Nicola (Long)
It`s a tough decision to make regarding whether to restage wedding photos. Luckily, as much as my husband didn`t WANT to do it, he left the decision up to me, which he usually does anyway. Of course, when things don`t work out, I`m the one who gets blamed! :) LOL
Seriously though, I was fortunate that he put up with me, because I really had a tough time deciding whether to go through with it or not, and changed my mind a few dozen times. In the end, these were the reasons I thought we should do it:
-I was too indecisive and simply figured I would regret it later. (Now I definitely know I would have).
-I didn`t have any full length shots with my train (except for a few group shots, which were taken in church because of the rain), and I absolutely love the train on my dress.
-When we booked John Anthony`s, we were excited about having photos taken on the deck. We even pushed up the wedding date from Nov. to Sept. just so we would get there and still have daylight!
-From nearly the beginning of our planning, I wanted us to have park pictures taken at Belmont Lake State Park, and even had ideas of exactly where to go.
-I wanted the choice of having variety. Michael O`Neill was nice enough to suggest going back to his E. Northport studio for portraits since we had time after the ceremony because we couldn`t do anything outside. There, he took something like 72 shots. But, just how many portraits would you put in your album? At contract signing we had them bump our album up from 40 pages to 60 pages, so now I`ll have my variety, if we choose to do that. (I'm now thinking of keeping the outdoor shots at the back of the album instead of having them incorporated in with the actual wedding day photos. That way we're not trying to pass it all off as the same day.)
Reasons why we shouldn`t do it:
-It wouldn`t be our actual 'day.'
-The wedding day 'glow' might not be there. (It did feel different than wedding day, but we were still happy and in love).
-It would be a hassle.
-I would need to at least get my hair done, and hopefully my makeup.
-I wanted a bouquet for the shots, and he would need a boutineer. (These weren't necessary, but we felt if we were going to do this, we shouldn't overlook or ignore the flowers. We thought the pictures would probably look awkward without them.)
-We needed another park permit. (Luckily they are free, and the State Parks Department is not only quick, but pleasant and helpful. Plus, they're located right there at Belmont Lake and they held the permit in their office, which made things go smoother since my husband just picked it up while the photographer set up!)
-He needed a tux. (And they charged him nearly full price).
-We would end up shelling out another $200-$300.
-I couldn`t imagine spending hours getting all fixed up and dressed up again in my gown for what we figured would end up only being about one hour. (And it was just about one hour - but no question time and effort well spent .. and we haven't seen the pictures yet).
As you can see, I think the reasons for doing the shots are more substantial than the reasons not to do them. The main reason against the shots that I got hung up on was that it wouldn`t be 'our day,' and I didn`t want to pretend the rain didn`t happen. But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought, 'what`s wrong with having shots done with me in my gown, and him in his tux in settings we knew we'd love?'
In the end, even though my husband grumbled about having to get all done up again (like guys have it so tough!), get a tux, and whatever else he thought might be a problem, he`s really happy now that we did it. And looking back, it doesn't feel like it was a hassle. Plus, we were able to really relax, and now we have yet another day of wonderful memories .. which we'll probably remember better since there was no pressure that day.
I`m sure everyone has shots that are missed for one reason or another. I know we don`t have a shot of just us with our nephew, who is also our godson. He`s just so young, we couldn`t get him to stick around in the shots unless his parents were in them, and even then he wanted to roam. We also didn`t stage any 'getting ready' shots. Things were just so hectic at my parent's house, and there wasn`t much room to work within. While I`d love to have shots like those, I wouldn`t go back and have them done again. Especially since our nephew was back on a plane the very next day after the wedding!
Don`t let 'hassle' or 'inconvenience' be a reason for not having your pictures done. Consider what shots were missed and make your own list of pros and cons.
Good Luck! And keep me posted!
