A shot list from getting ready to the dance floor, family photos without the chaos, fun ideas, and ideas for guests.
Updated · 5 min read·By the DropSnaps team
Quick answer
A good wedding shot list covers getting ready, the ceremony, portraits of the two of you, family and group photos, and the reception: speeches, first dance, cake and the dance floor. Give your photographer the family groups by name, add a few fun ideas with personality, and ask guests to capture the moments the photographer can't.
Questions people ask
What photos should you take at a wedding?
Getting ready, the ceremony (including the walk down the aisle, the vows and the first kiss), portraits of the couple, family and group photos, and the reception: speeches, first dance, cake cutting and the dance floor.
How do you do wedding family photos quickly?
Write the list of groups by name, give it to the photographer and to one organised family member who rounds people up, and start with the biggest group so people can leave as you go.
Your wedding photos are the one thing from the day you'll look at for the rest of your life. A good shot list makes sure nothing important is missed, and a few fun ideas give you photos with personality. This guide covers both, plus how to get the best from your guests' cameras, which catch everything the photographer can't.
The wedding shot list
Share this with your photographer and tick off what matters to you. Most photographers know the essentials, so spend your time on the people and details only you know about.
Getting ready
The dress, suit, shoes and rings laid out
Final touches: buttoning the dress, doing up the cufflinks
Parents seeing the couple dressed for the first time
The wedding party getting ready together
A quiet moment alone before leaving
The ceremony
Guests arriving and the venue before it fills
Walking down the aisle, and the partner's face watching
Exchanging vows and rings
The first kiss
Signing the register
The recessional, and the first moments as a married couple
Confetti
Portraits
The couple together, somewhere meaningful at the venue
A few relaxed, natural shots as well as posed ones
Golden-hour portraits, if the timing allows
Family and group photos
Each side's immediate family
Both families together
Grandparents with the couple
The wedding party
One big group photo of everyone
The reception
The room before guests go in: tables, flowers, the cake
The speeches, and the reactions to them
Cutting the cake
The first dance
The dance floor in full swing
The send-off: sparklers, a getaway car, the last song
How to do family photos without the chaos
Family photos are where wedding timings slip. Three things fix it:
Write the list in advance, with names, and give it to the photographer.
Appoint a group wrangler: an usher or friend who knows the families and calls people over.
Go from biggest group to smallest, so people can leave as they're done, and grandparents first if they tire easily.
Keep it to about ten combinations; more than that eats into your drinks reception.
Fun wedding photo ideas
A first look before the ceremony, for a private moment and calmer nerves.
The wedding party jumping in the air together.
A recreation of an old photo of the two of you.
Your dog in a bow tie, if the venue allows.
The whole wedding party in sunglasses on a sunny day.
A photo with every table during the meal.
A confetti tunnel with all the guests.
Your grandparents' wedding photo, held up next to you.
A kiss at sunset, or under umbrellas if it rains.
Sparklers at the send-off.
A "just married" sign in the getaway car.
The cake topper in a candid moment of its own.
Photo ideas for guests
Your photographer follows you; your guests see everything else. Their photos often become the favourites: the view from table nine, the children on the dance floor, the grandparents at midnight. Give guests some ideas:
The view from where you're sitting during the vows
Candids of the couple when they don't know they're being photographed
Your table and the people you've just met
The dance floor after the photographer has gone home
