For many of my clients, the strictly staged formal photos of yesteryear just aren’t a huge priority.  Now, please don’t get me wrong - wedding portraiture is a tradition that literally predates the camera, so I’m not downplaying its importance - but let’s just say that if perfectly proper portraits were at the tippety-top of your wish list, you probably wouldn’t be considering a photographer whose “About Me” page prominently features a little kid wearing a fancy bra as a hat.

…Anyway, with so much else to plan for your wedding day, it’s natural to just keep shuffling the lower-priority items to the bottom of your list.  However, if the family formals are mainly just something you’re doing “because my grandma will love them” or “because they’ll be nice to have someday,” It’s actually more important to prepare a detailed list.  Why?  Because wedding portraiture is a tradition that literally predates the camera.  People expect it, so if you’re trying to keep the photo list concise, we need to make absolutely sure everyone understands that it’s a deliberate choice.  Otherwise, some kind, sincerely well-meaning relative is going to think: “oh, no! They forgot the second cousins twice removed - they’ll be devastated when they realize their mistake!  I’d better just sneak out and gather everyone…”