Encouraging Family Members to be Prompt
Everyone knows at least one person who can never quite arrive on time for even the most important of events…and if that person happens to be one of your family members, how can you make sure they show up for wedding day photos when you need them?
Here are a three tips to help gently encourage their arrival at the right time:
Overcommunicate
Be clear with family members that these pictures are important to you and that you really want them to be included. Add a note with your invitation that lets those individuals know they are expected for photos and what that means for them - primarily the time and location. When we got married, Kevin and I included a card to our family stating, “Please remain at the church for family photos immediately following the ceremony.” This helped set the expectation with our relatives that they would be asked to stick around and they’d better be ready for it!
Sending an email or text reminder the week before your wedding will bring your request to the front of their mind. It’s a friendly way to nudge them into cooperating with you and letting them know, once again, where you want them to show up and when.
2. Provide an Earlier Time
If your family is notoriously late for everything in life, consider telling them photos will be starting 10 minutes earlier than you and your photographer have planned. When they inevitably run late on your wedding day, they’ll actually turn up right on time! You’ll be able to stick to your timeline and they won’t be the wiser.
3. Be Flexible
What if you’ve done all these things and someone is still late? Ask your personal attendant or a trusted relative to give the photographer a heads up as soon as they find out a family member will be late, so they can handle it without adding any extra stress to your plate.
If this happens with one of my couples, I review the timeline to see if we can make any small adjustments in the photo schedule to accommodate them. When one of my recent brides was waiting for her brother and his wife to arrive, we focused on photos with the groom’s family and I even snuck a few bride and groom portraits until they rolled in.
Originally posted August 22, 2022