Rehearsal coverage the day before the wedding isn’t a new trend – it’s just a great way to iron out lighting or positioning your wedding party during the ceremony. It’s also a great time for us as photographers to meet everyone, including the officiant.
Say hello to Dr. Lamar Smith, the associate pastor for The First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth. We’ve worked with Dr. Smith on many occasions at FUMC, however, the rules for photography at Marty Leonard Chapel are very different than those at his home church. This was a great opportunity for us to coordinate a photographic plan that was both respectful to the ceremony at hand and that yielded amazing results for the bride and groom.
Jamie and Jeff’s wedding party consisted of jaw dropping 28 folks – 12 bridesmaids, 12 groomsmen, 2 flower girls and 2 ring bearers. Because of the size of the bridal party, they stood in two lines along the sides of the altar. This helped me plan accordingly to where I could stand during the processional, ceremony and recessional.
I also knew exactly where the family would be sitting and how I could best focus on them during the ceremony.
I also knew that the light would perfectly hit Jamie during the ceremony and glow off of her beautiful veil.
The rehearsal dinner itself is where we are seeing some new trends. Jamie & Jeff’s dinner was at the spectacular Lonesome Dove restaurant, located in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Our hosts were Jeff’s parents, who rented their patio for the private party.
The guests enjoyed unique appetizers and a 3 course, plated meal.
After dinner, the guests enjoyed a sideshow of Jamie & Jeff’s images from the time they were babies until their engagement portraits.
Here’s where the newest trend is : doing all of your toasts at the rehearsal. That’s right – opening the floor up to toasts not only from your siblings, but your whole bridal party and guests. It’s a great way for larger bridal parties to share their very best anecdotes and to give shyer friends and family a smaller audience to confess their days of being an accomplice to your youthful debauchery.
What do you think? Would you prefer to do toasts on the wedding day or at your wedding rehearsal?