Family photos are one of those parts of a wedding day that seem pretty straightforward until you actually sit down and try to figure out who needs to be in each photo.

Both sets of parents. Siblings. Grandparents. Kids. Divorced parents. Stepparents. Before you know it, you have a list of 30 different combinations and you’re wondering how you’re possibly going to get through all of them without missing cocktail hour.

The good news is that family photos don’t need to take forever. A little organization before the wedding can make this part of the day incredibly efficient while still making sure you have photographs with all of the people who matter most.

Start With a Wedding Family Photo List

Before every wedding, I ask my couples to give me the names of their immediate family members and grandparents. I also ask about any family situations I should know about ahead of time. From there, we can create a family photo list that makes sense for your family.

Every family is different, but a typical wedding family photo list might include:

• • Partner 1 with maternal grandparents
  • Couple with Partner 1’s maternal grandparents
  • Partner 1 with paternal grandparents
  • Couple with Partner 1’s paternal grandparents
  • Partner 2 with maternal grandparents
  • Couple with Partner 2’s maternal grandparents
  • Partner 2 with paternal grandparents
  • Couple with Partner 2’s paternal grandparents
  • Couple with Partner 1’s immediate family
  • Partner 1 with immediate family
  • Partner 1 with siblings
  • Partner 1 with parents
  • Couple with Partner 1’s parents
  • Couple with both sets of parents
  • Couple with Partner 2’s parents
  • Couple with Partner 2’s immediate family
  • Partner 2 with immediate family
  • Partner 2 with siblings
  • Partner 2 with parents

This isn’t a checklist that every couple needs to follow exactly. It’s simply a starting point.

Some families need fewer combinations. Others have stepparents, multiple sets of grandparents, siblings with spouses and children, or other important family members they want included.

The goal is to figure all of that out before the wedding day.

 

Include Names, Not Just Relationships

One thing that makes family photos much easier is giving your photographer actual names.

Instead of simply writing “bride’s siblings,” I ask my couples to list their siblings along with spouses and children when applicable.

This helps me understand who belongs in each group before we ever start taking photos.

It also makes it much easier to call out the next group quickly instead of standing there asking, “Who’s the groom’s sister?”

Those little bits of organization can save a surprising amount of time.

 

 

Tell Your Photographer About Family Dynamics Ahead of Time

This is one of the most important questions on my pre-wedding questionnaire:

Are there any family situations I need to be aware of?

You absolutely do not need to air the family’s dirty laundry. I just want to make sure everyone I’m putting into a photograph is comfortable together.

Divorced parents, stepparents, strained relationships, family members who shouldn’t be placed next to one another, or someone who has recently passed away can all affect how I organize family photographs.

Knowing that information beforehand allows me to handle everything quietly and respectfully without asking awkward questions in front of your family on the wedding day.

 

 

Where Do We Take Wedding Family Photos?

For church weddings, I typically photograph the formal family combinations at the altar immediately following the ceremony.

Everyone is already there, the church provides a beautiful and meaningful backdrop, and we can move through the list systematically before heading to the next part of the day.

For a non-church ceremony, we have a lot more flexibility.

Family portraits can happen almost anywhere at the venue. I’ll look for a location with flattering light, enough room for larger groups, and a background that works well with the rest of your wedding photographs.

Depending on the venue and timeline, that might be the ceremony space, a courtyard, garden, staircase, ballroom, or another location nearby.

 

Have a First Look? We Can Take Family Photos Before the Ceremony

This is one of my favorite ways to maximize the wedding-day timeline.

If you’re doing a first look, we can often complete some or all of your immediate family photos before the ceremony.

Since you’ve already seen each other, there’s no reason we necessarily have to wait until afterward.

Parents and siblings can arrive a little earlier, and we can work through the planned family combinations before guests begin arriving.

The biggest advantage?

Once the ceremony ends, you aren’t spending a large portion of cocktail hour taking formal photographs.

Instead, you can enjoy more of your cocktail hour, spend time with your guests, take a few additional portraits together, or simply have a few minutes to breathe before the reception begins.

Of course, this depends on your venue, ceremony time, family arrival times, and overall wedding-day schedule. We’ll decide what makes the most sense when we’re building your photography timeline.

 

 

Keep the List Focused

One of the easiest ways for family photos to become overwhelming is trying to photograph every possible combination during the formal portrait portion of the day.

Your formal family photo list should generally focus on the combinations that are most important to you, especially parents, siblings, grandparents, and immediate family.

That doesn’t mean we can’t photograph your cousins, aunts, uncles, godparents, college friends, or the 14 people from Mom’s side of the family.

We absolutely can.

But many of those larger or more casual groups can be photographed later during cocktail hour or the reception rather than adding every possible combination to the formal family photo list.

There’s a big difference between making sure Grandma gets a beautiful photograph with you and spending 45 minutes creating every mathematical variation of the same 12 people.

 

Let Your Family Know When They’re Needed

This is probably the simplest thing you can do to make family photos go quickly:

Tell everyone ahead of time.

If we’re doing family photos immediately after the ceremony, let the people on your list know that they need to stay at the ceremony location.

If we’re doing them before the ceremony, make sure everyone knows exactly what time they need to arrive and that they should be completely dressed and ready.

The biggest family-photo delays usually aren’t caused by taking the photographs. They’re caused by trying to locate Uncle Mike, who has already wandered off to cocktail hour.

 

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

Family photographs are some of the most important images I take on a wedding day.

They’re also photographs that become increasingly meaningful as the years go by.

The goal isn’t to rush through them. It’s to organize them well enough that we can photograph everyone who matters without family portraits taking over your wedding day.

That’s why I collect family information before the wedding, create a plan based on your specific family, and work those photographs into the timeline intentionally.

Whether we’re photographing everyone at the church altar after your ceremony, gathering family somewhere beautiful at your venue, or getting most of the photos finished before the ceremony after your first look, we’ll make a plan that works for your wedding.

And then you can get back to the fun part: actually enjoying it.