Wedding Photo Ideas for the Big Day

Weddings by Ann Leneghan

Written on 31/10/2022

Your wedding day is special. It’s a day to create and capture memories as two people tie the knot in the name of love.

It’s a day to share, not only with the guests on the day, but also with friends and families for years to come through photographs and videos. And that is why your wedding day photography is such an important component of the big day.

Choosing the right professional wedding photographer is a big part of your preparations. Your wedding planner will already have a list of photographers and know their methods and techniques, and help you decide on the right photographer to suit the style of your wedding.

But it’s not only choosing the right photographer that’s important. You should also consider a list of ideas for the photos on your wedding day. We’ve compiled a short list to help get your started.

Wedding Day Photo Ideas

1. Preparation Photos

If you’re looking for traditional style photos then the preparation photos are a great place to start. Images of the Groom and Best Man suiting up, or the Bride and Bridesmaids getting their hair and makeup done are great memories of the start of the day. Jewellery shots also make for a fantastic photo as the bride puts on her earrings and necklace.

2. The Champagne Snap!

Another good early photo to get into your collection is the first glass of champagne. It’s a great image of smiles and cheers to the wedding day and the bride.

3. The Bridal Shoes

The bridal shoe shot is a traditional photo, and makes for a great staged photo with other bridal garments and accessories in the shot, such as the perfume bottle.

4. Wedding Flowers

The wedding flowers play a huge part in the theme of the day, and certainly deserve to be in the photos either on their own or as part of other photos.

5. The Church or Ceremony Room before guests arrive

With the Church or Ceremony room all setup and ready to go, make sure you get a few photos of the venue before the guests arrive!

Bridal Shoe Photography Lanzarote Weddings

6. The Arrival of the Bride

As the bride leaves the car and enters the church or venue, be sure to get a photo of this precious moment. It’s all smiles (and maybe a few nerves) and these shots create timeless memories. It’s also important to get these images caught on camera as the Groom won’t see these moments at that time.

7. The Groom in Waiting

Just as with the bride arriving, photos of the groom and best man waiting at the altar are a must for the wedding photo book. For similar reasons as above, the bride won’t see this on the day so the photos are a great way for her to see what was going on outside of the bridal bubble on the day.

8. The Groom seeing the bride for the first time

The absolute money shot for any wedding is the first time the Groom sees the bride. This reaction is priceless and without a doubt one of the biggest photo opportunities of the day.

9. Altar Shots

Of course, photographs during the ceremony are an absolute must. From walking down the isle, to the ceremony and exchange of the rings, a good wedding photographer will be discretely snapping non stop during the ceremony.

First Kiss Wedding Photography Lanzarote

10. The first kiss

As newly weds, the first kiss is the the start of the rest of the married life for the couple and what better way to capture it than with a photo. Once the vows are done and the rings exchanged, it’s time to celebrate the marriage with the first kiss.

11. Signing the Register

A traditional photo opportunity, if ever there was one, is the signing of the register. As the Bride and Groom take it in turns to write their signature the photographer will be on hand to snap away and capture the moment.

12. Confetti

Everyone loves a confetti photo! As the bride and groom exit the church or venue Confetti shots are full of smiles and creative license. The confetti, mid air, adds such a spectacular feature to the photo and is surely one of the shots of the day.

13. The Newly Weds

Photographs of the newly weds before the reception are a long standing tradition. They can be taken in the grounds of the venue and either take a classic approach or styled around an interest, heritage or career of the individuals. Examples of Newly Wed photos might be stood under an archway, in a field, ‘under the veil’ shots or if you want to get a little more creative why not include features such as smoke bombs, wire lighting effects and more.

The newly wed shots will often also include shots of the groom, best man, Page boys and Bride and Bridesmaids and of course, family, relatives and close friends.

This is usually a dedicated photo session and your wedding photographer will provide you with ideas and opportunities to capture some great memories of the day.

14. The Candid Shots

Another great way to create memories of the day is to have the photographer go around getting candid photos of your guests whilst they enjoying themselves. Photos full of smiles and laughter, whilst caught unaware of the photographer, are great additions to the wedding album.

This is just a short list of potential photo opportunities and ideas, but the reality is the opportunities are endless. A good wedding photographer will understand their brief and capture the once in a lifetime, in the moment, shots that will serve as timeless memories of your wedding day. And of course, trends are changing all the time. For example, right now a hugely popular photo opportunity at the moment is the "first look"..this is where the groom comes to see the Bride before the Ceremony, or vice versa and they get to soak in the emotion of the "first look" in private, with only the photographer present.