How to join your own wedding cocktail hour and still get photos
Couples often assume cocktail hour is lost to photos. This video explains how we plan the day so you can spend at least 30 minutes of it with your guests.
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Our plan for keeping cocktail hour yours
Our goal for the cocktail hour is to do as few photos as possible. It is a very emotional day and we want you to take it all in and enjoy every moment, rather than spending the hour after the ceremony in front of a camera while your friends have a drink.
So we photograph most of your portraits, at least some family photos and the wedding party photos beforehand, regardless of whether you want a first look. We try to do as many photos as we can before the ceremony, so that afterward we only need a little bit of time for the two of you, the wedding party and some family photos.
That leaves you free to join the cocktail hour for at least 30 minutes. You can freshen up, bustle the dress, and check out the reception room to see how everything is decorated and put together without all the people in it. This is your vision, and the moment you see how it came together.
Front-loading portraits before the ceremony
Everything after the ceremony competes with the party, so anything we can move earlier buys you time later. With a first look, the couple portraits and the full wedding party can happen before guests arrive. Without one, we photograph as much as we can with each of you separately and keep the joint photos for a short block afterward.
It also helps that hair, makeup and the dress are at their freshest before the ceremony. A short list of the family groupings you care most about lets us move through the post-ceremony block quickly and hand you back to your guests.
What to do with your 30 minutes
Beyond a drink and a hug, cocktail hour is a good time to share a private dance in the empty ballroom, with your DJ and your songs. It is great practice for later, and it gives us the chance to photograph the two of you in the decorated room with nobody else in it.
And once you are out mingling with your guests, those are moments we love to capture as well: the first hugs from grandparents, friends who flew in, the reactions to the room. That is how we want your cocktail hour to look, in the photos and in your memory.
What our team does about this on the day
Shooting most portraits early
Before the ceremony we work through your portraits, at least some family photos and the wedding party photos, first look or not, so the biggest part of the photo list is finished before a single guest has taken a seat.
A short post-ceremony block
After the ceremony we take only a little time: a few frames of the two of you, the wedding party together, and the family groupings we could not do earlier. Then we release you to your guests for at least 30 minutes.
Photographing the empty ballroom
While guests are at cocktail hour, we walk you into the reception room before anyone else sees it and photograph you with the decor as you planned it, and, if you like, a private practice dance with your DJ playing your songs.
Couples usually ask
Can we really attend our own cocktail hour?
Yes, for at least 30 minutes. The trick is doing as much of the photography as possible before the ceremony, so that afterward we only need a short block for the two of you, the wedding party and a few family photos.
Do we need a first look to join cocktail hour?
No. A first look lets us do the couple portraits early, but even without one we try to do as many photos as we can before the ceremony. Either way we keep the post-ceremony photos short, so you still get your time with guests.
How long do photos take after the ceremony?
Only a little bit of time. Because most portraits, family photos and wedding party photos are already done, we just need the two of you together, the wedding party, and some family photos. Then you are free to freshen up, bustle and join everyone.
Should we see the reception room before the guests do?
We think so. Seeing the room decorated and put together, without all the people, is the moment your vision comes to life, and we love photographing that reaction. Many couples add a private dance in the empty ballroom, which is great practice as well.
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