Having your loved ones alongside you on your wedding day is so special! This post will give you the tips and tools + a photographer’s advice on planning this portion of your wedding day. Whether the time you block out for this is big or small, properly planning out your wedding family photos and expressing your priorities / vision will create a meaningful final gallery.
In a rush? Skip straight to the example list.
Your Wedding Photo List – Who to Include
My general advice is to think about who at your wedding is most important to you. Whether this is true family or friends that feel like family, prioritize your closest relationships. Photos with people who have a big presence in your life will be the most meaningful when looking back at your wedding album throughout the coming years. Don’t just copy a traditional list or give into obligatory groupings because you feel like you have to. Remember, this is YOUR day and you have the freedom to plan it however you want to.
How Long Do Wedding Family Photos Take?
While this varies by the size of each grouping, in general, I recommend planning for 1-3 minutes per each group. With this being said, an average family photo list is typically around 15-20 groupings. Setting aside 30 minutes is a great place to start!
Creating your Family Photo List
Below is an example wedding family photo list from my experience as a photographer + a few tips to make your own.
Note: For the sake of this example, I’m using a Bride + Groom couple, but the same applies to LGBTQ+ couples as well.
I support all love ♡
Example Wedding Family Photo List
Use this list as a starting point and the add the names of each family member, so your photographer can easily call them out. This ensures no one is missing from a particular group and clarifies who should/shouldn’t be in the photo.
- Bride’s family:
- Bride and Groom with Bride’s extended family
- Bride and Groom with Bride’s grandparents
- Bride and Groom with Bride’s sister’s family (sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews)
- Bride and Groom with Bride’s immediate family
- Bride with sister
- Bride and Groom with Bride’s parents
- Bride with mom
- Bride with dad
- Both families:
- Bride and Groom with flower girl and ring bearer
- Bride and Groom with both families together (either immediate or extended)
- Bride and Groom with both sets of parents
- Bride and Groom with all siblings
- Groom’s family:
- Bride and Groom with Groom’s extended family
- Bride and Groom with Groom’s grandparents and cousins
- Bride and Groom with Groom’s grandparents
- Bride and Groom with Groom’s immediate family
- Bride and Groom with Groom’s parents
- Groom with mom
- Groom with dad
- Groom with siblings
Bonus Family Photo Tips
If possible, it can be special to have a multi-generational photo such as the groom + his father + his paternal grandfather.
Extended family photos are typically taken after the ceremony, so it’s easiest to check off large groups first while everyone is all together. Be sure to prioritize anyone with a physical limitation such as grandparents or small children. Organizing your list this way is most efficient and provides the best guest experience. After we finish with one family, they are free to go while we continue with the next family.
Try to group all photos that include the bride together. Every time you swap her in and out, we will need to fluff her dress, taking additional time. If you have a large family, really consider who it’s important to get individual photos with vs which people can be combined in a larger group together. Remember, the more groups, the more time we will spend on the portion of the day.
Wedding Family Photos vs Cocktail Hour –
Why Not Choose Both?
Family photos are often taken directly following the ceremony during cocktail hour. If enjoying time with your guests is important and you’d like to attend cocktail hour, consider a first look. This gives you the option to take more of your “formal” photos in the morning and frees up your time for cocktail hour in the evening. If photos before your ceremony isn’t feasible with your wedding day / guests / venue logistics, but you still want to attend cocktail hour, consider extending it an extra 30 mins – 1 hr. Having a longer cocktail hour gives your guests more time to mingle before being formally seated and allows for those quality time moments.
If You Choose to Take Family
Photos Before the Ceremony
Be sure to communicate where, when, and who should be there early. It’s ok to break up your list into a portion both before and after the ceremony. For pre-ceremony photos, include family members who may already be there getting ready with you or people who will be included in multiple family groupings.
Remember that guests will start showing up 30 minutes prior to the ceremony. Unless you have a separate space hidden from arriving guests, plan to finish family photos prior to that 30-min mark. Consider photographing the bride’s family first, so that if the timeline runs late, she can be hidden away.
Conversations to Have with Your Wedding Photographer
As a wedding photographer, I base everything we do on wedding day around your experience. When planning your timeline, we talk in detail about how you want your wedding family photos to look and feel. Here are a few thought-provoking questions to consider –
- Would you prefer that we take these photos quickly and get through your list as efficiently as possible or do you want to take your time with your family and enjoy hugs, giving you more natural, candid moments in between?
- Is there anyone on your list that is extra special to you that you’d like multiple photos with? These can be both formal and informal throughout the day.
- Do you have any specific photo requests – i.e. an ‘old money’ shot with your siblings, a repeat photo that you took at your brother’s wedding, a specific pose that you always do with your friend group?
- Does anyone on your list have a physical limitation that would impact where we can take the photos? Does anyone need to be seated in a chair?
- Are there any family dynamics that I should be aware of – i.e. someone that may try to insert themselves in a photo / request additional photos beyond your list, divorced parents who won’t want to stand next to each other, sensitivity around loved ones who can’t be there?
- Will your dog be a part of your wedding day? If so, is there a specific time slot when he/she will be there?
Additional Informal Photo Requests
Your final wedding gallery should reflect all the people you love, not just close family. Think about anyone else attending your wedding that you’d want a photo of in an informal setting, and we’ll do our best to make it happen. This can include friends from your work, school, hometown, neighbors or even additional family groupings such a solo photo of your parents, your brother’s family, your bestie and her wife, etc. Cocktail hour is a great time to snap these photos as these people will likely be conversing with each other naturally. If we don’t catch them then, we can always get you all on the dance floor together instead.
If You Want Everyone at Your Wedding Photographed
The easiest way is to have your officiant ask everyone to stay at the ceremony site or migrate to a nearby location immediately following the ceremony. We can grab one big group picture and then let your guests head to cocktail hour. If your venue coordinators need to transition chairs and decor from your ceremony site to your reception, this can also be a helpful way to quickly clear guests out of that space.
Another option is to do this during the reception. We can position the wedding couple on the dance floor and the have your DJ call up each table for a quick picture. To make this more fun, we can play an upbeat song in the background and encourage your guests to try and get through every table before the song ends. While some couples prefer going from table to table instead, I don’t recommend this as photos around a table can be awkward spacing-wise, and it’s best to avoid the half eaten dinner plates. If quality time to say hi and thank individual guests is your priority, we can have each table come to you, but in a relaxed way.
The third option for a big group photo is to have everyone join you on the dance floor. This encourages guests to get out of their seats and helps kick off open dancing all together. If you don’t have full reception photography coverage, this can be a great way to get a few quick pics of grandma bustin’ a move while the night is still young.
The Benefit of Hiring a Documentary-Style Wedding Photographer
If this feels like a lot of information to taken in, don’t stress. Yes, we will do our best to plan your perfect day ahead of time, but often the best wedding family photos are ones you didn’t even realize I was taking. I love leaning into the raw, authentic moments that happen organically throughout your day. Then when you see your photos, you’re immediately brought back to a specific moment in time to experience those emotions again and again. What a joy it is to capture both your love and the love of all those around you!
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