“We can’t behave like people in novels, though, can we?” ~ Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

Yes Edith, actually I can think of one day when you can be JUST LIKE the characters in your favorite novels. Your WEDDING day! A wedding can have all of the drama, romance, conflict, passion, and sweet resolution of your most treasured books. This is exactly what is so magical about a wedding. You can be Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane and Rochester, Hermione and Ron, or Noah and Allie. I loved all of Julia’s literary touches, from the fabulous venue, the Providence Public Library, to the books she used in her table arrangements and The Age of Innocence Kate Spade clutch she carried. Here’s to Julia and James and their non -fictional romance!

Thanks to Sayles Livingston for the lovely bouquets and arrangements and to Fine Catering by Russell Morin for the amazing food and dessert. Ormonde Productions provided the warm up-lighting.

Welcome to our next installment of BEHIND THE SNAPS! where we discuss lighting for off-season weddings.

Is this you?

“Help! I am planning a winter wedding. It’s dark out so early, are all of my photos going to be flashy and dark?”

If you are planning a wedding between November and March then this is a real concern! Let me starty by saying we LOVE off-season weddings. There is so much that you can do with the textures and colors of winter. Winter weddings are always so cozy, warm, and intimate. Back in the dark ages of film we would have been terrified to shoot a winter wedding because of the limitations of the film’s ISO sensitivity. Back then, your photos would have most likely turned out all “dark and flashy.” We would have been sad..you would have been sad…no one wins in that scenario! Now we have the miracle of digital photography and extreme light sensitivity. Dark  flashy wedding photos are a thing of the past. Would you like to have your mind blown? Then prepare for it…. There are only 4 photos in this entire post where we used a flash. The flash photos in question are the four “guests dancing” shots. Every other photo is SANS flash and that is why they are soft (in a romantic way), sparkly and natural.

Here are our THREE tried and true ways to get the most out of your off-season winter wedding photos!

Tip #1 TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

Who wouldn’t trust this little Humpty Dumpty wannabe?

Julia and James were open to our suggestions because they trusted us. When we asked them how they felt about doing a first look to maximize the available natural light, they listened thoughtfully and agreed that having photos outside was important to them. {Thank you!} We made a photo plan that included a first look and portraits for one hour of light, 3:30-4:30pm to be exact. They wouldn’t have had these lovely photos of the outside of their venue if they hadn’t trusted and taken our advice.

Tip #2 BLUE LIGHT!

One of our very favorite photo opportunities happens after sunset, twilight! The sky turns this amazing bright blue color and makes for some photo-dramatics. Don’t miss an opportunity for some blue light magic. We love the juxtaposition of the warm yellow light inside and the cool blue light outside.

Tip #3 TRICKY SLEEVES

James is whispering the secret to our favorite alternative lighting trick to Julia…how romantic!

Seriously though, we do {literally} have some tricks up our sleeve, a trick borrowed from our videographer friends actually. A small portable light source is a photographer’s best friend after dark. Trish is an absolute expert at lighting shots for me so I can leave that flash in the bag!

So fear not winter brides dark does not mean dreary. If we can’t bring you to the sun, we’ll bring the sun to you! XO the snapgirls