Wedding Day Group Portraits Guide
Planning your wedding is a little nutty. You’re supposed to learn enough about a whole slew of different things in a short amount of time, in order to make good decisions for a one-day-only event that will be a defining part of your marriage. Our goal is to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with the decisions that involve photography, by giving you good, solid advice that makes these choices a whole lot easier. One of the big ones that can cause some stress? Group portraits.
The Importance of Group Portraits
Just about every wedding day from tiny to huge and grand, will set aside time to dedicate to a series of traditional group portraits in the classic smiling-at-the-camera sense. Even if you’re aiming for a very candid and relaxed overall affair, group portraits are usually a special exception that your families will be pretty keen on having. After all, how often do you gather these specific people looking their very best? Preserving these groups is a worthy priority but it can definitely feel a little taxing, so we’ve perfected a planning system for making these as fun, efficient, and stress-free as possible.
Planning Your Groupings
Group portraits fall into two categories: FAMILY (generally primarily immediate family, sometimes extended or friends), and WEDDING PARTY (aka attendants, bridal party, etc). So which family groupings should I add to my list? Here are some basic guidelines on creating a great groupings list that will be efficient, fun, and get you and your family back to your party, fast:
- We’ll use this list in an active way on the day, calling out names, so we need their actual names on the list!
- I know your mom may have some input on the groups she thinks you should do, but be prepared to veto anything redundant or that would compromise your experience.
- Stay intentional about the order of your list: Start with the largest groups so we can get them back to the party fast, and narrow down from there.
- Note that people with limited-mobility or kids with short attention spans might need to be at the top of the list.
Standard Grouping Recommendations
Here are our 10 standard grouping recommendations to consider for your list:
- Couple + partner 1’s parents and siblings (and sometimes grandparents and/or siblings’ spouses)
- Couple + partner 1’s grandparents
- Couple + partner 1’s parents
- Partner 1 + their parents (sometimes also each individual parent)
- Partner 1 + their siblings (sometimes also each individual sibling)
- Couple + partner 2’s parents and siblings (and sometimes grandparents and/or siblings’ spouses)
- Couple + partner 2’s grandparents
- Couple + partner 2’s parents
- Partner 2 + their parents (sometimes also each individual parent)
- Partner 2 + their siblings (sometimes also each individual sibling)
And here are some groups that are occasionally added:
- Couple + both sets of parents (or both immediate families)
- Couple + Extended family (aunts/uncles/cousins/godparents/etc)
- Couple + Nieces & Nephews
- Couple + All guests (requires us to shoot from a balcony or have the venue provide a ladder)
- Either partner + friend group (college friends/work friends/church friends/etc)
- Couple + Officiant
Timing and Efficiency
We average two minutes per group, so when you make your list, you’ll see it can add up fast. A shot of just you and your mom may only take thirty seconds, but normally there’s some hair-fixing and adjustments that ends up taking up a bit of time. Keep in mind that the more groups you add, the longer it will take and the more frenzied the experience can feel for you. Be very purposeful when you make your list, so that at the end of the day you feel really glad to have prioritized your limited wedding day time toward the preservation of those you gathered together.
| Group Type | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
| Smaller groups | 1 minute |
| Average group | 2 minutes |
| Larger groups | 3 minutes |
| Really big groups | At least 5 minutes |