Let your emotions show on your wedding day. Don't hold back any affections if you are hoping for those romantic photos you've seen in magazines. The photographer will have better photo opportunities and much more to work with! Nuzzle each other's neck, touch noses, touch each other on the arm or waist, look into each other's eyes, and take some private moments to "get away" and sneak in a kiss or gaze into each other's eyes. A good photographer will follow you a few of those times atleast and get priceless shots. Be aware of the scenery when you do so. "When doing wedding poses, I try to schedule more time than I think I really need. I also try to get some "alone time" with the couple, since other people tend to distract from the shoot. Carefully compose your shots, and check your composition through viewfinder before shooting. Pay attention to lines, form, shadows and highlights, as well as getting a good exposure for the wedding dress. You want a good "flow" in the composition, so watch the placement of arms and hands. Generally, strong horizontal lines break the flow of a photo, so keep arms more vertically aligned. Finally, the placement of the wedding dress and veil should compliment the overall shape of the bride, rather than distract from it. Dresses often take the form of an S-shape or curve; you should use arrangement, lighting, and other compositional techniques to enhance this look in your photos."
some basic wedding
If you've already started to plan your big day and you've gathered information on some basic wedding costs such as venues, dresses, stationery etc, you'll know that your special day is going to come with a high price tag. But don't panic, there are ways to reduce your budget significantly. See which are of the following could work magic for your wedding budget.
Guest List
OK, so it's your special day the day when you want to show the world that you're beautiful and that you're marrying a great person. One the other hand your budget says that you need to keep the numbers down. Prioritise your guest list so that you have family and close friends as the people you must have there, then extended relatives and old friends that you want to have there, and finally recent friends and work colleagues.
If you're having two events, for example, a sit-down meal then an evening disco, consider reducing your wedding costs by only inviting very close friends and family to the meal, and then everyone you know can come to the night-time event. A sit-down meal is far more expensive in terms of catering, room size, and staff expenses etc, whereas the night-time event can be comparatively cheap so if you don't want to offend anyone, keep the daytime fairly intimate and splash out on the evening.
Venue
With so many places being open for weddings it's a competitive business for the venues. Check out exactly what they offer for what they charge. Don't be afraid to negotiate, this is probably the biggest day of your life and you have every right to have it perfect. Don't forget they want your wedding booking so it's in their interests to offer you incentives to influence your decision. Some venues will offer "extras" such as use of an additional room for the Bride and Groom to change/rest in, or complimentary drink for guests upon arrival. Depending on what you have in mind you could choose a low cost (or even free) venue if you really want to cut costs!
Catering
Food is by far the single most expensive item on your list; however there are ways of reducing your wedding costs. For example:
Instead of the traditional 3-course sit-down meal combine an early timed wedding with a champagne brunch. Alternatively, schedule an afternoon ceremony followed by afternoon tea. Whilst cutting down your costs you'll also have a wedding that's memorable because it offered something different.
With the catering you also need to consider drinks. Choose a venue with a bar where guests can buy their own drinks, saving you hundreds of pounds. When it comes to the toast, make enquiries about taking your own bottles. Cheaper bottles of bubbly can be more expensive than the venue's brand if they charge you a high corkage per bottle.
DIY Wedding
One of the most economical ways of planning a great wedding is to do as much of it as you can yourself (or using the skills/talents of family and friends). Whether it's by making the wedding cake, creating personalized handmade invitations, having an aunt make your wedding dress or employing a friend to play DJ for the night.
The most important piece of advice is to keep to a close eye on your wedding costs. Plan everything carefully, do your research, shop around and don't be afraid to negotiate for a better deal. Where possible, get a fixed written quote that itemises everything your supplier is providing, so you clearly know what you're getting and what you're not. Wedding costs are high, but as you can see, with careful planning and creative thinking, you can have a spectacular day without having the spectacular mass of debts at the end of it.
