Happy Monday from the Engel household! Today Maison + I start our third week of marriage + we couldn’t be happier!!! Amidst the buzz of wedding season + learning all about marriage, I thought I’d take a break to reflect on my wedding experience: the groom’s experience.

Being wedding photographers, I’d often wondered what it felt like to be the groom on the other side of the lens. I wondered how the images that I’d look back on in 10, 20, even 50+ years from my wedding day would tell the story of the day I got to marry my best friend. When it came to the “details” of our wedding, I told Maison that she had complete control. It’s not that I didn’t care, I just knew that she had what it took to make our wedding day beautiful + unique to us (+ if any of you reading this were at our wedding, then you know she nailed it on the head!!!).

Now, having both been the groom + having photographed grooms, I have some tips for all of the grooms out there to help their photographers get the best shots for you + your future wife (or if you are the future wife reading this, how to prep your groom to get the best shots for you on your wedding day!!).

1.     Sit down with your lady + talk about any important memories you want captured. For me, this simply meant remembering our reactions to seeing each other for the first time along with our first kiss.

2.     Bring any details you have to the location you are getting ready + leave them sitting out for the photographer before you start getting ready. Typically these are things like ties, shoes, watches, belts, socks or any other things that help tell the story of your day (for me this was handmade cufflinks made from shooting medals that my mom won).

3.     Listen to the photographer + be excited! This is probably the best advice I can give. We know there is a lot going on + you want to get back to the party! We want to get you there too! The more effort you put into listening to the photographer, the quicker we can get the shots you want + the quicker you can get back to the party! We’ve also learned that if you are excited for the pictures it shows! We want you to be excited + have fun with us! It’s your big day + we want you to feel and look your best!

4.     Don’t be afraid to love her. We strive to capture the raw, magic, + emotion that exists between husband + wife on their wedding day. I know that as a guy it can be hard to show this with people watching, but it makes a world of difference in the photos. Believe it or not, bridal portraits are one of the only times you get to spend with her alone. You get to kiss, hug, touch, whisper, + truly enjoy your SPOUSE. I’m not telling you to act like you are in a movie, I’m simply telling you to be yourself. To show your bride just how beautiful she is.

That’s really it guys. It boils down to this: you get what you give. If you go into pictures with a positive attitude + the willingness to simply be with + enjoy your wife, we have what I call the win, win, win. The perfect situation. She will feel like the most beautiful girl in the world (how every girl deserves to feel on their wedding day), you both get the best possible images, + to top it off, you have an awesome experience with pictures! I promise that if you follow this advice, you won’t regret it + that she’ll love every second (major brownie points!!!). Plus, you’ll have awesome photos : )

Well that’s it for now .. Happy Monday! -C