Family photos made easy: the list, the order, the twenty minutes

Family photos are the one part of a documentary wedding day that has to be organised. Everything else we can follow as it happens. But nobody naturally lines up with their grandmother, three cousins and an uncle in good light at the right moment.

The good news is that with a little planning, family photos take about twenty calm minutes. Without a plan, they can take three times that, and eat into the part of the day you’d rather spend with your guests. Here’s how we keep them short.

Why family photos need a plan

Straight after a ceremony, people scatter. Someone goes to find a drink, someone is looking after a child, someone’s aunt is chatting to the celebrant. Every group photo then starts with a search. Multiply that by ten groups and you’ve lost most of the drinks reception.

A short written list and one person to round people up fixes almost all of it.

The list

• Keep it to eight to twelve groups. That covers most families. Friends, colleagues and everyone else get photographed naturally through the day and at the party.
• Use names, not roles. “Maria, Tom and the kids” is much easier to call out than “the cousins”.
• Note who needs a chair, who uses a wheelchair, and which children won’t last long.
• Include your chosen family. Godparents, the friends who raised you, the people who are family in every way that counts. They belong on the list like anyone else.

The order

Start big and get smaller. That way, people can leave as soon as their last photo is done, and older guests can sit down early. Here’s a typical order:

“First” and “second” family just means one of you, then the other. Swap the order, merge groups or add your own: this is a template, not a rule.

The twenty minutes

Do family photos straight after the ceremony, while everyone is still in one place and before the drinks pull people away. A few things make it smooth:

• Name one helper. Someone who knows both families, isn’t shy and isn’t in most of the photos. Give them the list. They’ll call the next group while we’re photographing the current one.
• Ask the celebrant to announce it at the end of the ceremony: “Family, please stay close for a few photos.”
• Choose the spot in advance. Shade or soft light, flat ground, close to the ceremony. We’ll look at it with you when we arrive.
• Have chairs ready for anyone who needs one.

We do the arranging, so you don’t have to. For each group, we place people, give a simple prompt or two so it doesn’t look like a passport queue, take a handful of frames and move on. Most groups take a minute or two.

Small tipPut your helper’s name and phone number on the list you send us. On the day, they’re the person we’ll look for.

When families are complicated

Most families have something. Tell us in advance and we’ll handle it quietly; nobody else needs to know we know.

• Separated or divorced parents can have their own photos, or stand at opposite ends of a group. Just tell us which.
• People who shouldn’t stand side by side: give us the names and we’ll arrange around them.
• Someone who can’t be there, or who has died. Some couples like a photo holding a picture or with a chosen object. Others prefer nothing at all. Both are fine.
• Relatives who aren’t supportive. You decide whether they’re on the list. If they aren’t, we won’t go looking.
• Anything private. If there are people or moments you’d rather not have photographed or shared, tell us. We’ll respect it without asking why.

Your family photo checklist

We go through the family list with every couple who books The Full Story, as part of the pre-wedding consult. You’ll find the details on our pricing page.