Hey brides!  After choosing your photographer, you will most likely work alongside them to create the best timeline for photos on your big day.  This is really important because it will help the photographer to get an idea of where to be, what time the major events are happening through out the day, and carve out the best time for the portraits of you and your love!  It also helps us photographers with knowing where the light will be and how we have to adjust in case we need to take photos in bright noon sunlight or during sunset at the beach.  

I'm going to outline some of the more important photography moments that should be worked into your timeline.  However, take note that it all depends on how long you contracted your photographer for, where you are getting married, and other factors. 

Getting Ready 

Ah, the getting ready shots!  These are my favorite to start the day with.  If they can be worked in, I highly recommend it!  If you're pressed for time, shave off an hour of the reception coverage for these, trust me, you will not regret it!  It's a quiet time when you and your girls or perhaps just you are getting ready and can really soak in the day.  At this time, I usually take advantage of photographing the dress, shoes, jewelry,  and any other important detail the bride has chosen for her day.

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I also love to get candid shots of the bride with her family and friends and allow things to flow and just happen.  Sometimes we get the best emotional photos out of these moments.  

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This time also allows me to get photos of just the bride alone right after she's done getting ready.  It's such a special time to just breath and take a look in the mirror  and get excited! I love being with brides during this time.

Oh, sometimes we get shots of the grooms getting ready too ;)

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Bride & Groom Portraits / First Look

I love to do have the bride and groom do a first look after the Getting Ready shots.  It makes for a more impactful surprise and during this time there are guests around which makes it truly special for the couple.  They are alone, together, for the first time the entire day.  After the portraits, the couple is surrounded by people the rest of the day.  So, I love it when we carve out enough time to take the portraits.  If your timeline allows you to do this before your ceremony, I recommend it! You'll also look fresh and excited.  

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However, sometimes the bride and groom opt to see each other after the wedding ceremony, which is totally ok too! Just make sure you have enough time and a location away from your guests and bridal party so that you can have that time alone!

Ceremony

This one is obvious! You must and should have at least 15 - 20 minutes buffer before your ceremony to relax, touch up make up, and allow your photographer to get the ceremony location with out anyone in it.  

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All of the decor has to be photographed because it was chosen by you! And that makes it extra special.

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Bridal Party / Family Formals

These are great to get done right after the ceremony when everyone is present and no one has disappeared to the cocktail hour yet. Also, I like to do these at the same time or one right before the other.  The reason being is because most of the time, the bridal party is made up of family! So rather than have two separate times, we do it all together.  You might not like the idea of having family wait for formals or vice versa, but it takes all about 30 minutes to get these out of the way.  

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These are also when I take a more formal approach to the photos and allow different combinations to occur.  It all depends on how big or small your bridal party and families are!  

Sunset Photos / Cocktail Hour

These can be done at the same time or scheduled so that you can enjoy the cocktail hour and then slip away for a bit for beautiful sunset photos.  These photos really offer beautiful golden light during one of the most sought after times for photography! 

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If your photographer has an assistant photographer, they usually will have them taking candid photos of the cocktail hour and your guests.  This way you don't miss out on capturing some great moments of your guests :).

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Party / Reception

This part of the day is usually more relaxed for us photographers.  I like to make sure I get to the reception venue a little early to get all the details of the decor, just like the ceremony.  Depending on how many hours you have your photographer for, make sure they get your grand entrance, if nothing else.  

I don't really have a set a timeline as most of the major events are announced by the DJ.  I do try and work with the DJ so that we're on the same page and he knows who I am and we'll check in with each other during the reception so we're both ready and don't miss anything important.  

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The main events during the reception include: Grand Entrance, First Dance, Mother / Son and Father / Daughter dances, cake cutting, toasts, garter and bouquet toss, and lots of dancing!

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Grand Exit

If you have a Grand Exit in mind make sure you speak to your photographer about the time and if you have anything special planned!  We'll need to be set up and ready to go before you actually exit and make sure we're in a good position so that people don't crowd us or we don't miss where you're going to be walking through.  And if there are sparklers, we love sparklers, we'll need to set up for that too! 

It's more often than not, that I have brides who ask if I photograph trash the dress sessions.  I usually try and answer this by offering them a Day After session instead.  I believe every bride, especially brides who decide to have a destination wedding, should considering having a session like this.  So, I'm going to explain why and what the differences are between the two types of sessions.  

What is a Day After session?

A day after session is one of my favorites! They were known as Bridal Portraits and it is a session where you put on your wedding attire, choose a beautiful and breath taking location, and take your time creating some really beautiful photography of you and your hubby.  Usually, I like to do this one or two days after a wedding and choose a lighter, relaxed look - which is especially nice for destination weddings! That way you don't have to really worry about the portraits on the day of the wedding and can enjoy the party.  

left, day of wedding. right, day after session.

Sometimes, it just so happens that the time line of the wedding day doesn't fit into the perfect time for portraits.  Like the wedding of Cristy + Eduardo, who's wedding took place in the early afternoon, which was bright and sunny.  Not to mention during that hot and humid weather in Cancun.  The ideal time was 6:30am, when the sun rises behind the beautiful waters.  Which is what we decided to do a couple days following the wedding.  

Why do I love Day After sessions?

I love Day After Sessions because of the more relaxed look of the bride and groom.  We can take our time creating something really unique and all of the emotions from being recently married are still present.  We have giggles, flirtation, deep kisses, and emotional hugs.  We have your beautiful dress and his suit to tie in the session with your wedding.  We can create wall print worthy photographs and so that you can relive all of the emotions of your wedding!   It's a session where you can even go for a different look than on your wedding day - maybe going for hair down and more dramatic makeup.   

left, day of wedding. right, day after session.

What is Trash the Dress?

Trash the dress is a session where you put on your wedding dress back on and either alone or with your husband, go out and essentially "trash" your wardrobe.  This could mean rolling around in the water at the beach or a lake, I've even seen people do this in rivers, or throw paint at each other, or perhaps just go out to a field and get dirty in the mud.  

 feel like Trash the Dress sessions are really forced and not all that natural.  Plus, since most of my clients are destination weddings, lugging a wet or dirty dress on the airplane is just a pain in the butt.  

Really, it comes down to having some really beautiful, unique, authentic and real photographs of the two of you and not something forced into a theme or weird shot of you floating in the water (like a dead fish).  I know, I know, there are some really rad photographs taken under water and there are some photographers who really nail it.  For me, it's a matter of preferring the natural and beauty in wedding photos rather than "trashing" them.

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What do you think? Would you rather have a Day After Session or a trash the dress?  Let me know in the comments below!

It was such an honor to have been a part of this wedding yesterday!  Great friends who get married are what makes my job so amazing!

So, so, so many more to come! 

I can not wait until I show you the rest of this amazing wedding that took place at Sunset Plaza in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

I love my job.  

Happy new year!

I cannot wait to show you the rest... coming soon!!!

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I sent the email nervously.  I didn't know how they'd react to

"I don't live in the US anymore, but, I would love to photograph your wedding!  Let's set up a FaceTime meeting..."

 I had just moved and settled in.  I was still unpacking when I replied to Brenda's email.  I didn't they would ever agree so when they did, I was so excited and got even more nervous!  I had never had a meeting over FaceTime or Skype or anything like that... And especially not from a different country.  We chatted for about two hours and it seemed like I had known them my whole life!  These two were people I could relate to.  Talk with and laugh about everything and anything!  

Months passed and we used email and iMessage as our way of communicating.  When I went home to California during Easter, I met with them to talk about their engagement session and the details of the special day.  This was the first time we had ever seen each other face to face.  We talked and laughed and got excited over all the details!  

Fast forward to their engagement session, I was back in California on vacation and we had a blast.  Brenda and I were way too excited for Marcos... but I think he had a great time!  

You can view their session here.  

Finally, their wedding day came.  I was so nervous to think that these two amazingly sweet and beautiful people trusted me with one of their most important days of their lives.  They trusted me to come from a different country and photograph their wedding... I can not even begin to describe how honored it made me feel.  It was truly an honor being there.

Brenda + Marcos:  Thank you, thank you, thank you for trusting me and giving me the absolute honor in photographing your wedding!  But more importantly, for getting the opportunity to meet you and get to know you on a much deeper level.  You two are beautiful inside and out and have a love worth admiring!  It was an incredible day with incredible love and I am truly blessed to have been a part of it.  Thank you so much!

Love,

Jackie

Second shooter:  Crystal Bruder (Thanks girl for ALL of your help!)

Assistant:  Aldo Lerma (you are invaluable!)      

Dress: Maggie Sottero-Divina      

Shoes:  Enzo Angiolini

MUA + Hair: Daniel Marrone

Hotel: Hyatt Express, Diamond Bar

Church:St. Denis Church, Diamond Bar, CA

Cake:Cucamonga Cakery Company

Florals:Floral Sensations by Robert Torres

Reception:  Indian Hills Wedgewood Banquet, Riverside, CA

Music:  Lil' Ceasar

Working on this wedding right now.  From the first meeting we had, I knew they were my kind of couple.  Such a beautiful day with lots of laughter, happiness, and loving friends and family.  Can't wait to show you the rest!

I met with Linh + Manny over a year ago.  At a little boba cafe tucked in a corner of Riverside.  I knew of Linh from high school.  I also knew Lihn's cousin,

Thi

, who I photographed when I was first starting.  Thi referred me and Lihn and I understood each other.  Our no bs, honest, and upfront styles meshed well and we hit it off.  Manny was quiet but knew exactly what he wanted.  As a graphic designer, he definitely knew what he wanted and that was a God-send because I like a couple that knows what they want from me and can articulate it well!  Makes my job more interesting to create what they want and still hold onto my style of doing things.  It's a great mixture!

I will stop here because I intend on blogging more of this wedding with it's beautiful details, wonderful couple, fun bridal party, and an awesome party!  So stay tuned...

For me, being a second shooter is fantastic.  I get to help the main photographer and practice with out the pressure of being first.

I recently got to work with Emily Swanson who is a wonderfully sweet person and I had a great time being her second.  The wedding was literally a stairway up from the beach at a beautifully custom built beach home in Long Beach.  

Teri & Robert found each other late in life and definitely at the right time.  Robert is madly in love with Teri and Teri is madly in love with Robert. They had an intimate wedding with close family and friends.  Thank you for allowing me to be there and share this day with you.

Here are few details of the ceremony:

and the reception:

And the beautiful couple:

Happy Wednesday!

Ruth & Mark planned their wedding themselves.  With Ruth's attention to detail and great taste, they had a beautiful backyard wedding that was just delightful.  Accompanied by many close family and friends, these two vowed their love for one another.

Thanks to Alex Singh for assisting me that day and getting some great shots, of which you can see on his blog here.

On with the wedding!

Alex got this shot of Mark getting ready and I love it!

Ruth & Mark opted to see each other before the wedding and I was so excited when they did.  This gives the bride and groom time to soak in the day.  See each other and really have a special moment before sharing it with the guests.  And it gives way to better portraits in the end also :)

Ceremony time! And it was so cute to see Ruth being walked down the aisle by her father and son.

Married!

Thank you Ruth & Mark for having me photograph your wedding!