THINGS THAT A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER LOOKS FOR IN A WEDDING VENUE

April 17th, 2021

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I wanted to go ahead and state that this isn’t an end-all-be-all list of tips for choosing your wedding venue. This is more of how my team sees things as we go throughout the day at different wedding venues that we’ve been to in past weddings. All venues have pros and cons so be sure to ask lots of questions. This article can simply help guide brides to allow for the best photographs to be captured. 

GETTING READY LOCATION 

The room or area that a bride or groom gets ready in should have rich natural light coming in through the windows. An experienced wedding photographer will go in and move things around to get you into the best light possible. If they aren’t moving everything around they should have adequate flash to compensate but natural lighting is always best. 

Make sure that you or your bridesmaids stage the getting ready space. What I mean by stagging is ready to photograph. You can do this by trying to keep any bags or extra stuff in one location or another room if possible. This will help to declutter the room and make for a gorgeous backdrop in your wedding day photos. I also recommend that all brides have their accessories ready to go for when the photographer gets to the venue. Put them into one bag or box and be prepared to give them to your photographer upon arrival so she/he can capture the details. 

LIGHTING THROUGHOUT THE DAY

One of the biggest things that affect photography and the style of photography is the light that the photographer has to work with. It’s hard to manipulate light to get a specific style if the light doesn’t favor it. Usually, the best time for your wedding ceremony is four hours before sunset depending on the time of year. The light starts to get softer and warmer, which is flattering for anyone and everyone.

It’s important to keep in mind how things will look at your ceremony site during your ceremony time. There are venues where the light is utterly blinding during ceremony time, others are half-lit and cast in shadows, and then there are some that are covered completely in the shadow of the venue or nearby building.

RAINY DAY WEDDING CEREMONY BACKUP

I think it goes without saying, but it rains a lot in South Carolina during specific times of the year. Sometimes things can get pretty crazy when it comes to the weather. It’s always good to have a rainy day plan. The weather can be unpredictable, so plan to look into what the venue does for a backup in the case of rain.

When you see their backup location, ask yourself if this is something that you’re okay with for having your wedding ceremony. If your answer is a solid no, then I’d recommend looking elsewhere (depending on what time of year you’re having the wedding). Of course, if you don’t like the backup plan, then maybe consider getting a tent for the night.

SPACE FOR WEDDING PORTRAITS

There are plenty of venues that have a ridiculous amount of opportunities when it comes to wedding portraits. In some places, the photographs practically take themselves. Regardless of where you getting married, a photographer always looks at things with a specific eye. They try to think of things like lighting, patterns, lines, and repetition. For us, we always look at symmetry and framing a portrait before anything happens.

Location, timing, and lighting are some of the most important things that we take into account before and during the wedding day. Finding the right location for the portraits that we want to photograph is a top priority for a photographer. We only want the best for our couples, after all.  

LOGISTICS FOR WEDDING GUESTS AND VENDORS

It’s very easy to look at a wedding venue and not completely understand how much space you have. Especially, when you aren’t involved in the logistics of wedding planning.

The reason we observe the space is to make sure that there is a location for light stands. We want to make sure that we have enough space to have everything set and ready to go when you are. We don’t want to waste your time, let alone make you wait.

AIR CONDITIONING

In South Carolina, it gets ridiculously hot in the summertime. Like to the point where people stick to indoor weddings to avoid the heat or simply don’t get married during certain months. That being said, we’ll prepare accordingly to ensure our safety and health. Some outdoor wedding venues close down for July and August because it just gets too hot.  

For your guests though, we do recommend that there’s plenty of water. The last thing that you want is for people to pass out from heat exhaustion throughout your wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, or wedding reception.

SECURE SPACE TO LEAVE GEAR

Having a secure place to store our gear is something that is often overlooked at wedding venues. It’s a small gesture, but it has a resounding effect on vendors. When venues treat vendors well they’ll sing praises to all couples. A prime example of that is the. They always take care of the vendors working the events there, so we’ll always take care of them.

If there isn’t a place to store our gear, then we usually leave it near the DJ or band, since they’re in a stationary location. They tend to be vigilant when it comes to gear.  

CONCLUSION

Not all wedding venues are created equally. When talking about what a photographer looks for in a wedding venue, there are several things that we look at. Lighting, location, photo opportunities, air conditioning, and safety. All of these things come together to give us a genuine impression of a venue, and something that we can safely recommend for a couple’s special day.