Offsite Photos on Your Wedding Day | Boston Wedding Photography

What does the map of your wedding look like? When planning your wedding don’t forget to think about how your traveling for pictures will impact your schedule - Illustration courtesy Slow Loris Design

Is the scenery around your wedding venue not giving you life? Or maybe there’s somewhere really special that you want to have your wedding photos taken - underneath a beautiful lighthouse overlooking the Atlantic, the Public Gardens, or somewhere that’s become meaningful to you as a couple? Picking another site for photos can be fabulous for your wedding album but it can be really hard on your wedding timeline - so how can you make the most of it?

Making an extra stop just for photos works best when there’s slack time in your wedding day schedule, whether you create it before the ceremony or have it between the ceremony and the reception because of the Catholic Gap (a prolonged period of time between the end of your ceremony and when doors open at your reception venue). If you don’t have that natural space on your wedding day, how can you create it or use your limited time more effectively?

Adding an extra half-hour and additional entertainment to cocktail hour can give you added flexibility for taking photos to your wedding timeline. If you’re getting married at a museum, art gallery, aquarium, or zoo, you can add time by giving your guests the opportunity to explore the grounds and exhibits. If you’re getting married at a more traditional venue you can surprise your guests with a unique entertainer (though you’ll miss out on those performances if you’re off taking photos).

Nowhere to add time to your wedding? Then you need to be able to make the best use of your time. Reducing the number of people you’re taking off site will net the most gains, since you won't have to corral a herd of friends and family members. Using a party bus or limo that will let everyone ride together can reduce wait times (you also won’t have to worry about people fiddling around with parking and sometimes they can just drop you off at the spot so you don’t have to walk five minutes across a field).

How much time will you actually spend off site? My rule of thumb is that you add 20 minutes for loading and unloading your crew (and the more people there are, the more time you’ll spend organizing them), and if you have to deal with parking in Boston you could easily add another 20 minutes. Factor in travel time and traffic to and from the spot and you can figure out if it’s worth it or not. Sometimes you just want that one perfect shot, other times you don’t need that extra stress on your wedding day.

If you really want those beautiful photos in some exciting location, consider using it for your engagement session or maybe even a bridal photography session.

Where would you love to have your wedding photos taken if you weren’t facing down the clock? Get in touch with me today and let’s create the perfect wedding day.

Ryan Richardson is a wedding and engagement photographer serving Boston and beyond; including Cape Cod Weddings, New England Weddings, Massachusetts Weddings and Rhode Island Weddings.