you don't want to deal with)!

As far as location goes, we can absolutely do traditional altar family formals, or we can find a beautiful location outside. Our couples who have chosen outdoor family formals have told us that they love their family portraits and they are more relaxed, natural, and fun, and that they more accurately represent their familial relationships!

Family Formals

BRIDAL PARTY
PORTRAITS

As fun as it might sound to hop on a party bus and have photos taken in multiple locations all throughout the city, in reality, we have much less time for bridal party and romantic portraits than it seems once you factor in travel, traffic, accidents, and getting on and off the party bus. Additionally, you'll notice in our images that we're always looking for a place with great light and using long lenses, allowing the background to fade away. This means that we don't need multiple locations to create beautiful images. Just one with great light and a few different options for various looks!

The entire wedding party takes only a few minutes, and then we'll move on to the ladies. We photograph the girls as a group and then each of the girls with the bride (a classic portrait, a fun image, and then an "advice" photo which might garner tears or genuine laughter). We then repeat this process with the guys before sending the bridal party back to the party bus to relax while we spend the remainder of the time for romantic portraits!



a few tips

Make sure you have a rain plan! This is another reason we love The Four Seasons. They have giant floor to ceiling glass windows in their lobby areas, and they only allow bridal parties who are staying on property to utilize them. Other options are The Muny in Forest Park, the Downtown Library, Union Station, and the City Hall Rotunda. Some of those require permits that must be pulled well in advance, and some also require fees (paid by the couple). Some of our favorite rain photos, though, are from weddings where couples and their bridal party members just roll with it and get rain boots and clear umbrellas!

Larger bridal parties naturally take a longer period of time to photograph, whereas smaller bridal parties allow for more time for romantic portraits for the two of you. On average, plan for 3 minutes per bridal party member + 5 minutes for the girls + 5 minutes for the boys + 10 minutes for the entire bridal party to estimate the minimum time needed for your bridal party photos. This minimum time for bridal party does not include the time needed for your romantic portraits.

Make sure the girls bring their bouquets! Also, make sure you pack a towel in your bag for the party bus to blot the stems of your bouquets so that they don't leave wet spots on your dresses.

Posing tips for the ladies: Turn your body 45 degrees from the camera, shift your weight to your back leg, and bend the front knee and point it away from the camera. This causes a slimming effect by creating an s-curve. Keep your spine straight and pull your shoulders back, which pulls your midsection in and your chest up. Create a triangle of space around your waist by slightly bending your elbows and keeping them behind your waist. And then all you have to do is lean slightly forward from your hips towards the camera (we call this "the teapot") and bring your forehead forward and down. These tips highlight your best features and hide things you might not be as comfortable with!

We love creating epic photos of the guys like our badass portrait of Eric and his groomsmen over on the right. These always get printed huge on metal and hung in our groom's man cave. We know guys don't always love participating in portraits, but if you trust us and give us a little bit of time, this is the kind of stuff we can make for you! We also love shooting guys with cigars if that's something you're into! 

The Bride & Groom romantic portrait time is often the only time all day that the two of you will be alone (well, not completely alone)! Because we respect that time so much and know how valuable that time is, we request that the only people present during this time are the two of you and the two of us. 

Our Bride & Groom portraits are based on a four simple poses and the power of suggestion. These suggestions give you permission to be romantic, silly, or serious, depending on your personality and comfort level, and it always brings you back to what was going on in that moment when you look at your photos later. It gives that candid feel to the editorial pose, which gives you the best of both worlds: you look great, but it's always a real moment.

Our simple rules during Bride & Groom portrait time are to always keep each other as close as possible and don't ever be afraid to show emotion. We appreciate that you're allowing us into very intimate moments, and we want to document those for you because those are the moments you'll want 50 years from now.

Bride & GROOM
PORTRAITS

a few tips

We love when our brides choose a cathedral length veil for their portraits! They're incredibly romantic, and they make for some of the most beautiful images!

If possible, we try to schedule your B&G portraits within the hour prior to sunset for the best light of the day. If we have to do your B&G portraits mid-day, we ask for 10 minutes at sunset to grab a few more of those romantic portraits that our couples love so much!

If you are having an evening wedding is in the winter where sunset is around 5pm or earlier and you opt not to do a first look, your photos will be lit with off camera flash and will look different than the natural light photos you see in our portfolio. Check out Kat & Stu's wedding in our featured galleries on our website for sample work under these conditions.

In the event your portrait time overlaps with cocktail hour, please be aware that you may not get as many reception detail photos as you would if we had the time during cocktail hour to complete them. If detail photos from the reception are extremely important to you, we will have to allot time for both B&G portraits and detail photos in your timeline!

pose one:
belly button to belly button

pose two:
she's big spoon & he's little spoon

pose three:
he's big spoon & she's little spoon

pose four:
side by side

The Reception

We'll work with you and your DJ/Band to create an ideal timeline for your reception. Of course we photograph all of your formal events like entrances, cake cutting, toasts, the first dance, the father-daughter dance, and the mother-son dance. We cover the dance floor and also walk the room to photograph "grab and grins" in an effort to make sure that every person at your reception is photographed. On average, we plan our end time to be about one hour after open dance begins, because we've figured out after forty weddings a year that it's about that time that the images start to become blackmail-worthy! Before we wrap up for the night and take our couple out for night portraits, we always ask our couple and their parents if there's any last minute group photos they'd like for us to grab. We've never left a wedding without making sure that we have completely documented the day from start to finish!

Click through our best tips for an incredible reception below!

a few tips

We always arrive to the reception no later than 30 minutes prior to your announcement so that we have a few minutes at a minimum to shoot details, as well as set up our lights and check in with the DJ/Band.

Make sure you train someone to do your bustle before the reception. Just a tip - those one point bustles break all the time, so you might want to ask for an alternative bustle. And just in case it does break, bring some dental floss and a thick needle in case you have to makeshift a bustle during the reception.

When you're announced, come all the way to the dance floor before you do your move! That way you'll have your friends and family in the background instead of an ugly wall!

Our recommended order of events is announcement, cake cutting, welcome speech, toasts, prayer, then dinner. This allows your venue to cut the cake during dinner and serve it immediately following dinner. A lot of catering managers will suggest to do toasts during dinner, and while that is an option, we've found that our couples and their guests prefer to simply enjoy dinner and be able to converse with one another after completing all formal speeches prior to the start of dinner. 

We always take our break at the same time the couple eats so that we don't miss any important events. Please be sure to include us in your count to the caterer and ask that we are served at the same time you are, as some catering managers refuse to feed vendors until after all guests have been served. While we understand this policy, when this happens, we often aren't able to refuel before the formal dances begin. We appreciate you taking care of us so that we can take care of you!

During your first dance, try to stay near the center of the dance floor if possible. If you're going to spin or dip, do it a few times to ensure that we're able to catch it because those moments happen very quickly!

If you have a group of friends or family that you want a photo with, assign someone in that group to gather the group and find one of us when you're ready. Doing group photos during the reception like this allows us to make sure those photos are taken if you want them and allows you to enjoy the party without constantly being pulled away for photos!

If you want to do an exit photo, like sparklers, it's best to gather a group of 30 or so people (usually family + bridal party are best), to keep the crowd small, and we'll do this right before we do night portraits. It's important to manage the crowd because sparklers are pretty dangerous, especially when people have been drinking! Since the purpose of doing a sparkler exit or something similar is usually the resulting images, please allow us to hand out sparklers and lighters, as well as tell you when to come through the sparkler tunnel. We suggest buying 14 inch gold sparklers from buysparklers.com.

Once the dance floor has become blackmail-worthy, all of the guests have been documented through "grab and grins," and we've completed all of the group photos you and your parents want, we go and set up our lights for your night portraits. Since we set up our lighting and have our game plan ready for what we're going to do, we only have to pull you away from the reception for about 5-10 minutes to get the last few epic shots of the night, which always close out our wedding albums. 

These photos often are our couples' favorite portraits of the day, and we definitely encourage all of our brides and grooms to take a few minutes to do them! We have even brought out fireworks, atmosphere aerosol to create fog, and created our own rain to do something amazing for our couples. We love to push our limits every time, so if you have an idea, run it by us for the last shots of the night!  

NIGHT PORTRAITS

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ashley fisher is a timeless, romantic, and editorial saint louis wedding photographer & CINEMATOGRAPHER serving the midwest & is available for destination weddings.

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