5 ways to turn an event space into a priceless wedding venue. (And how to make the most of it as a photographer!)
Anyone who has ever been married or has worked around weddings knows that when it comes to planning your wedding, it’s easy to have analysis paralysis. One of the best descriptions I’ve heard of a wedding is that it’s a single-use production company when you account for all the vendors, guests, decor— with only months of planning leading up to a single day. One of the easiest items to get stuck on is the venue and how to best capitalize on it. Whether it’s big, small, rustic, or glamorous, partners put so much effort into creating a space that best represents themselves, and their love, while also facilitating a space that leaves guests feeling welcomed and entertained.
Our team was so taken aback by how well Taylor and Casey managed these hurdles that we couldn’t help jotting some notes down and compiling a list for anyone that is having a hard time nailing down the details for their wedding day. I’ll also be jotting down notes on how to best capitalize on the space as a photographer. Feel free to check out their gallery either before or after to get a full perspective of how absolutely stunning this wedding was.
Be Prepared
Preparation, in my opinion, is the one thing that will have your guests using words like elegant and magical to describe your wedding (and not Fyre Festival!). I believe this is something that Taylor and Casey understood well when working with their venue. This venue has a significant family history, as it’s where Casey’s parents got married, but it’s on the simpler side and lacks some of the amenities that modern wedding venues have. The wedding ceremony and reception gain all the attention but, more often than not, people forget about the prep area. Ideally, this area should be spacious, offer plenty of light, and be close to the venue.
I can’t tell you how excited and impressed I was to see that the couple’s family brought their own RVs to park right next to the venue— a first for me in my ten years of capturing weddings. At first glance, I honestly wasn’t positive with how well I could capture wedding prep in these areas, but I quickly found out that the space had plenty of light and room, given you have the proper lenses.
Photographer’s note: Shooting in low light + cramped spaces can be daunting! In this kind of environment, I found it best to work WITH the space and position myself in opportune spots to accentuate the different aspects of the RV. One unit had two elevations, which allowed for fun perspectives! This was also a good reminder to always pack a wide-angle lens as you never know what situation you’ll be in as a wedding photographer.
2. Spend time on the details
Shouting from my soap box that we should spend time on the details is a prime example of preaching to the choir, I know. But hear me out. There have been more times than I can count when couples spend so much time and energy thinking about the bridal party, table settings, and flowers, that they forget to decorate the wedding arbor or ceremony seating. Remember to spend some time considering all of the small things that can help your venue look fully complete, cohesive, and polished. Looking through the gallery above, you’ll see that Casey and Taylor spent so much time decorating every bit of their wedding venue, not a single thing that could be touched was left alone.
Photographer’s note: An easy way to make a good impression is to spend the time photographing every detail you see. Unsure if an item is significant or part of the wedding? Shoot it anyways! It doesn’t cost you a thing (unless you’re shooting film) to take pictures of every little detail. In cases like this wedding, where there isn’t venue-supplied decor, everything you see has been a labor of love shared between family and friends. Capture it!
3. Time it right
This next point is less of a physical attribute to add to your wedding (ex. decorations) but is, in my opinion, one of the strongest things to consider for your wedding day. While working around the sun won’t have an effect on the overall quality of your wedding, the difference it will have on your wedding photos and video will be a night-and-day (pun intended). The timing for this wedding could not have been more perfect. Even though the lightning for the ceremony was harsher than I would personally desire, by the time the next events came around, the ambient light was absolutely pristine.
One of the easiest ways to plan your wedding around the big bulb in the sky is to just ask Google!
If Google isn’t your thing their are also plenty of apps that can help you plan out where the sun is going to be. For your ceremony, plan to have the sun setting behind you so that you’re in the most flattering light. Your guests may be slightly uncomfortable but the biggest difference from them and you is that they can wear sunglasses!
Photographers Note: Although your client is responsible for booking the times and creating the wedding timeline, unless you have a wedding planner, the responsibility falls on you to help things along. This is my own personal opinion, and the opinion of Flōr Haus, as I know plenty of photographers that won’t put an ounce of effort into anything other than their original brief of taking photos. To that I say, “bah humbug!”. Go the extra mile and help your couple get those sunset photos they’ve been dreaming of. They’ll treasure that moment for a lifetime.
4. Have a strong team
This may be common sense, but surrounding yourself with a strong team is vital! As you are planning your wedding you may think that you are in the most stressful time of your life, but without a strong and empathetic team around you… your wedding will be astronomically more challenging. If you are having a wedding that requires such preparation, hopefully you’ve surrounded yourself with a great group of friends and family that can help lighten the load for you. Additionally, having a positive support team around you will help diffuse stress and allow you to enjoy more of your day. For those friends you have that are aren’t the most selfless or easy-going? Keep them on the sidelines.
A strong wedding team can help facilitate a lot of the things we take for granted, especially at a larger wedding venue. Positioning someone as the Day Coordinator will help the wedding celebration move along steadily; we won’t miss those sunset photos and guests won’t leave out of boredom. Want people to checkout of the wedding celebrations early? Get sidetracked and leave a 2-hour gap in between events.
Some of my favorite venues will also run drinks and food to the couple in between family, bridal, and partner portraits. Weddings can usher in a whole slew of challenges, be it heat stroke, dehydration, or just an overall lack of caloric intake. While you are looking glam with your squad, see if one of your team members can bring water and snickers to keep you feeling your best.
5. Hire the best creatives
Ok, ok, ok— hear me out, as this isn’t a shameless plug (yet lol). As someone that has been capturing weddings since 2012, a see a wedding like Casey and Taylor’s and am taken back by how absolutely stunning it is; but there was an earlier time in my career when I’d be struggling to figure out how to capture this space. Even as an experienced photographer, this wedding did pose its own issues that I had to adapt to. Between the small prep areas, harsh lighting during the ceremony, and the cramped and dim reception hall, this space was not a cake walk. As a couple planning your wedding, please remember that not all photographers are created equal! At Flōr Haus we tell all of our couples that we understand if they decide not to go with our services, but we hope that they at least choose someone that is capable. We even offer our services for free to help vet a potential vendor.
One of the easiest ways to find out if a photographer is right for you is to look at your venue and see if the photographer has any sample images in similarly-lit conditions. Does the photographer you want only post pictures in natural light? It would be wise to ask for a gallery where they’ve had to use flash. A big red for me is when photographers say they ONLY shoot ambient light and not flash. If a photographer sends you a full gallery, check to see how much variation they have. Are they well-rounded in getting a lot of posed pictures of their couples, but also getting fun candids? Are they being mindful of the details? Do the guests look happy and at ease in the photos? A wedding gallery is a concrete record of how strong a wedding photographer is and the type of energy they give off at weddings.
(Ok, here it is:)
I’d never say that our team at Flōr Haus is the best media group out there, but what I will say is that we have decades of experience; after you’ve put so much time and effort into your special day, we’re going to try our hardest to capture it all. What makes a great wedding photographer to us is not talent alone, but also having empathy to truly care for the couple and the guests that are at the wedding. We understand that we are vendors and at a wedding for a purpose, but do our best to operate in a manner that makes you feel we are just another guest at your wedding. Who knows, you may even see us on the dance floor. :)
Photographer Tip: My mindset when it comes to weddings is a little on the extreme side. I give myself a running score on the wedding day— think of it almost like those video games that give you a grade depending on how many successful shots you get or how well you capture each scenario. When arriving at this venue, I knew that I could capture the prep, ceremony, and outdoor events well, but I was unsure about the romantics with Casey and Taylor, as well as the cake-cutting. Thankfully they had the RVs so close to the venue, I was able to walk around the premises multiple times to scout for desirable romantic locations. Utilize any downtime you get to gather as much information as you can and visualize your next steps.
The issue with the cake wasn’t anything to do with the lighting or appearance of it, but where it was located. Originally the cake was positioned right up against the wall and, if left untouched, we would have images of the backs of the couple paired with an uneventful white wall. With permission from the bride and groom, we moved the cake out from the wall by six feet so we could get to the other side and capture the cake-cutting more stylishly. What this added to the images was depth-of-field, well-rounded dynamic range, and the opportunity to see how cute these two were while cutting the cake! Asking your client if you can make small changes like this will help take your photos to the next level. As long as you’re not causing additional stress to your client, if a terrible photo scenario can be changed, do it! Your client hired you for your professional expertise, so do what you need to and get those priceless images.
-Brian Bassard | Flōr Haus Photographer
