The Wedding Photo Checklist: Part 5 – Fun with the bridal party

You’ve taken some formal family photographs and some formal photographs of the bridal party, but now it is time to have some fun. Most likely you and your bridal party will travel to a specific location (already chosen by you) to do a few fun bridal party photos. This part is especially fun so relax, get flirty with the camera and enjoy every second because just like everything else it will be over too quickly!

For these photographs there are no hard-and-fast rules and there is a ton of room for a bit of creativity but you still might want to consider a few “must have” types of shots anyway.

Bride with each of her bridesmaids. A nice head-and-shoulders photograph of the bride with each of her bridesmaids is a definite must as these photographs will make the loveliest thank you gifts for each of the special girls. Unfortunately these one-on-one shots often get forgotten.
Groom with each of his groomsmen. Ok so the boys might find the photo gift giving practice a little girly, but if you have a bit of an OCD thing about uniformity then it might be good idea for the girls and boys to do the same thing.
Bridesmaids without the bride
Groomsmen without the groom
Bridesmaids and groomsmen together
Fun shots of the bride “playing” with her bridesmaids. This is where creativity comes in. It all depends on your surroundings so try to choose a really fun location for these particular shots.
Fun shots of groom goofing around with the groomsmen. Again location and personal creativity play a big role here.
Fun shots of entire bridal party together. Don’t just keep the boys and girls separate. Bring them together and goof around some more!

Some poses might be a little cliché but they are kind of fun to duplicate. Here are a few ideas for bridal party shots.

Bride and bridesmaids barefoot on the beach / in the surf holding up their dresses
Bride and bridesmaids in a “V” formation with the bride in the front
Bride and bridesmaids walking in a line away from the camera but with their heads turned back to face the camera
Photograph of the bride and bridesmaids lifting up their dresses to show off their shoes
Entire bridal party jumping in the air
Entire bridal party posing and being goofy while wearing sunglasses
Groom and groomsmen holding up the bride
Groomsmen running a race while each piggybacking a bridesmaid

It really doesn’t matter what you do here. As long as everyone is having fun these photographs can be priceless!