The wedding photography checklist couples forget

Every couple hands over a Pinterest board. Almost nobody hands over a list of the people they want photographed with. Six months later, the request we hear most is not for a better sunset frame — it is for one clean photograph with a grandparent.

Start with the family grid. Write the combinations down: both sets of parents, siblings with partners, each grandparent, the cousins who travelled. Fifteen minutes of scheduled group portraits after the ceremony protects an entire archive.

Then the details that disappear by evening: the invitation, the jewellery before it is worn, the shoes, the handwritten notes, the decor while it is still untouched. Our second shooter treats the first thirty minutes of a room as a documentary of work that took two days to build.

Finally, protect fifteen minutes of golden hour for the two of you, away from the crowd. It is the only part of the day where you are not hosting, and it consistently produces the frames that end up framed.