Common Wedding Day Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

As a season wedding attendee, we understand that you want your wedding day to be Flawless and Perfect. After devoting countless hours, weeks and months planning every little detail, it’s natural that your emotions are off the charts – it’s perfectly normal and it's perfectly fine as well - we understand and you are not alone! The truth is: There is no such thing as a “Perfect” wedding and you’ll never be able to control every single aspect of how it will unfold. Even the most organized and well-coordinated events may encounter a few bumps here and there in the road. Don’t allow them to ruin your day of celebration and love! As with any negative situation in life, the key is to staying calm and creating a backup plan to ensure you’re well prepared for anything. The good news is there are always ways you can address and solve any bumps in the road by preparing in advance. Here are some of the common wedding day mistakes and how to solve them:

Scenario 1: Not Having a back-up plan on a rainy wedding day

We remember how we checked the weather forecast every single day during the week of each of our couples' weddings in the hope that it won't be a rainy day. However, even with the weather forecast, since you're living in Montreal, you should know how unpredictable the weather is. To our disappointment, sometimes the weather forecast stayed the same until the very day of the wedding. Instead of sitting there not doing anything and being annoyed, it is always more ideal to have a back-up plan.

If your wedding is outdoor, start asking for your wedding planner or venue to prepare tents if it will be raining. It is always a good idea to have clear umbrellas for the bridal party and the guests.

You can’t fight the weather, and instead of avoiding it, you can turn it into a natural, beautiful and romantic element of your wedding day. I am sure you've already seen some stunning wedding pictures on a rainy day.  

As a wedding photographer, I can testify that clear umbrellas add an extra touch of romance into your wedding photographs, and a rainy city can turn into a stunning romantic backdrop for your wedding portraits.

How to Avoid It: Consult with your wedding photographer to come up with rain photo plan well in advance of the day if you’re concerned. Here at Luxury Moment Photography, we actually plan the wedding day with our couples accordingly to ensure that everything is well prepared and discussed before your wedding day.

Scenario 2: Surviving the Formal Family Portrait Session

Family portraits can turn into one of the most stressful sections of your wedding day if you do not time them properly. Our go-to solution is to dedicate a good 30 to 45 mins if possible for formal family photos as we know these things tend to run late. Nobody wants to spend their cocktail hour taking pictures if they don’t have to, and it’s natural that your family and guests want to start the celebration as soon as the ceremony is over. That is why it’s very important to discuss what group photo combinations you’d like and send a list to one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen in advance of the day so that they can make sure to gather all the family and group members and also forward a list to your wedding photographer so we can plan the estimated time needed for family session. Make sure your family is informed about the time and location for family photos, so that everyone is on the same page. Once handled properly, trust me, family photos can be a breeze.

How to Avoid It: Discuss your family group portraits with your wedding photographer and calculate how much time you’re going to need. We often allocate 5 minutes for each group and, depending on the size, expect to have at least 30 minute dedicated to just family photos in your wedding photography schedule. It’s also very helpful to have someone from your family or wedding party to act as a grandma wrangler while we are taking photos. This way everyone can have a great time taking photos and not be worried about missing their cocktail hour.

Scenario 3:  Not Having Enough Time for Photos

Speaking of timing. Timing your wedding photography schedule is the key for a stress-free wedding. You don’t want to rush everything and give up your precious photography time. Weddings usually run late based on our experience, and that is the reason why at Luxury Moment Photography, we actually plan the wedding day timeline with our couples to ensure to have lot's of buffer. It’s also important to allocate reasonable travel time from one location to another, and ALWAYS count for a worse case scenario (TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC AND TRAFFIC IN MONTREAL). This way you’re giving yourself some buffer time – it’s always better if we end up having more time for photos than planned. How to Avoid It: It always comes down to time-management. We always make sure to meet with our couple one month in advance, before their wedding day to go over the draft timeline we have designed and prepare for them to make sure that we did not missed any important element or events of the day. While there is no one size fits all for wedding day schedules, here's a brief sample wedding day timeline for your reference:  

– Have 1 hour for groom getting ready photos – Have 1.5 - 2 hours for bride getting ready photos – Have at least 30 -45 mins for formal family portraits – Have at least 30 - 45 mins for bridal party photos – Have at least an 1 hour for bride and groom photos (If you have video, please add at least 30 mins to this section).

Scenario 4: All Major Roads Are Closed

It’s no news that the City of Montreal is prone to road closures due to construction, major events, marathons and general maintenance especially in the summer-time. They even say that there are only two seasons in Montreal: winter and construction. Once I had a wedding that involved standing 30 minutes in traffic due to Champlain Bridge being closed for repairs. Luckily, our bride informed all her vendors and guests and we were able to count that in into our wedding day planning.

How to Avoid It: Make sure to check with your city’s main website or Waze the day before your wedding day to see if there are any major closures on your wedding day and account for it in your wedding timeline. It is also a good idea to let your guests know so they can plan their transportation ahead of time. You don’t want your family members to be late for your ceremony – something they were looking forward to witnessing for months! Also, check the official government website for any updates on major events such as street festivals, marathons and parades as they might affect your commute time as well.

There’s no such thing as a “perfect” wedding day, but one thing is for sure: your wedding photos can be! And the only way to do so it is really by preparing for all possibilities and communicate with your wedding photographers. Another advice is, it is always good to hire an experienced wedding planner to plan all the little details for you. With proper planning and scheduling, your entire wedding photography process can be so much fun. And lastly, don’t sweat the small stuff. Too often we see couples get so wrapped up in the details that the focus shifts from the celebration of love and unity to a fixation on the ‘stuff’ of a wedding. It’s a once-in-a lifetime moment, so sit back, have fun and be present.

Be sure to contact us if you got recently engaged and still searching for your wedding photographers, videographers and Photo Booth.

Welcome to our Montreal wedding photography blog. Please visit our wedding portfolio here and my engagement portfolio here.  We are an international award-winning, published Montreal wedding photographer also specializing in portrait, corporate, maternity and boudoir photography and deeply passionate about destination weddings. We shoot primarily in the Greater Montreal and Toronto area but also love traveling for work! Some destinations we have shot in are Quebec and colorful Mexico as well as California, Las Vegas/Nevada, New Orleans, and Asia. Since 2016, we have shot over 100 weddings and continue to love what we do so very much. When you’re always surrounded by love, happiness, and contagious, happy energy, what’s not to love?  We are currently booking for 2021 weddings, so message us soon with any inquiries you may have about your portrait or wedding photography. Contact us here or email us info@Luxurymomentphotography.com.

Much Love,

Luxury Moment Photography