We have photographed MANY successful at-home weddings — one of the most recent ones being at Kayla and Jared’s family property in Waterford, ON. We’d love to share what we’ve learned in this post!
“There’s no place like home.”
There are quite a few perks to getting married at home: you have complete control over the decor and the timeline. But there are a few things to keep in mind!
In this post, I will be discussing the importance of having the perfect space.
If you are planning to get ready at your home, you need space - not just for you, your makeup artist, and hairstylist, but also for immediate family, close friends, and bridesmaids (or groomsmen) to get ready. Ideally, you are in a well-lit space that will allow us to work our camera-magic, resulting in those beautiful colours you see on our website. Think big windows + lots of floor space to allow for creativity.
Aside from just space to get ready, next evaluate the area for the MAIN part of your wedding: do you have the right kind of space for a ceremony? Is it an outdoor ceremony? If so, is there enough space to seat everyone? Will you need to rent a tent? Do you need lights if it's later in the evening?
I want to pause right here and talk about how Kayla and Jared were standing in the PERFECT location under the shade, despite it being a very sunny (and hot!) day. From a photographer's perspective, we want to have the best possible lighting, and here, there are absolutely no harsh shadows. So, thank you Kayla and Jared for making our life easy! (I think I've discovered my next blog topic on the best times for photos! I will explain what I mean in that post!)
Another factor that you might want to consider: where will you take formal photos? Ideally, you will have enough variety in space and also enough room to take pictures of large family groups!
Kayla and Jared opted to take their photos right in their backyard, and I think the photos turned out spectacular, what do you think?
And finally, for the unarguably most FUN part of the evening, the reception, do you have a dance floor? And what about protection from cold at night or rain? Let's not forget about the food! Kayla and Jared rented a large tent, which they decorated so beautifully, and had a BBQ feast. Their cake was homemade and had the cutest little lego people.
Their first dance was what got me teary, however. Because Kayla and Jared had such a lovely space to work with, they had ample space for dancing the night away. When Kayla began dancing, the wedding guests, who had earlier not seen the bubbles at the ceremony, surprised Kayla!
So, you know what, you CAN have a wedding at home if you have the right space. But let's not forget about all the people who help out! Once you have the right space, you want to have all the love and support from family and friends to make it a reality. The people who join you are the ones who make your wedding a celebration!