Love Potion #13: Formal Portraits that are Formal: Family Edition

Because we employed the ol' hide until everybody leaves trick, the church emptied rather quickly and we were able to knock out the customary Formal Portraits in Front of the Altar.  (For the record, these formal portraits were actually formal in nature, as opposed to those that were not.)  I'm not really a fan of these sorts of photos- everyone standing around, awkwardly posed, wondering when they'll be allowed to have a drink.  You know who is a fan of these types of photos?  My mom.  All moms, probably.  So we put on our best smiles and stood at the front of the church.

We started with the bridal party.  Obviously we wanted the entire bridal party featured in a shot or two, but as I mentioned earlier, small children can be rather unpredictable, so this wasn't really possible.  One of the twins just didn't have the patience to stand for pictures, his sister insisted on holding her new baby doll (a thank you gift from Mr Potion and me for being in our wedding), and though Mr. Potion's nephew consented to lining up in front of the camera, he didn't much like the idea of standing still.

 

 

So we let the little ones go and took a picture of just the "big kids":

Next it was time for the family portraits.  We started by posing with my parents:

Next, my mom wanted a picture of us with our priest and altar server, since the former is a family friend and the latter is my cousin, and, like I said, these pictures were mainly for her anyway:

Next we swapped out Fr. Ninja for my cousin M E, S's little sister:

Then Mr. Potion's dad:

Mr Potion's mom:

My mom's mom, Grandma Bootsie:

My dad's mom, Mammaw:

And my mom's step-mom, Grandma:

I have more advice from the other side, Hive!  If you plan to stand for a marathon portrait session:

-shift your weight between snaps of the shutter so your feet don't hate you, especially if you're in heels
-relax your face as your photographer fiddles with lenses and flashes and tests the light so your smile looks authentic and not painful
-know ahead of time which groups you want to pose with- it's helpful to hand your photographer a "must shoot list" before the day begins so you're not deciding then and there who should be in which photo

Will you be posing for the customary Formal Portraits in Front of the Altar after your ceremony?

*all photos by One Photo Gallery*

Miss a Potion Recap?

Love Potion #0.5: Uh…Who is This Chick?
Love Potion #1: Dress Rehearsal
Love Potion #2: Gettin’ Our Hairs Did
Love Potion #3: Last Minute Details
Love Potion #4: Corsages for the Generations
Love Potion #5: The Boys Get Spiffy
Love Potion #6: “Formal” Portraits
Love Potion #7: Goin’ to the Chapel…
Love Potion #8: Proceeding with the Ceremony
Love Potion #9: Leaving Our Families to Cling to Each Other
Love Potion #10: And Then We Got Married 
Love Potion #11: Our First Meal as a Married Couple 
Love Potion #12: Boys Just Don't Smile