Five Quick Wedding Planning Tips from Liz Banfield of Liz Banfield Photography

Photo Credit: Suzie Brockman

Today's 5 Quick Wedding Planning Tips are from the talented Liz Banfield of Liz Banfield Photography.  Known for her effortlessly candid style, Liz's beautiful wedding photography is featured in the likes of Martha Stewart Weddings, Town & Country Weddings & BRIDE'S.  I had a great time getting to know Liz better at last week's Engage!12 conference.  

Here are Liz's 5 Quick Wedding Planning Tips:

1. Brides - make time to do a test run on your hair and make up. Then take pictures of the result. This will ensure you like how the look appears in photographs and also will serve as a concrete visual reminder for your stylist on the wedding day. If you don't like the test run, do it again. Your hair and makeup is in every picture. 

2. Grooms - wear sunscreen on the days leading up to the wedding. A golf sunburn is not photogenic and very difficult to retouch. 

3. Be on time for pictures. Weeks before the wedding, work on a schedule with your photographer and communicate it to everyone involved in writing a day or two before the big day. Pad the timeline if you have late-prone relatives or wedding party!  

4. Don't skimp on lighting your reception space. It will set the mood you are trying to evoke and make a huge difference in your pictures. Also, just double whatever you think you need for candles. More is always better and candles are such an affordable way to boost the atmosphere. 

5. Beyond the portfolio, hire a photographer that you also connect with on a personal level. You will probably spend more time with that person on the wedding day than any other individual so make sure their personality is a good fit for you. For me, that would be someone who didn't talk too much or too loud and who isn't easily stressed out. If you can't meet them in person, take the time to get to know them over the phone or better yet, arrange for an engagement session for a little test run. 

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

The people who came. For sure. Being surrounded by all my favorite people was simply amazing. Also, I was just blown away by how half our guest list got on airplanes to come to small town Minnesota for our little wedding. The family I lived with in Italy for a semester in college surprised us by coming as well. Their RSVP had been delayed in the Italian mail system so we had no idea until the day before!

If you could change one thing about your wedding, what would it be? 

With my perspective on weddings now, the one thing I would change if I could would be that I would hire a wedding planner. I had the skills and a strong vision for what I wanted but it would have been much less stressful with someone else managing the event. Also, I made one big planning error that probably would have been avoided. The porta-potty I booked wasn't the deluxe version I thought I was ordering. My heart sank when I saw it delivered and it pained me greatly to think of my guests using it.

Liz, thank you for the fabulous tips!

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