Wedding Group Photos Without the Stress

I’m a documentary Yorkshire wedding photographer, but I still think wedding group photos matter. The family ones especially. The trick is getting the important ones without turning half the wedding into a roll call.

So we keep the list sensible, sort it before the day and get through it quickly. Then you can get back to the people you invited.

A good starter list is usually simple: both sets of parents, siblings, grandparents if they’re there, the wedding party and one photograph with the people closest to you. If there’s somebody important who doesn’t fit a neat category, add them.

You don’t need every possible combination. You need the photographs that will still mean something years from now.

For the core family groups, I’m usually talking about a few minutes rather than disappearing for half an hour. The actual photographs are quick. Finding people is what takes the time.

If you want a longer list, that’s fine. We just build a bit more time in for it, which is basically my 30/5 minute rule in action. What I don’t want is you standing there while somebody hunts for Uncle Dave for the fourth time.

No rush. You’ve just got married. Enjoy the confetti, get your hugs in with your best mates, and grab a minute together to look at each other and say “we did it!”

Then we’ll do the group photos. Everyone’s still close by, nobody’s properly vanished to the bar yet, and nobody gets hurried along. You included.

Every wedding’s different, though. If the light, weather or venue layout suggests a better time, I’ll move them. There’s no prize for sticking to a timetable that’s stopped making sense.

About a month before the wedding we can have a Zoom call, phone call or FaceTime — whichever takes your fancy. I’ll also send a short questionnaire that covers the timeline and the family groups you want.

That means I’m not asking you to invent a list while you’re holding a glass of Prosecco. I already know who I need.

I’ll normally ask for one or two people from the wedding party who know the guests. They can grab the next group while I’m photographing the current one.

I’ve photographed weddings at Hodsock Priory for more than 20 years, and plenty at Rossington Hall and Bawtry Hall too. The rule’s the same everywhere: the better the list is sorted beforehand, the quicker it feels on the day.

If parents are divorced, separated or simply shouldn’t be standing together, tell me beforehand. There’s no awkward conversation needed on the wedding day.

We’ll build the list around the family you actually have, not the family tree somebody thinks you ought to have. Separate combinations are completely normal.

If the venue and weather allow it, the big everyone-in-one-photo shot can be brilliant. Sometimes the best way to do it is from above, and that’s where the drone earns its keep.

It isn’t something I force into every wedding, but if there’s a good opportunity and it fits the flow of the day, I’m all for it. You get one photograph with virtually everybody you invited in the same frame.

I’ll organise people when I need to, but I’m not interested in turning everybody into mannequins. Get people close, get them comfortable, get the photograph and move on.

And some of my favourite “group photos” happen because the group forgets about the camera completely.

Weddings are live events. Somebody disappears to the bar, a child decides they’ve had enough, the rain arrives and Great Aunt Flo chooses that exact moment to go to the toilet.

None of that is a crisis. We do the next group, move somewhere sensible or wait five minutes. The important thing is that the day doesn’t grind to a halt because one photograph hasn’t happened in precisely the planned order.

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