Choosing a wedding venue for great photos

Choosing a wedding venue with light and space in the room the bride will get ready is an important factor – there are generally 2-3 bridesmaids as well as the bride, hair and makeup artists, photographer and videographer who need to fit into this space while the bride is getting ready. They all come with a lot of baggage and a small room can very quickly become cluttered with things like hairspray and lipstick. Then there are always people coming to visit during this time. In short, it can become quite chaotic. Ideally, you would like to keep one room where you will do the actual getting ready photos completely clear of all this clutter. Having a white ceiling and light coloured walls, or large windows and curtains is also a bonus as this allows more light for the photographer.

It is also a bonus if there is a separate area where the groom can get ready at the venue out of sight of the bride’s room. This means everything happens at one venue and the photographer does not have to drive anywhere. Most wedding photography packages are time-based and run as consecutive hours so you will not be wasting precious time driving around to different venues where the bride and groom will be getting ready.

Like the bridal room, the ceremony area should also be light and spacious. Calvin and Megan chose to get married outdoors in the vineyard.

But bell amour also has a beautiful open chapel – there is still a roof which allows even light for the photography, but the sides are open so there is plenty of space to move around the guests and get different angles without causing a distraction. This also allows more light in. Having the ceremony outdoors is also a great option as there is more space but bear in mind the time of day you will be getting married and if your guests will be in the sun.

Also, the light may be a bit harsh still around 3 pm when most ceremonies take place so there will be areas with too much light and too much shadow.

This should be an obvious one but find a venue that has somewhere you can take beautiful couple pictures away from the guests. Wide-open spaces are generally a good option. This venue has thought this through really well as the spots where you would like to take photos run East to West such as the vineyard and lavender gardens.

This means you can get beautiful sunset photos over the vineyard or golden light photos facing the other way. It is a good idea to visit the venues you are shortlisting at around the time of day your couple photos would be taken so you can see how the light changes.

Does the venue have the look and feel in the reception hall that you like? do they supply table cloths? Or the wooden tiffany chairs you always dreamed of? These are key factors when choosing a wedding venue because this will determine the look of your reception hall.

If these items are not included you would have to hire them from somewhere else at an extra expense. Which is ok if it’s in your budget but just be sure to check what is included.

Having to compromise on the decor you have envisioned because your venue is too expensive is a tough choice. But you would have to decide what is most important to you in the end.