As a wedding photographer who also happens to be mom to two of the most darling girls this world has ever known and wife to a loving husband who gave me those two girls: I can easily say that weddings that are centered around family are too much for my little heart to handle. 

Ryan and Amanda’s wedding at Gathered Oaks in Alexandria, Minnesota was every bit a work of art, every detail curated with the couple’s families top of mind. 

If family is something that is important to you to incorporate in your wedding day, too: Take notes. Ryan and Amanda are the experts.

1. Integrate your families’ histories into the detail photos. 

I always tell my couples to give me as much as they possibly can for me to play with in their detail photos. Not only does it give your wedding photographer a much cooler, more dynamic setup, but it also lays the groundwork for your love story. Because here’s the thing of it: 

Your love story started long before the two of you even met. It traces all the way back to when your mother and father, and their mother and father before them, and their mother and father before… – you get the picture– fell in love. Your love story has been in the making for literal generations, and your detail photos are one of the creative ways we get to chronicle that. 

What’s more, with so many vintage-y details (including Amanda’s grandmother’s brooch wrapped around her bridal bouquet) coupled with the setting of the rustic barn wedding venue, I immediately knew the artistic direction that I was going to head for the rest of the day, as well as later in my editing process. 

Your detail photos are truly so important for so many reasons, not the least of which is the inspiration it gives me for shaping the story of your wedding day.

Vendors | Venue: Gathered Oaks | Florist: Creations by Sota | Bride’s Dress Designer: Morilee | Bride’s Dress Shop: The Wedding Shoppe | Makeup: Captivating Beauty | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Revelry | Groom’s Suit: The Black Tux | DJ: Harmon Entertainment | Dessert: Sam’s Club Bakery | Dinner: Cornerstone Catering

2. Ask your wedding photographer to leave plenty of time for family in your day of timeline.

You want it? You’ve got it. 

One of the best parts about how much time and energy I put into my planning process is that you can communicate your every heart’s desire, and I will do everything within my mystical wedding photographer power to make it happen. 

(Insider secret: Amanda even told me in our final meeting before their wedding day that she really wanted to crowd surf… so, I made it happen!)

Because it was also extremely important to Ryan and Amanda to actually see their families on their wedding day (what a concept, right?!), the entire first part of the day was dedicated to it: 

Amanda’s mom helping Amanda put on her gown, then stepping back to watch her little girl put in her earrings. Ryan saying he didn’t need his dad’s help to put on his tie, only to utterly fail and dad to step in anyway (boys!). Amanda pumping iron before her first look with Ryan so that she could have a sexy back for her husband, while her sisters cheered her on. Amanda’s super duper emotional first look with her dad (I’m not crying; you’re crying!). 

It was all an intentional way to spend time together on one of the most momentous days of Ryan’s and Amanda’s lives.

3. Let your family be a part of your first look.

Disclaimer: You will inevitably cry when you see these first look photos.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way! 

Ryan and Amanda’s first look at their gorgeous ceremony site was literally everything. Like, I’m sorry, but who gave them the right to make their wedding photographer totally lose her cool?!

In addition to being absolutely beautiful human beings both inside and out, the soon-to-be husband and wife– Amanda in her Morilee dress (quite literally named The Ryan after her own husband) and Ryan in his dapper Black Tux suit– wanted to include their families, even in this private moment. 

While their families did watch from afar on the balcony overlooking the ceremony site, and it was the cutest thing ever, that’s not actually what I mean when I say include your families. 

Instead, Amanda went above and beyond and gifted Ryan her father’s watch. While she knew full well it wouldn’t fit him, she also knew what it meant to her father of four daughters to finally have the son he never had and, similarly, what that meant to Ryan. 

I’m telling you, an absolute tearjerker.

4. Throw yourself into your wedding photographer’s prompts.

While this goes for any photos throughout your cinematic “I do” day, as a family-oriented couple, you’ll find that trusting my vision and giving me your all during your family and wedding party photos will make them all the more incredible. 

There are a lot of moving parts in these photos (i.e. family members and dynamics), and by letting yourself have a freaking BALL during them, we’ll actually capture all of those fun, free-spirited relationships. 

I mean, Ryan’s groomsmen heard me say, “Go ahead and toss Ryan in the air!” and next thing I knew, Ryan was a good fifteen feet airborne. The commitment was something else.

5. Don’t forget to marvel at how loved you are.

One of my favorite moments of the entire day was when the preacher asked Ryan and Amanda to turn towards the sea of wedding guests and notice how many people showed up for them. There wasn’t a dry eye in the entire place, and that photo alone goes to show how a wedding photographer’s job is to tell the story of a single day, in every single frame they capture. 

A wedding day can be stressful to plan, but the most important thing to remember (apart from the fact that you’re marrying the literal love of your whole damn life) is that it’s a way to celebrate that incredible fact with the people who mean the most to you– your family, your friends, your college roommates, your next door neighbors. Heck, maybe even your second cousins three times removed!

The people who love you and have seen you two become an ‘us’ traveled from far and wide to see you seal the deal. That’s pretty freaking cool, if you ask me.

6. Incorporate family traditions into your wedding photos with the help of your wedding photographer.

It’s a long-time tradition in Amanda’s family to make moonshine for every wedding and then to sneak away at the night’s end to finish the jar together. You thought the “I do’s” sealed the deal? You thought wrong. Ryan wasn’t actually part of the family until the moonshine was down. Family traditions always have a place in your wedding day, especially if it means a lot to you as a couple.

My best advice is to always always always communicate what sets your love story apart from anyone else’s with your wedding photographer and that includes how family is important to the two of you. If it’s the right wedding photographer for you, she will be committed to making it happen for you.