Your wedding day should be a joyful celebration, filled with love, laughter, and cherished memories. However, with the excitement often comes stress, and too much pressure and planning can detract from truly enjoying each moment. By prioritizing your authentic selves, you’ll easily be able to feel more connected to your loved ones, stay present throughout your wedding day, and ensure your joy and love shines through in each of your photographs. Creating a calm, intentional experience can transform your wedding day into something you can fully savor, resulting in photos that capture not just the event but the authentic emotions behind it. Here, Australian based wedding photographer Mitch Ferris shared his eight expert-backed ways to ensure you can stay relaxed and fully enjoy your wedding photo moments.
Curate a Relaxed Morning Environment
The tone of your entire wedding day begins the moment you wake up, so creating a calm and intimate environment for your morning preparation is key. Avoid a crowd by keeping the morning guest list exclusive to those who bring you peace and joy—whether it’s your closest family members, best friends, or just your partner. Surrounding yourself with uplifting people will allow you to relax and soak in the anticipation without unnecessary distractions or overwhelm.
Enhance the atmosphere by curating a personalized playlist that resonates with you. Music can calm nerves, set the mood, and help you feel grounded before the day’s events unfold. This moment of serenity will not only keep you calm but also be reflected in the relaxed, natural feel of your getting-ready photos.
Build Trust with Your Photographer
The relationship you have with your photographer plays a crucial role in how comfortable and relaxed you’ll feel on your wedding day. It’s essential to choose a photographer whose skill and approach align with your vision, but beyond that, building a personal connection is just as important. Trusting your photographer allows you to focus on enjoying the day, knowing they will capture every moment with care and expertise.
By developing this trust, you can relax in front of the camera, allowing for more authentic, intimate photos that truly reflect your love. A strong rapport means you won’t feel like you're constantly posing but instead living in the moment while your photographer works seamlessly in the background.
Delegate Responsibilities so You're Able to Be Present
Weddings are full of moving parts, and the more responsibilities you can hand off, the more present and relaxed you’ll be. Hiring a planner or at least an on-the-day coordinator ensures that someone else is managing the details and handling any last-minute hiccups. By outsourcing tasks, you can focus entirely on celebrating without the distraction of logistics.
You should also trust your photographer to help keep the timeline flowing smoothly and work with your planner to resolve any issues behind the scenes. Assign someone to manage your phone or capture candid moments so you can unplug from distractions. Delegating these roles to people you trust means you won’t have to micromanage, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in the joy of the day.
Create a Relaxed Timeline
One of the most effective ways to stay calm on your wedding day is to create a timeline that leaves room for spontaneity and relaxation. Work with your wedding team to build a schedule that allows plenty of time for each activity, leaving space between events to breathe and enjoy each moment without feeling rushed.
This unhurried approach not only keeps you grounded but also honors the relationships you have with your guests. Instead of being whisked away from one moment to the next, you’ll have time to connect meaningfully with loved ones. A relaxed timeline also ensures that no important moments are missed, leaving you with a greater sense of comfort and fulfillment at the end of the day.
Allocate Moments to Stay Connected
In the whirlwind of a wedding, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and lose sight of the connection between you and your partner. That’s why carving out intentional, private moments is crucial. A first look, for example, offers an intimate, emotional space for you to share before the ceremony. This quiet moment will help calm nerves and allow you to focus on each other before the day’s busier moments.
Additionally, create a moment during your portrait sessions to take a private walk together. This can provide a brief pause in the festivities, giving you a chance to reflect on the day and reconnect with your partner. These moments not only keep you present but also result in some of the most genuine, emotion-filled photos of the day.
Embrace Imperfections
Your wedding day is a celebration of your love, not a performance. It’s easy to get caught up in striving for perfection, but the most memorable moments often come from the unexpected. Embrace the natural flow of the day, knowing that small imperfections are what make your wedding unique.
By focusing on the core values of your celebration and letting go of rigid expectations, you allow your photographer to capture the beauty in the real, unpolished moments. This mindset not only helps you stay relaxed but also results in photos that feel authentic and timeless.
Get Comfortable with a Pre-Wedding Session
For couples who feel nervous in front of the camera, a pre-wedding session is invaluable. This shoot not only provides you with beautiful engagement photos but also helps build trust and comfort with your photographer. By spending time together before the big day, you’ll become more familiar with how they work, and they’ll learn how to capture your best, most natural expressions.
This session ensures a smoother, more seamless experience on your wedding day. With the confidence you’ve gained, you’ll feel more at ease in front of the camera, allowing the day’s emotions to unfold naturally, rather than feeling stiff or self-conscious.
Focus on the Sentimental Meaning Behind Each Moment
At its core, your wedding is a celebration of your love and commitment, and that’s what matters most. Throughout the day, take moments to pause and reflect on the meaning behind each event—the vows you’re making, the support of your loved ones, and the journey that brought you to this moment.
This mindfulness will not only help you stay calm and grounded but will also ensure your wedding photos reflect the true joy and meaning of the celebration. Surrounded by a quality, trusted team and investing in curating the right environment, you’ll be able to stay focused on the significance of the day and receive timeless images of your celebration.
By following these expert tips, you’ll set yourself up for a relaxed, enjoyable wedding experience—one where every moment is fully lived and beautifully captured. The more at ease you feel, the more authentic and timeless your wedding photos will be, leaving you with memories to treasure for a lifetime.
