Picture-snapping is a must at weddings, and many brides come to their wedding photographers with picture posing styles they saw and liked from magazines and on social media. The photographers also have their own standard order of photography and a list of posing styles, some of which the bride may not like. Many newlyweds regret they never snapped pictures in some of the poses they dreamed of. To give you more ideas about wedding day picture posing styles, take a look at the checklist below:
(LIST) Order of Wedding Pictures
Whether or not your photographer asks you for ideas of your must-take photos, simply print out this wedding photography checklist or order of photography and show it to him/her at least 1 week before your wedding. Some couples choose to have a friend or family member cover their wedding photography and not a professional photographer. If that’s how you’re going, you need to print the order of photography below and hand to that person or someone else to use to keep everyone organized during photo snaps on your big day. See the standard order of wedding pictures and photography poses checklist template below.
1. Wedding Day Picture-Taking Ideas and Poses
- Bride’s gown on a hanger
- Bride’s Shoes
- Groom’s shoes
- Bride fixing hair & applying makeup
- Bride dressing up, with her mom or chief bridesmaid or helping her out
- Back view of the bride in her wedding gown
- Bride, photoshoot of her dress’ back detail
- Groom dressing up, bestman helping him
- Bride leaving home/hotel for the joining (solemnization) ceremony, and getting inside the car
- Groom leaving home/hotel for the ceremony, and getting inside the car
- Wedding car
- Reception site being set up
2. Before the Wedding Ceremony (Order of Photography)
- Bride alone (in wedding gown)
- Groom alone (in suit/ tuxedo)
- Groom with bestman
- Bride with Chief Bridesmaid/ maid of honor
- Bride with all bridesmaids
- Groom with groomsmen
- Ring bearer and flower girl
- Bride with her mother
- Bride with her father
- Bride with her parents
- Groom with his parents
- Bride and groom with bride’s parents
- Bride and groom with groom’s parents
- Bride and groom with both all parents (his & hers)
SEE ALSO: Common Photography Mistakes & 10 Tips to Avoid Them
3. During the Joining/ Solemnization Inside the Worship House/ Church (Order of Photo-Shots)
- Church/ wedding ceremony location (with guests arriving)
- Ushers escorting guests to their seats
- Parents entering (bride’s, groom’s)
- Bride’s mother getting seated or being ushered down the aisle
- Groom’s parents getting seated or being ushered down the aisle
- Flower girl, ring bearer walking down the aisle
- Groom walking down the aisle
- Groom and groomsmen at the altar (waiting for the bride)
- Bridesmaids waiting for the bride
- Bridesmaids walking down the aisle
- Bride and her father walking down the aisle
- The wedding party (all groomsmen, all bridesmaids, flower girl, ring bearer) at the altar
- Special guests watching the ceremony
- Photo of the altar, during the ceremony
- Bride & groom exchanging rings
- Bride & groom exchanging vows
- Couple kissing
- Signing the wedding register/ certificate
- Close-up shot of wedding rings in the bride’s and groom’s hands
- Bride and groom leaving the church/ worship house/court
- Bride and groom entering the car
- Bride and groom inside the car
SEE ALSO: Nigerian Traditional Wedding Checklist for Planning Marriage Introduction
MORE: White Wedding Checklist of Things to Do and When
4. Before the Wedding Reception (List of Photos to Snap)
- Bride and groom’s hands
- Bridesmaids looking at bride’s ring
- Bride alone
- Groom alone
- Bride and groom
- Bride and her father
- Bride and her mother
- Groom and his mother
- Groom and his father
- Bride and both her parents
- Groom and both his parents
- Bride and groom with bride’s parents
- Bride and groom with groom’s parents
- Bride and groom with all parents (his, hers)
- Bride with all bridesmaids
- Groom with all groomsmen
- Bride and groom with bestman and chief bridesmaid/ maid of honour
- Bride and groom with the entire wedding party (i.e. bridesmaids + groomsmen + flower girl + ring bearer)
- Group picture with siblings, with extended family (aunties, uncles, etc.)
- Group picture with friends
- Group picture with special guests
READ & BE WISER: Real Story of Wedding Day Photography Dissappointments
5. At the Reception Venue (Checklist of Photos to Take)
- The reception venue, the decorations
- Table settings
- The Wedding cake
- Parents (bride’s & groom’s) seated
- Couple arriving at the reception venue
- Couple seated
- Couple’s first dance
- Couple cutting the cake
- Couple feeding each other cake
- Bride, groom toasting
- Bride throwing the bouquet
- Couple dancing
- Couple leaving the reception
NOTE for Photographers and Couples: The above order of photographs is just a guide and not a rule. You do not have to use all of the wedding photo poses listed above. Instead, pick and choose what you want.
How to Get the Wedding Photo Poses You Want
Every bride (and groom) dreams of having a glamorous wedding photo album to show others after the wedding. Do you know that how you pose for your wedding photos play a big role in how your photos turn out? Every week, many couples are disappointed by the photos after their weddings – most complain of how their poses ruined the pictures. Planning to give your photographer a list of your must-take wedding poses/ posing styles will ensure that they don’t disappoint, especially if you won’t be hiring the top but very expensive professionals. With our downloadable and printable photography checklist of best wedding poses below, you can get any good street-side photographer to deliver you photos that look like what you see on ovation magazine and bellanaija. Take charge of your wedding day memories – get ideas and inspiration from the order of wedding photography listed at the beginning of this post.
Most brides, after their wedding, tell of how fast everything went and how they didn’t “see” some ‘expected’ photos of their wedding day events. And, sometimes, brides were disappointed that their wedding photographer did not capture “that” vital shot. Here’s what to do instead – once you’ve chosen a wedding photographer, sit down with this person to discuss the type of photographs you’d like him/ her to take on your big day.
If you have any list of posing styles you want to replicate on your wedding day, feel free to share them with your photographer. Professional photographers are happy to incorporate your ideas into their standard photo list of snapshots and expect you to tell them. In fact, some will even ask you.
Other Helpul Wedding Planning Checklists
- Wedding Day Emergency Checklist template
- ALL Our Wedding Planning Templates (Printable PDFs – Download them)
- 21 Things to Do When Preparing for a Wedding in Nigeria
Take Charge to Preserve Your Wedding Day Memories
The celebrity wedding picture you see on glossy magazines were pre-planned – download and print the above photography checklist template and give it to your photographer. Your wedding photos will last a lifetime. Your wedding day will come and go but the photos will stay with you, and so you owe it to yourself to ensure that you will have the very best photography.
After your wedding, the pictures are the only things you’ll have to “relive” your wedding day. Don’t give in to chances and assumptions that your photographer knows what is most important to you. Most expert photographers use a photo-shot list but you’ll be safer to have yours, just in case. And if your photographer is from down your street, it’s not an excuse for you not to get your wedding captured like celebrity weddings you always see on magazines. So go ahead and download and print this wedding photography checklist template.
So, tell me in the comments below – what are your two best wedding day photo poses that you see on the magazine covers or websites and must have on your big day?
I am a bride to be and I need help pls…….I need help on a 2month wedding planning
Hi Foyinsolami, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. My answer would depend on whether you want to plan/ organize the wedding yourself OR would be hiring a wedding/ event planner. ALSO, is it white wedding only OR white plus traditional wedding?
In any case, given that time is very short, IF you can afford it, hire a wedding planner and pass all the legwork and headaches to them.
BUT, IF YOU WANT TO PLAN IT YOURSELF, below are some helpful tips to still organize a nice wedding in just two months:
-Decide how much you guys want to spend on your wedding
-Break down that amount to assign cost to different wedding areas – we have a typical wedding expenses list here (click). *Use our percentage guide to breakdown your wedding budget (click).
-First thing first: Find and book a venue as fast as you can (you may need to pay part or full in advance, to avoid disappointment)
-Start looking for and booking vendors right away (some may need some upfront payment) – photographer(s), video coverage vendor(s), caterers/ cake baker, makeup artist, venue decorator, DJ/ live band etc.
-Buy/ rent your wedding gown. If you’ll be sewing, quickly buy fabrics and send to your tailor. Target to have him/ her sew them within the next 2 weeks.
**You don’t have much time to do a detailed planning, and I think that it’s not really necessary to plan with the traditional wedding checklist (as that may overwhelm you). JUST KEEP YOUR PLANNING SIMPLE, no clutter, no drama, and YOUR WEDDING WOULD STILL TURN OUT FABULOUS.
**To help quickly find vendors near your wedding venue, ask the venue people or your church or worship house or the first set of vendors you hire – they usually know.
*Finally, be relaxed, do not stress, do not fret – your wedding will be fine.
All the best.
I am really enthralled by this website and the much details on it. But as an intending bride who needs much of this information, I am not happy that I can’t print details from this website.
For instance when I tried printing, all the pages were blank.
Please why is this so? It is not in the best interest of those of us who do not have ulterior but good motives.
Thank you.
Welcome to NaijaGlamWedding blog, Kehinde. Thanks for your cool feedback. I am so sorry about that. Don’t worry, you can get the printable version of our wedding photography checklist by clicking here (it’s number 6). On that page, you will also find loads of our other FREE wedding planning templates that you can download and print for your own use – we provided them all to make planning a wedding easier for NaijaGlamWedding brides and grooms.
Thank you very much for your prompt and timely response. This is impressive.
Now, I am able to print the lists I need.
God bless you!
Awesome! You’re welcome, Kehinde. I am here for you and all brides-to-be; this blog is here to help you plan your wedding like a pro. Be sure to subscribe by email and follow us on social media. God bless you too.