Helpful tips for photographing a wedding.

So your friend asks you to shoot (photograph) his or her wedding. The immediate reaction is to say, "Sure" with a wide grin and then walk away and start sweating as you say to yourself, "Shoot his wedding? What?! is he too cheap to hire a proffessional or something"!
Well hopefully these helpful tips I will give will also be beneficial for the professional photographer as well as the aspiring one, or maybe even the one who just finds himself stuck in the situation where he has the burden of making sure the happy couple has beautiful pictures to look at for the rest of their lives.
Getting a basic plan involves a few things. First, try to get a list of all the poses and people that the bride and groom want. They may have an Uncle Bob at the wedding that they want to get a picture of, but you will never know that unless they tell you and point out who he is (unless it's your brother's wedding and in that case you both have an Uncle Bob). This being said, it's best to get that list well before the wedding day. You don't want to put more stress on the bride asking her "So what do you want me to get a picture of next?" She will have enough on her plate for the day so try to make as enjoyable an experience as she can have.
Getting a list ahead of time also get's all that stress of thinking what she wants in her pictures out of the way so she can look even more radiant on her wedding day.

Yes, that wedding day you will wear many hats. Not only do you carry a camera, but you wield the power and authority to put people at ease, to tell them what they need to expect, and to make them feel like they are the most important people at that moment.
It is your job to make the bride feel beautiful. When she is overcome with stress this will be near impossible, for she may look beautiful but not feel it. This is why it is vital to know not only what is happening every moment of the wedding day, but to know what is GOING to happen. Photography is all about anticipation. There will always be things that come up that you did not plan for, but as long as you have a plan, then you can make adjustments to it and still be fine.
After you have made your list and practically memorized it, it's time to walk through those church doors and start capturing those little details.

Never overlook a small detail, because even the smallest of trinkets or expressions can make the perfect picture for the bride and groom. What I like to do is walk into the church well before the wedding and start taking pictures of all those little decorations and wedding day objects. Everything from the church pew decor, the guestbook pen, the way the light comes through the sanctuary windows, the bride's dress hanging from the window, her vale draped over an old chair...all these things help create a mindset that points to what it all means. Your clients will want to remember all those little things that helped make up the big picture.

Perhaps it seems unfair that you are the only one that cannot be late that day, but you don't want the wrath of a bride on you for the rest of your life for showing up late to one of the biggest days in her life. People will ALWAYS be late, but you must be prompt, set the example, and always be mindful of time as you are shooting the wedding party and family. They may want you to take hundreds of pictures in a 30 minute period. Well this will not work unless they want all the pictures turning out like they were taken by a 2 year old. Good posing takes time, which we will go over later, but focus on the MUST HAVE shots first. You may not have time to get the bride's maids making a human pyramid, but that's ok. I think they can live without that one in the wedding album.

Don't worry if you don't have the newest DSLR that costs $3,000. Chances are, with the same experience your pictures would not be any better anyway, maybe even worse if you get mixed up with the settings.
Just concentrate on using what you have and you really can take fantastic photos. In my years of wedding photography I have noticed that people will usual focus on how great a pose is, rather than the lighting or even the quality of the picture. Now quality should always take priority but don't forgt to take the time to carefully pose some of your shots. This being said, your pictures should not "look" posed. What should be going through your subject's head is not "why do I have to hold my arm out on this guys shoulder and look at that chandelier in the ceiling." Give them emotions to mimic or follow rather than gestures to make. This will make the pictures look more natural, and it's also a lot more fun.
You can paint a picture. Tell them, "You are on the shore of beautiful ocean waters, the wind is sweeping across your face and you are looking out, as if to find your long lost love on the horizon." Sure, I know it sounds cheesy, and it IS. But trust me, they will have a much better time than if you said, "stand there, spread your feet apart, no further.. ok too much.. now arms at an angle, no, bend them more.. too much..." and so on. You don't have to be elaborate, but just enjoy it. They can tell if you are having fun and your subject will always reciprocate how you are feeling.
So give them a range of emotions you want them to show and work with it. You can say "smile" or you can make them smile. Which do you think will come across as more natural.
And lighting is another huge factor. Just make sure you have plenty of it. I use a few flashes shooting through umbrellas and it works great and is portable. Churches are notorious for having horrible lighting to come prepared. Whether it's continuous lighting or strobe lighting just make sure you had time to practice with it. A soft diffused light is always good for groups and I use it almost exclusively. Just make sure you have good lightstands to hold your flashes or you might as well throw your flashes in the garbage because they will fall and break anyway.

A 50mm f1.8 or wider lens. Since you never know the lighting conditions you will face you just HAVE to have this lens. Or even better a 50mm 1.2 or 1.4 aperture lens. The wider aperture allows you to use the lens in darker atmospheres and you will get a nice soft look when you shoot wide open that can be very appealing, especially if you are shooting in a more photo-journalistic style.

Sure everyone wants photojournalistic these days, but trust me, somewhere in the future they are going to want at least one nice and neat picture of the bride and groom smiling at the camera. But don't get so stuck on poses that you forget to capture those fleeting moments as well. The biggest thing here is, never be intrusive. Some people don't care if you run around the stage, get in people's faces and are more active than a hormonal bumble bee, but I am not one of those people. Stay on the side lines (this is where having a longer lens of at least 200mm at f2.8 is helpful.. oh and VR or IS helps too).
Remember, if you are constantly in people's face and they KNOW you are taking their picture, they are going to ACT like you are taking their picture, and then it's no longer photojournalism... it's more like tourism photography. You might as well hand them the camera and let them stretch out their arms to take their own picture.
Be respectful and show stealth at the same time. They will not only remember the pictures you took but the WAY in which you took them. At almost every wedding I am flattered and told what a wonderful job I am doing. And I'm like, "Wait, they haven't seen a single picture I took so far." That's because it makes a big difference in the manner you compose yourself as you go about your work. It's just as vital to be friendly and flexible as it is to be quality conscience and time conscience.

As great as the food is at a wedding you might feel strange eating when you should be working. But let me warn you, don't take pictures of people while they are eating. It maybe funny, but it's rude and obnoxious and I doubt the bride will be buying many 8x10's of her cousin Gwenivere horking down her third helping of clams. There will be many activities to take pictures of at the reception but just relax a little while the bride and groom are eating. But don't eat too long. I try to eat as much as I can in 10 minutes and then it's back to work. After all, they are paying me to do a job. Hope these little tips help. I will have more on the technical side later.