Wedding favours are overrated. Many of them get left on the tables at the end of the night (though I do love a good food-based favour, like tea or chocolate).
What can you give to your guests to show your appreciation for them celebrating with you? Besides, of course, a fun event with amazing food. How about some beautiful photos that capture their relationship with you and their friends and family?
I try to get a good candid photo of every guest whenever possible – something that shows their personalities and relationships. I think if someone is important enough to invite to your wedding, they’re important enough to be a part of your wedding photos (or at least important enough to someone who’s important to you).
Here are some photos I love that show the relationship between the couple and their guests. One of my favourite times to capture photos of close relationships with the couple is before the ceremony, when the bride and groom are getting ready for the day surrounded by their best friends and closest family.
The celebration after the ceremony is pretty fun too.
And the reception is always full of laughter. It’s the perfect time to reconnect with guests you don’t see often, or just have a fun time with the people you love. Your guests will love having great photos with you.
Many of my favourite photos from the wedding day don’t even have the bride or the groom in them. One of my favourite photos ever is a photo of my boyfriend and I at an event, taken by a pro photographer. There’s also a sweet candid of us from a fellow photographer’s wedding. Here are some of my fave photos of guests with their friends and dates.
Guests can also end up with a photo of themselves looking beautiful or cool. New Facebook profile pic anyone?
Or cute photos of their kids, or them (or their relatives) with their kids. Ok, I take a lot of photos of kids. They’re a lot of fun at weddings.
I love all the action on the dance floor. Who wouldn’t want to remember their killer dance moves?
And, of course, we always take posed photos of guests with the couple or with their families/dates if requested. I believe most of the below images were taken by my second shooters at these weddings, Jesse Holland and Gwen Ewart.
I provide my couples with an online gallery where guests can download web-sized photos from the wedding. In addition, as a wedding favour, you could give your guests a card with a print credit code to get some free prints from your wedding. Your photographer can probably work out a deal for you if you buy a bunch of credits at once.
