2019 was the first time I got the opportunity to photograph a beautiful winter wedding! Magic is in the air in December and it was such a special time of the year to be asked to photograph the wedding of Avril and Greg Cawthorne. But whilst magical, winter weddings come with their own set of considerations and preparations for the couple, guest and suppliers to make sure you get the photographs you will truly love for years to come. Here are my top tips to help you get everything ready in advance;
- Wrap up warm
Seems like a silly thing to mention, but sleeveless wedding dresses and strappy shoes don’t provide the best warmth. A white t-shirt underneath a cotton shirt can make a huge difference to the comfort of suit wearers. The good news is, there are so many beautiful options to keep you warm during a winter wedding! From cloaks to fluffy jackets and lovely alternative bridal footwear, you should be able to still feel like a million dollars without getting hypothermia.
2. Do couples shots early in the day
If your plan involves getting lots of couples shots outside in the daylight, make sure you plan for them nice and early in the day. With the sun setting at around 4pm you won’t have much time after a 1pm ceremony to get those precious shots outside. The bonus of winter is the golden hour is much earlier in the day so those lovely glowy golden sun photos can make for some stunning images.
3. Atmosphere
In December the light is low, and whilst a little trickier to shoot than other times of the year, this gives you the perfect opportunity to make the most of all your decor. Candles, fairy lights and glitter always look beautiful in photographs but in winter, you have the added bonus of more hours to have them featured in your photos. When setting up your venue, it may be worth considering where your main photos will be taken, such as during the ceremony and focusing on adding extra lights and decorations to those areas.
4. Sparklers instead of confetti
Late in the day ceremony? Want photos of you leaving the ceremony with your guests too? Sparklers! Winter is definitely the time to get the most amazing shots with sparklers, fairy lights, glow sticks and other glowy accessories.
5. Mud.
Let’s face it, December could be a dice roll on the weather. For outdoor photos, consider alternative footwear such as some posh wellies or Doc Martins so you don’t destroy your expensive shoes. Heels and dress shoes can be slippy underfoot and are not waterproof. Also, umbrellas and a mat to stand are always handy to have on stand-by. For long trained dresses, it’s always a good call to have a bridesmaid/bridesman, groomsman/woman on stand-by to assist and kept sludge off your lovely clothes, Having a back-up location for outdoor shots too is important too just incase your first choice turns into a sludge pit during the day.
6. Snow!
You may be lucky and get snow at your winter wedding! What could be more magical? It’s my dream to one day photograph a snowy wedding. But with snow, sometimes comes slush…..and cold…..so much cold. If you have chosen an outfit for being inside by an open fire inside, make sure you bring something warm for outside shots.
7. Keep it close
When picking your venue, picking a place with minimal travel is always a good call for guests and suppliers, A sudden turn in the weather could mean guests getting stuck in traffic or a car not being able to make it up a hill. Keeping your day at one location or choosing a reception venue very close to your church will make your day much more stress-free.
8. Hot drinks
If you plan to take shots outside at any point in the day, a lovely hot cup of coffee or tea will go much further than a beer jacket to keeping you warm. If you don’t plan to have your caterers provide hot drinks for everyone, bringing a flask of tea or coffee with you is a good idea.
9. Red face
As beautiful as the outdoors is in winter, red-face from the cold and wind is absolutely a possibility no matter how good your make-up is. And red face can’t really be photoshopped out…. To save you from this problem, minimise your time outdoors and make sure your outdoor shots are planned well in advance. Venues will often allow you to visit beforehand with your photographer to look around and plan the shots.
10. Christmas decorations
For some people, the addition of Christmas lights and glitter adds just the thing they want to their photos, but for others, Christmas is not the aesthetic they want for their photos. Churchs and venues often have decorations dotted around so just make sure you scout these out beforehand so they can be avoided (or added!) to the backgrounds of your photos depending on your choice.
