Don't Make the "Must-Take" Mistake

When I was planning my wedding a few years back, "must-take" photo lists were all the rage. Brides would scour The Knot message boards for wedding photos posted by recently married knotties and dedicate a section of their Knot bio to images they hoped to re-create on their own wedding day. Certain photos became infamous and made it onto almost everyone's must-take list. I can recall one of a couple dancing in the middle of their guests where the bride and groom were in color and everyone else was in black and white.

The whole must-take concept never made much sense to me. What made the infamous wedding photos beautiful and interesting was the fact that they captured a candid, unscripted moment in time. Imitating someone else's moment in order to achieve the same image would defeat the purpose entirely. Not only that, but I imagine the re-enactment, so to speak, would feel completely staged and awkward: "Okay, you stand there and I'll stand here. Now, rest your head on my shoulder . . ."

That being said, must-take photo lists do have their place a wedding if you have specific group shots you want taken that day. Just don't get too carried away. Posing for photos with every combination of family members imaginable will take up valuable time that you could be spending interacting with your bridal party and guests. That's when the genuine, candid moments happen.

Trust your photographer. You hired them because you loved the images you saw in their portfolio, so give them the creative freedom to capture your unique wedding day through their own eyes.

If you created a must-take photo list for your wedding, what was the end result? Did you get the images you wanted? Any photographers out there care to weigh in on must-take lists?

[Image source: www.weddingfavorselite.com]