Don’t forget the basics – shots of you posing with your extended family. In today’s world of photojournalistic wedding photography it’s easy to get caught up in the ‘cool’ factor – the creative, artsy shots - husband and bride in front of a dramatic waterfall; an artful dip on a beach – no question, we love these classic shots that will stand out in your album.

But what sometimes gets overlooked are the shots that the mother of the bride always wants: various group shots of family – Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, kids, grandkids, uncles, aunts…. all in combination with bride/groom. The “This’ll be the last time we look so nice together in a long while” shots. And more often than not, it’s not just your mom that wants these shots. When you look back on this day in a few years/ decades, you’ll want them too.

I always make a checklist that lists every combination of bride-mom, groom-uncles, brother-pet fish combination you can think of. It’s easy for me and my assistant (or chief bride helper) to look at and check off each one as we go along.

Before the wedding day, talk to the bride and groom about the location of where they’d like these group shots. Nearby park? Lake? The weddng altar? Are the church stairs a dramatic look?

Put some thought into including all your important people in your lives.

Make your mother happy.