How can I get to spend more time with guests at my wedding?
One of the most common requests we get from couples when they’re booking their wedding is that they want to get to spend time with their guests rather than their whole drinks reception being taken up by photographs.
While it is unavoidable that you’ll have to spend a portion of time on your wedding day having photos taken, there are ways to maximise the amount of time you get to spend with your guests.
Factor in time for photos and mingling
Obvious answer is obvious… Yes, the first way in which you can allow ample time for both getting great photos and chatting to your guests is to work it into your timings. By having an early ceremony or a later dinner, you can have time for both.
We recommend leaving 1.5 hours for photos, even though it’s unlikely you’ll need this entire amount of time. So, if you have 3 hours between the end of your ceremony and the start of your dinner, you should get a full 90 minutes to chat to your guests.
Don’t be late.
Even if you factor in time for photos and mingling, this can be thrown out of orbit by the ceremony starting late. Because your dinner service is more difficult to move, being late means that time with your guests is often compressed, so it’s a good idea to try to be on time.
Make sure your family and bridal party don’t disappear when photos are Happening.
From experience, family photos can take anywhere between 5 minutes and 30 minutes. The one variable in this time disparity is family members going missing when needed.
This part of the day, often referred to as ‘cat herding’ by our couples can greatly affect the time you get to spend with your guests. Instead of either having photos taken or sipping prosecco with guests, you’ll find yourself waiting around while four people frantically ring your brother.
So, make sure your family know not to disappear off to their rooms, drive away on some bizarre errand or go somewhere to watch the football.
photographs before the ceremony
This is a more recent phenomenon and works especially well in winter weddings where the sun sets early. It starts with a first look, where the couple get to see each other for the first time. Then, we do some couple portraits, followed by shots of the bridal party and families.
There are a couple of advantages to this approach. Firstly, it negates the need for any formal photographs after the ceremony, so you can enjoy your drinks reception in its entirety. It also allows you to have your photos taken when your outfits, makeup and hair have just been freshly done, before hair has been ravaged by wind and suits covered in makeup from too many hugs.
The downside is that it is very weather reliant. In Ireland, with our changeable weather, you may find it pours down in the morning before giving way to glorious sunshine after the ceremony.
PHOTOGRAPHS AFTER Dinner
If you’re getting married in summer and are lucky enough to get a good weather forecast, take advantage of the long summer evenings and do some of your wedding photos at sunset. Not only will this give you more time for mingling earlier in the day, you’ll be having your photos taken during the nicest light of the day.
Book a post-wedding shoot for the bulk of your wedding photos
This is especially popular with couples who are having destination weddings in Ireland. Instead of a full couple portrait session on their wedding day, they have a shorter session which gives them more time to spend with guests. Then, a day or two after the wedding, they go on a longer post-wedding shoot dressed in their wedding clothes.
The advantage to this is that it allows you to get some wedding photos in more exotic locations without having to fret about timings.
PLAN TO HAVE less family photographs
If you want to bring in extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins) the family photographs can end up taking a lot of time – especially as you run into the same problems of people not being available when the photo is being taken.
By keep your family pics confined to immediate family (Parents/Siblings) you can cut down greatly on the time it takes. Extended family shots can be taken candidly in the evening.
Keep speeches short and sweet
In our experience, the time given over to speeches at a wedding is often longer than the entire ceremony. It’s a good idea to tell speakers to keep it brief, or maybe reduce the number of speakers. More recently, couples have opted to do away with speeches altogether.
Visit all of your guests between dinner courses
After each course, it’s a good idea to walk around your reception room and chat to guests at their tables. This makes a great use of time that would otherwise be wasted, and your guests will be delighted to see you call over.
Mingle after dinner
Plan a little time after dinner and before your first dance to spend some time with your guests. During this time, your band or Dj will be setting up their equipment and sound-checking.
This is not only a good time to have a drink and chat with guests, if your photographer is still around, have them grab some photos of you with groups of friends and extended family.
Plan pre and post-wedding events
This works especially well if your wedding is all in the one location. Plan a pre-wedding reception with drinks and nibbles the night before the wedding so that you can get a few hours to chat to everyone.
Increasingly popular is the idea of having a post-wedding party. Many of our couples use the day after the wedding for a bbq or get together. It’s a great way to share memories and photos of the day before. You can even book your photographer to capture these extra celebrations.
Have realistic expectations.
Even with the best intentions, it might be difficult to get to spend time with every one of your guests. For example, if you have 150 guests and spend a minute with each, that is two and a half hours! Instead, focus on collecting as many hugs and sharing as many dances with your guests as possible.
