Mix Up Your Bridesmaids & Groomsmen to avoid the "Team" Look     Use Your Engagement Photos, added with pictures of You growing up to make a table display, or slideshow. One Couple recently displayed all 30 of their Engagement Photos on each of the tables at their Reception. Have an Engagement Print Professionally blown-up and Matted for guests to sign     Let Your Photographer know you'd like a photo of Everyone at the Wedding! Invite Your Best Man & Maid to the cake table for a "special Photo", then smash cake in their faces!     Give Your Photographer an Invitation for a Photo-Momento   Other Photo Tips... Plan extra time into your Day for Pictures. Give Your Photographer an "assignment" to challenge them to produce something spectacular... and give them time to accomplish it. Although some Brides/Grooms wish not to see eachother before the wedding ceremony, many photographers recommend this time for formal photos. Doing the Formals before can take some of the stress off of your guests, and your coordinator and caterer (things usually are more "on-time" when pictures are done prior to the ceremony). If you choose to do this, make the first-meeting between you and your fiance a special moment, in a private place. Receiving Lines are a Big Time-Waster, with 100 guests taking about 30-40 minutes out of your Day. I recommend that, after You've eaten, go around to each table and say "hi". This way, you are in control of how much time you spend with each guest/table. This is also a good time for group shots. A Shot-List of Photographs you "can't live without" is vital for your Photographer. Be very specific, with Names of Guests/ Family you wish to be photographed. Make, and keep, a copy to ensure you are both on the same page! Beach Weddings are often the most Overrated, and disappointing due to the "June-Gloom, and "May-Gray". In recent years we've seen countless days where the sun never even comes out at the beach. If you are planning a beach wedding, Beware... and plan a second location into your Picture-Day. A Photographers Equipment is important ( they should have 3 or more Cameras ), but what is more important is the End-Result, and what they are capable of doing with the camera, lenses, lighting, sun, and environment. Posing is also much-overlooked by amateur photographers. Choose a Professional whose style you like, and you can afford. Beware of Photographers who want to sit down with you after the wedding and "Go over Your Album Creation". This is a way to UpSell Your Album, and will turn into a much bigger expense than you had originally planned for. Get everything promised IN WRITING, and never accept a "Verbal Contract". A Verbal Contract means the photographer is looking for a better job that day (Your Day!), and your verbal contract will vanish if they find a better wedding. Plan, Plan, and Overplan your Day. We've seen over 600 Weddings; some over-planned down to every 5 minutes; Some "thrown- together". Believe us... Overplanning looks a lot better!