Choosing the Right Number of Group Photos for Your Wedding Day?
How many group photos you should have at your wedding so that everyone can be included without taking time away from enjoying the day?
Planning for your wedding can be hectic, but one detail you don’t want to overlook is figuring out the number of group photos you wish to have taken. Having enough group photos ensures everyone who attended can be included and those happy memories will be preserved, but too many group shots can take away from the celebration.
The first step in deciding on your group photos is figuring out what type of photos you would like to capture. Do you want just immediate family, extended family, friends, or all the wedding guests? Consider who is most important to you and make sure they are included. Once you have a list of who should be in your pictures, then you can work out how many photos will be needed to get them all in.
Time Limits for group shots are generally outlined with the venue.
After I’d spoken to several wedding venue’s a rough time is 1 hour from the ceremony, giving the bride and groom time to mingle before group shots and bride and groom portraits. So setting time limits with the venue is vital as well as speaking to your photographer to make sure everyone is aware of what your plan is.
1 quick tip is to have a guest who generally knows everyone so they can help the photographer, maybe even a whistle to grab the guest’s attention.
What you don’t want is uncle Bob and Auntie Sue at the bar ordering a drink when they should be in a group shot.
How many group shots? 10 to 12 max without affecting time. Below we have a general shoot list to give an idea.
B&G + Entire Wedding Guests
B&G + brides parents
B&G + brides parents + siblings
B&G + grooms parents
B&G + grooms parents + siblings
B&G + both parents, siblings & partners + kids
Bride + her GRANDPARENTS (if any)
Groom + his GRANDPARENTS (if any)
B&G + bridal party (bridesmaids, flower girls, best man, ushers, page boys)
Bride on her own + bridesmaids, flower girls
Groom on his own + best man, ushers, page boys
B&G and friends
A conclusion is to plan your group shot list with time limits in mind. This is to be arranged with the wedding venue as well as the photographer, once completed and finalised send a copy to your photographers, and the venue is require.
