How to Put Together Your Family Photos List and Bridal Party List for Your Wedding:

My number one piece of advice for family photos is to ONLY take the photos you actually want. Do not feel obligated to include certain photos especially big extended family photos if it’s not something you want. If you DO want this photo and you are really close with these people then that’s amazing!! But if you are not super close with extended family members, please do not feel obligated to include this in your wedding formals because it’s the “Thing to do”. I promise you will feel EXHAUSTED if your family photos list is too long and your wedding day will just start to feel like a photoshoot. You do not want to feel so tuckered out that you can’t enjoy your special day!

My other top tip is to INCLUDE FIRST NAMES on each grouping of family members. This will help things run quicker and smoother because when I say “Sister” there could be multiple, but if I call someone’s name out directly they are more likely to respond so things can go quickly and efficiently. If you are doing extended family groupings, I do typically recommend doing family photos from “large to small” and also doing photos with grandparents first so that they can also be done quicker and rest or get to the reception. I would also separate and do photos / organize the list by sides like “Bride’s Side” and “Groom’s Side”. And any COMBINED photos we can just fit those in where we think is best which would likely be right after doing any large extended group photos. If you had a specific location that you really wanted family photos to be taken at if possible, please include this information with your family photos list.

I would typically break photos down into these groupings:

  • ANY EXTENDED FAMILY PHOTOS FROM BOTH SIDE’S

  • BRIDE’S SIDE

  • GROOM’S SIDE

Then from there, these are the specific shots that MOST people request / that I would recommend (I say “most” people loosely because there are different scenarios where we may need or want to do different combinations such as if the couple already has children, etc.):

  • ANY EXTENDED FAMILY PHOTOS FROM BOTH SIDES

    • Any specific extended family photos or combined family photos you desire (You would list them out & Include First Names if Possible)

    • Bride & Groom with Both Sets of Parents (Include First Names)

  • BRIDES SIDE

    • Bride & Groom with Grandparents (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with Her Immediate Family (Parents, Siblings, & Their Spouses & Children If Applicable) (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with Her Siblings (Include First Names)

    • Bride with Her Siblings (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with Her Mom and Dad (Include First Names)

    • Bride with Her Mom and Dad (Include First Names)

    • Bride with Her Mom (Include First Names)

    • Bride with Her Dad (Include First Names)

  • GROOM’S SIDE

    • Bride & Groom with Grandparents (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with His Immediate Family (Parents, Siblings, & Their Spouses & Children If Applicable) (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with His Siblings (Include First Names)

    • Groom with His Siblings (Include First Names)

    • Bride & Groom with His Mom and Dad (Include First Names)

    • Groom with His Mom and Dad (Include First Names)

    • Groom with His Mom (Include First Names)

    • Groom with His Dad (Include First Names)

Wedding Party

As far as wedding party goes, I’m going to go ahead and include my list of what I would typically photograph. When making your family photos list, if your wedding party list is different than what I have, please include what you want for those! You DO NOT need to include First Names unless you want to!

  • Groom with ALL Groomsmen

  • Groom with EACH Groomsmen

  • Individuals of Each Groomsmen (If we have a Second Shooter)

  • Bride, Groom, Flower Girl, Ring Bearer

  • Bride, Flower Girl

  • Groom, Ring Bearer

  • Bride & Groom with Entire Wedding Party including Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

  • Bride & Groom with Wedding Party

  • Bride with ALL Bridesmaids

  • Bride with EACH Bridesmaid

  • Individuals of Each Bridesmaid (If we have a Second Shooter)

And that’s all! I hope this was SO helpful for you to be able to easily put your lists together! And as always, reach out with any questions.

ResourcesKatie HernandezComment