TYING THE KNOT
Making sure that you’re prepared for the ceremony will maximise your chances of success
The first thing you should do when arriving at the wedding ceremony is to spend a few minutes introducing yourself to the person in charge of proceedings. They will most likely want to run through a few housekeeping rules with you to ensure that you don’t do something that will disrupt the ceremony. It’s also a good idea to clarify with them where they are happy for you to stand during the ceremony and whether you are permitted to move around. At some weddings you will be allowed to move freely and snap as much as you like, whereas others are much more strict and will require you to stand in one pre-agreed location for the entire wedding ceremony.
Before the ceremony gets started, take a moment to check your camera batteries and memory cards and that your camera has the right lens attached. Once the ceremony starts it’s unlikely that you’ll have time to start rifling through your camera bag for a fresh battery.
Flash is usually not permitted during the ceremony, so if the wedding venue is particularly dark then your only options are to either use prime lenses and open up the aperture as wide as you dare, and/or boost the ISO of your camera.
Each wedding ceremony will vary in length, though they usually last somewhere in the region of 15 to 30 minutes. During this time your attention will inevitably be locked on the main event, but it’s also important to cast your eye around the room on occasion to see what the guests are doing. You might just catch a candid moment that no one else has noticed – whether it’s a grandmother beaming with pride or a page boy up to mischief.
Once the rings have been exchanged and the wedding vows recited, the couple will then sign the register to make things official, before exiting the venue. To be sure that you’re not caught out by this, anticipate the moment by relocating to the back of the venue in time to get the best angle of the new married couple as they leave and head off for the wedding reception.