What do you do during dinner?

WHAT DO YOU DO DURING DINNER?

A common question for wedding photographers is: what do you do during dinner? Introductions are made into the reception, toasts are made, and then dinner is served. Let’s be honest: no one wants their picture taken while they are trying to eat. That just gets awkward – no one seems to know what to do! Do I keep eating and pretend I can’t see the photographer? Do I stop and smile? Why are they interrupting this delicious food? [at least, that’s usually my thought when someone tries to take my photo while I’m eating!]

Every photographer handles that space of time differently – some take a much needed break, most try to grab something to eat themselves [don’t forget to feed your photographers!], but for the most part, it’s down-time.

For myself, I choose to fill that down-time with one of my favorite surprises of the day! I always talk about it in meetings with my brides & grooms and explain what I do during dinner, and if you are reading this, than obviously you have a heads up as to what I do. However, I promise, on the day of your wedding – you will not remember this conversation! There is simply too many other things going on for you to remember this little thing I’m about to explain – I promise!

So, as dinner is being served, I tuck myself away in a corner of your reception, with my laptop, and I begin uploading your wedding images.
Looking through what I’ve captured has two purposes:
1. I can look back over your day and make sure I haven’t missed anything! Let’s be honest, sometimes crazy things happen and “normal” things get missed! When I sit down to look through the images from the day, I can make sure that I covered everything I needed to, and if I notice something I’ve missed, I have time through the rest of the reception, to make sure I grab that photo.
2. It allows me to pick my favorite 20-30 images and I create a quick slideshow! I choose images that I feel best tell the story of your day so far – from getting ready and details, to the ceremony, to formal photos – and I pop them into a slideshow on my laptop.

How amazing is seeing wedding day images – on your wedding day – at your wedding? The way I see it, I’m a digital photographer and we live in a digital age, so why not? I take my laptop, and after taking it to the bride & groom an allowing them to see it first, set it up somewhere where your guests will see it – typically near the bar. And then I let the slideshow play for the rest of the evening! Your guests will swoon over seeing beautiful images so quickly and you simply won’t believe how exciting it is to see how gorgeous your day has been, through my eyes.