One of the aspects that photographers want most, more than anything...more than the best equipment, or a vibrant couple, or even more money, is TIME.  Photographers need time to capture all the romantic and memory worthy shots that truly tell your love story.  As funny as it sounds, it is important to build TIME into your wedding day time line.  Time allows a photographer to look at the big picture, adjust for lighting, view different angles, and scope out interesting backgrounds.  

When interviewing our couples for photo shots, 5 categories seem to apply:  Ceremony, Candids, Formals, Reception, and Romantics.  Can you guess which category couples choose as their most important?  The Romantics.  It is difficult, if not impossible to capture romantic shots during the ceremony and reception.  Most romantics are taken with the couple by themselves, without a lot of guests watching and snapping their own cell phone pics.  Romantics are a time alone for just the couple to take in their wedding day, the celebration occuring, the union they have become, and just breathe.  It's the photo that gets blown up and sets on their bed side table, the one that captures the entire wedding day in one frame.  The one photo that they turn to that re-ignites the love between them.  

Before the ceremony even starts, a long day of set up, getting ready, prodding and primping has occurred.  What better way to blow off some steam, and of course, have it captured for future nostalgia, then to have a bit of picture-taking fun.  Here are some shots of past wedding parties shaking off the jitters.  I love how shoes are sometimes, "optional."  : )