Arriving at the Gilbert Power Ranch Clubhouse, all the girls were prepping the decorations and food. It’s fun to watch all the hustle and bustle of activity. Energy high, girls chit chattin’, the tables being glittered up, the sound of high heels clicking about and twirling around. Hah.. We were two days away from Valentine’s Day and what could’ve matched more perfect than a Valentine Day theme?!

Here’s some detail shots of all the fun goodies. . .

A great little addition to the Valentine theme, the girls placed this basket near the door so the guests could sign a valentine when they walked into the party.

We were a little surprised that Joe decided to stop by and drop in on the ladies.

This was a cute poem game that went around the room. After one guest writes a line to start the poem, they would fold the paper over so no one else could see it and continue adding line per line until it reached the bride-to-be.

To go along with Elena’s new attire for the kitchen, by the way . . . one of the cutest aprons I’ve seen . . . she had her family and friends write down their favorite recipes and add them to her collection.

Elena’s mom is as much of a delight to talk to as Elena is. Both beautiful women, inside and out. I totally see where she gets it from!

Elena + Joe are getting hitched this month!!! Yay!

So among the five other lists you have going, you’ve now found a sixth list. One that every wedding website out there seems to suggest that you need to have. The one you probably didn’t think about. What could it be, you ask? It’s the wedding day photography checklist. “Another list?!” you say? “You’re out of your mind!”  I know. Sounds daunting, right?

Between the most common wedding websites, maybe you’ve printed out about five (In case you missed that, I like the number 5.) different versions of wedding shot lists for comparison. Who’s got the most complete list?! Bah!!

There’s so much hype behind the photo list that at this point it has become impossible to ignore. And it shouldn’t be ignored but rather acknowledged and let go of. Seriously. Release it from your grip! Please!? It has no correlation in regards to YOUR wedding.

Wedding Photography Checklist - The Scoop:

It’s simply meant as a reference guide to help you consider what is important to you on your wedding day. Nothing more. Nothing less. Obviously, as a professional wedding photographer, and I think I can speak for my peers in the wedding photography industry, we realize everything that goes into a wedding is important. But there are even more important things that top out the rest. Allow me to clarify what I’m referring to with a few prime examples:

• Personalized touches. i.e. Something blue from Grandma.
• Distant relatives flying in for your wedding.
• DIY details that add a personal touch to your wedding day.
• Guests that might be wheelchair bound, in which case, improvised portrait locations need to be scouted.
• Family traditions of pranking the bride that the best man lost the ring during the ceremony.

Other things to consider telling your wedding photographer:

• Your sister is your Maid Of Honor.
• Aunt and Uncle despise one other.
• Parents need supervision in case they try to reach for a machete should either of them get the chance.
• Names of immediate family members, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and out-of-towners you want included in the portraits.

I hope I’ve been able to shed some clarity on this photo checklist thing. Specifying the personal touches that make your wedding unique will make your list so much more reasonable.

Handing a long, detailed list of those standard photos that a professional Arizona wedding photographer is already aware of will not only hinder their flow and creativity, but you’ll lose out on memories already in the making because they’ll be so concerned about overlooking any detailed shot in that long list.

Was this post helpful? Please let us know by commenting below if there’s anything else you would like to have included in this wedding photography checklist that other brides should consider as extra special moments. What special things are you including in your wedding that you would want your photographer to pay extra attention to?

Six months ago I had photographed their Phoenix backyard wedding. Their love for one another as well as their passion for the great outdoors brought us up to Strawberry Arizona for a beautiful day among the golden flowers that created a blanket of bliss around these two.

With my strange ability to show up early regardless of how hard I try not to, I walked into the Strawberry Lodge, had a seat, and bought myself a blackberry bran muffin. Things were fairly quiet at the lodge, assuming 8:30 am on a Saturday was too early for the locals. As soon as Sharlot and William showed, we took off in one car to cruise the surrounding landscape toward Fossil Creek. An 8 mile roundtrip trail I had hiked only once before. Our intentions were to hike to this gorgeous spot I had discovered well over a year ago but had no clue whether or not it would still be there when we arrived. Sometimes I tend to get these crazy ideas and sometimes my couples come along for the ride. With Sharlot being a park ranger, she was more than up for it.

Before you get too excited, Sharlot wasn’t about to hike in her dress for 8 miles. In fact, she’s the second bride I’ve had who suggested rolling up her dress and smooshing it into a camping bag for a trek through the woods. I do love an adventurous and spirited bride and groom!

Making a long story short, we forewent the strenuous hike that day shortly after discovering this huge patch of yellow flowers to either side of the dirt road we were traveling and decided it was the perfect spot to get out and shoot.