Processionals - How Long Should You Wait?

Back in the early 1990's, I once photographed a wedding in which there were 12 bridesmaids (including the maid of honor.) Of course that meant 12 groomsmen too (including the best man, but not including the ushers.) It was a wedding that was booked by another photographer and I was simply assigned to cover the wedding. Because of this, I never met the bride or groom until the day of the wedding.

Well, apparently the photographer who had booked the wedding never did any pre-wedding consultation with the wedding couple because they did not have a clue on what to do to optimize their wedding photos! When the time came for the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle, they really started to march down the aisle, one right after the next!

It's usually best to send one bridesmaid down the aisle (walking slowly) and then wait until the first bridesmaid has arrived about halfway down the aisle before sending the next one. This allows the guests to see each bridesmaid enter without having to turn their attention quickly to the next one. Plus, it allows the photographer time to take a couple of photos of each bridesmaid as they walk down the aisle before getting ready to photograph the next bridesmaid. It takes about 3-4 seconds typically for the electronic flash to recycle and fully charge back up before you can take another photo, so that extra time really helps.

At this particular wedding, the bridesmaids came marching down the aisle at a fairly quick pace and nobody seemed to wait too long for the previous bridesmaid before entering themselves! Because of this, I frantically shot one photo of each bridesmaid just as they were coming down the aisle. I did not have the luxury of taking two shots of each person. I often do two shots in case I catch someone blinking on the first shot. But that wasn't going to happen on that day!

Luckily, I got all my shots... but not without working like crazy! From that experience, I told myself that if I ever started booking weddings myself, that I would make it a point to always meet with my clients beforehand and to give them tips on weddings and photography so that everyone knew what to expect on the day of the wedding. I continue to do that to this day and this blog is one method I use to communicate these tips!

Be sure to stagger the bridesmaids as they come down the aisle. They should walk slowly as they enter and they should wait until the previous bridesmaid has gotten at least halfway down the aisle before entering. This will make for a nice processional and you'll get some great pictures of each person walking down the aisle. The bride should wait until all the bridesmaids have walked completely down the aisle and positioned themselves in the front of the church before making her entrance... but you already knew that, didn't you? :)