As a photographer, one of the things I hear most often from guests is that, at weddings they’ve been to in the past, they’ve spent ages standing around waiting for the family group photos to be finished rather than being able to enjoy the day.

When it comes to choosing who to include in your family formals, it can be really hard to narrow it down, and before you know it, you’ve got a massive list of names that covers pretty much everyone at the wedding- including third-cousin Dave’s ‘plus one’ who you’ve never even met before. 

So, here is my guide to help this part of your wedding go as smoothly as possible!

Which family group photographs should we actually have?

Frustratingly, there isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. Every family is different, and the photographs that mean the most to you might be completely different from another couple. But there is one thing I would always recommend:

Keep your list realistic.

It can be very easy to start with a couple of obvious family photographs, then think “Oh, we should probably have one with them as well…” and suddenly you have a list that’s several pages long!

The thing about your group photos is that they take more time than you think – people have to be found, people have to be arranged, someone always inevitably wanders off, and there’s usually someone else in the toilet. My main objective is for you to enjoy your wedding day. I want you to spend time with your friends and family, laughing, reminiscing, getting tipsy and crying happy tears. Getting your family photos is an important part of the day, but I don’t want you missing out on all the other things you should be savouring.

So, rather than trying to photograph every possible combination, I’d recommend thinking about which people and relationships are genuinely important to you.

Ten family group photographs to consider

As a starting point, here are 10 combinations that I feel cover the most important family groups.

Remember though; you don’t necessarily need all ten.

These are just examples of the combinations you might want to consider – every family is different, and there will naturally be variations depending on your family structure, relationships and circumstances. Likewise if you have children, you’re going to want them in the photos too!

If your grandparents are particularly important to you, I’d much rather spend an extra few minutes making sure we get a lovely photograph with them, than photograph three slightly different combinations of other people that don’t really mean anything to you.

Likewise, if you’re not particularly bothered about a photograph with everyone, that’s absolutely fine too. Your wedding photographs should reflect your family, not somebody else’s checklist.

So how long does all this actually take?

This is where things can get a little surprising. Even if each group only takes a couple of minutes to organise and capture (or longer if we need to track people down!), time can very quickly add up. 

I always recommend taking your family photos in the window of time we have between the end of your ceremony, and the start of your wedding breakfast. This way everyone is still together, and afterwards everyone can just relax and enjoy themselves. So here’s what it might look like:

So on paper, that might look like a lot of time, but in reality, we might have less than thirty minutes to get your family photos done.

How can we make the family photographs quicker?

There are a few simple things you can do that make a huge difference.

1. Keep the list to the photographs that really matter

Don’t feel like you need to photograph every possible combination just because you think you should. Think about the people who matter most, rather than trying to create a photographic record of every branch of the family tree.

2. Tell everyone beforehand

If your parents, siblings and grandparents know that they’ll be needed for photographs immediately after the ceremony, things will move much more quickly. It’s amazing how quickly someone can disappear when nobody has told them where they’re supposed to be!

3. Have someone help round people up

This is one of the best things you can do. I ask for your group shot list about two weeks before the wedding, and I also always ask you to consider who might be best to give me a little help on the day. Choose somebody who knows your family well and isn’t afraid to go looking for people.

I can organise the photographs and tell everyone where I need them, but I don’t know what Uncle Dave looks like, so having someone on hand who does makes everything easier!

4. Tell me about complicated family dynamics

And please don’t feel awkward about this one.

If there are divorced parents, family members who don’t get along, complicated relationships or simply people who you’d rather not put side-by-side in the same photograph, don’t be afraid to tell me beforehand. There is absolutely no judgement, but I’d much rather know in advance so I can plan the photographs around it than discover halfway through that I’ve accidentally created the most awkward photograph of your wedding day!

5. Give me the family group photos in advance, and give me names!

As I mentioned above, I’ll be in touch around 2 weeks before your big day to ask you to consider your list, if you haven’t already done so – it’s really useful in helping me to plan for your day. And wherever possible, please also include names. Having “Bride & Siblings” is great, but if I also know that the siblings are “Beth & Josh”, I know who to shout for if I need to!

Final words of advice?

When you’re putting together your list, I’d suggest asking yourself a few simple questions:

“Who would I genuinely love a photograph with?”

“Which photographs would my children, parents or grandparents love to have?”

“Are there combinations that we’re not actually too bothered about?”

And perhaps most importantly:

“Would I rather have this photograph, or spend another five minutes enjoying my wedding?”

Every family is different, and there are no wrong answers. If there are 20 family photographs that you absolutely couldn’t imagine your wedding without, we’ll make it work. If you only want five, that’s absolutely fine too.

My job isn’t to tell you which photographs you should want. It’s to make sure we get the photographs that you care about, while keeping the whole process relaxed, organised and as painless as possible.

This isn’t a photoshoot – It’s your wedding.

And once we’ve got those important family photographs, I want to get you back to the people you’ve invited to celebrate with you.