One of my favorite parts of the wedding day is just after the ceremony. The bride and groom are giddy from excitement, ready to have fun with their best friends and siblings. It’s time for the bridal party photos!
Bridal party fun: prompts and pose ideas for the bridal party
You can use these prompts with the whole bridal party, or just the bride and her bridesmaids, or the groom and his groomsmen. Often, if the wedding is running over, the bridal party photos are the first to be cut. They’re fun, but less critical for most couples when compared to family photos or the romantic portraits. This prompt will give you fast, effective ideas that you can use to grab a bunch of great photos quickly, even if you only have 10 minutes with the bridal party before you need your couple to dash off with you to the hillside for those amazing sunset shots.
How to use this photo pose prompt
Usually, photos with the bridal party fall between the family group photos and the romantic portraits of just the happy couple together. I usually try to schedule it something like this (see my Wedding Ready Consult for an in-depth exploration of wedding day timing):
3.30pm Wedding ceremony.
4.15pm “Congratulations” photos.
4.30pm Whole group photos of all wedding guests.
4.45pm Family formals using the Build Ups Method (see my Wedding Ready Workshop or Guide to Wedding Timing).
5.00pm Bridal party photos: couple with all bridesmaids and groomsmen.
5.30pm Romantic portraits (timed to sunset).
I recommend that you move through the bridal party photos quickly, regardless of how much time you have to play with. There is likely to be beer, wine and canapes circulating that the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be eager to get to, especially if they have had lengthy hours of prep before the ceremony. Everyone will be keen to get on with the party. Take drinks to the session, but try to avoid food: no one wants photographs of their friends mid-bite, nor of the sauce stains on white shirts!
Need a white-label wedding runsheet to plan the wedding day with your couples, and prevent photo disasters before they happen? Get it here or in my full Wedding Ready Workshop here.
For ideas on what to do with your bridal party after dark, check out Light Painting. It’s a great backup to have in your back pocket, in case you do run out of time for bridal party photos during daylight hours.
Idea 1: Have some laughs
- As you start the session, ask a bridesmaid or groomsman to think up a funny/embarrassing story to share about the couple/bride/groom. Later in the session have them re-tell it and capture the laughs of the group.
- Get them to get in a big group hug, and tell them to get closer, closer, closer together, until everyone is laughing and piled up on top of each other.
- Tell the bridesmaids to give their best groomsman pose, and visa versa. Capture the poses and the laughter at each other’s mock-ups. Alternatively ask everyone to strike their best model pose on the count of three.
- Have each groomsman pick up a bridesmaid, and the groom the bride, and then run carrying them (or walk fast…) towards the camera. Then swap, if the bridesmaids can do it!
Idea 2: Lean into pop culture
- Line everyone up and have them give their best Dab, Macarena, Nutbush City Limits, Gangnam Style, etc. (Bonus points if you can have your assistant bring a Bluetooth speaker and play the song!)
- Ask everyone to strike a superhero pose. (Side note: I’ve seen this done with the groomsmen actually wearing superhero shirts underneath their button-ups and tearing them open, Superman-style. One to suggest for your pop-culture-mad bride and groom?!)
- Tell them to imagine they’re the team from Oceans 11, Reservoir Dogs, etc, and walk towards the camera giving their best slick walk.
- Get into a Flying V: have the bride and groom lead in the center of the V, and everyone else trail off behind on either side.
- Ask them to imagine they’re The Beatles and walk Abbey Road style across the frame.
- Have them pretend to be a rock band, Christian band, boy band, etc, and model their album cover.
Idea 3: Embrace the celebrations
- Face into the sun, bunch the party up on one side, and the couple on the other side of the frame. Have the bride/groom shake and then open a bottle of champagne, so that it sprays all over the bridal party. Tip: if they don’t actually want to get sprayed, have the bride and groom slightly closer to the camera than the party, and spray the bottle across the frame, pointed a little in front of their friends!
- Get everyone with a drink in hand (wine glasses or beer bottles) and stand them all in a tight circle to do “cheers” in the middle. Get underneath and shoot up so you can see their faces and the ring of glasses/bottles.
Creative extension
- Play with selective focus: have the bridal party bunch up together behind the couple. Cue the bridal party that you want to see them clap and cheer, pull horrified faces, and generally react over the top, when the couple kisses. Then focus on the bridal party behind as the couple kiss in front.
Tag @promptographerguide and use the hashtag #promptographerguide to share your favorite photos captured with this prompt.
Want this prompt in your Field Cards set?
All the info in this prompt post is summarized onto a single card in the Promptographer Guide Field Cards, with the details given in the accompanying Guidebook. All the ideas are given on the one card so you have a rich, comprehensive tool for sparking ideas. I’ve designed it this way so you only need five to ten cards to build a whole photoshoot.
If you want this prompt in your set, make sure you include Set 5: Wedding Moments in your Field Cards.
