welcome to the wedding suite
the Ultimate guide to your dream wedding
We're so excited to work with you!
Welcome to the Family!
We're so glad that you're here
We couldn't be more excited or honored that you chose to work with us for your wedding. We're going to have the most fun together. Seriously. We encourage you to really dig in to all of the information in this suite. Read the whole thing. Twice if you need to. Revisit it often. Use the information we've collected, polished, and refined from over a decade of experience and over 200 weddings. While this may be your first wedding rodeo, it's not ours, and we're practically tripping over ourselves to help out. Keep scrolling and let's get started.
You've got questions
Yeah, we've got answers
What are ways that we can save money?
Flowers are a big one! Do them yourself, Pinterest in the best! Also, look into wood flowers. They’re totally gorgeous, much cheaper, and last literally forever. We also HIGHLY recommend Borrowed & Bloomed. She's a rent & return silk florist (and a former TLC bride!) and her work is in a word, unparalleled. Other great ways include doing food buffet style, not having an open bar, DIY wedding favors. You can even DJ yourself (aka have a friend do it off of your phone).
I have 15 best friends, should they all be in our wedding party or is it too much?
That’s totally up to you, but we will say that the smaller the wedding party, the more efficiently wedding pictures will go, the less stressed you will be, and the more you’ll be able to see EVERYBODY in your pictures! That said- it's YOUR wedding. If you want 30 people in your party, hell yeah, let's do it! Just know that we'll need to spend more time than normal on wedding party photos, and it might be more chaotic throughout the day.
Should we have an unplugged ceremony?
Yes. Yup. PLEASE! Nothing breaks our heart more than a picture being ruined by someone sticking their camera or phone in the aisle and blocking a picture of you from our camera.
What if we get off schedule?
You will. It will happen. It’s okay! We build in time just for that so that when, not if, it happens, we don’t have to sacrifice anything and we can still get all of your pictures accomplished. We gotchu!
What about my wedding pictures board on Pinterest, how do i get those to you?
We don’t need to see them! We hope that you chose us as your photographer because you trust us. We've GOT this! If you have a pose that you’re DYING to try, we ask that at the end of portraits, but other people’s poses are just so hard to recreate because the location, your bodies, your outfits, etc will never be the same.
Do you do table shots during dinner?
Do we drink shots if asked at dinner? Heck yeah, it would rude to deny a guest if they ask us to have fun with them! Ha, just kidding. We do not spend dinner taking photos of guests at tables, candid or posed. Pictures of people eating food are not flattering, and people get annoyed. If there are specific groupings (sorority sisters, anyone?) that you'd like, add it to your family photos list under "other", we can get those on the dance floor, but we do not take a posed picture of each table smiling. We also use the dinner hour to take a much needed breather for the first time for the day so that we can grab a bite of your delicious catering and switch out our batteries and get prepared for the rest of the reception.
Resources for your wedding
Family photos template
Family photos are one of the least thought about- and most stressful- parts of the entire wedding day. Use this template to make your list and family photos will be easy, efficient, and painless.
sample timelines
Don't worry, you aren't on your own for your wedding day timeline! Every couple has a different preference for when they want to finalize their timeline. Some like to do it immediately after booking so that it's done and out of the way, others prefer to do it around a month out for the wedding day as a final step.
Whatever your preference, we know that one of your earliest thoughts while wedding planning is "What the heck does a timeline look like?" We've created four sample timelines for you to look over to get a general idea of the amount of time we like to spend on each part of the day, but just know that we've got your back; you won't be making your actual day of timeline.
Shot list
We've linked our shot list below so that you know every picture that we'll take without prompting or reminding on a wedding day. If there's a photo that isn't on that list that you want to make sure we get, add it to your family photo list!
It's all in the details
Details, details, details. Arguably the thing that you spend the most time on, but forget about on your wedding day! Here’s a checklist of all of the little details that couples usually have and want photographed on their wedding day. Feel free to use this a guide, but not a “must have” list. You may want to make sure you have all of these things, you may decide that you only want two or three, and that’s totally fine. We’ll just want to know what you decide on the week before the wedding so Kayla can plan a pretty set-up for all of your pretty things! And to make it super easy on your wedding morning, have all of these things ready to go in a bag or box so that we don't have to ask you to gather it and interrupt the party!
Have other questions? no problem!
Our communication doesn't end when the contract is signed. We're here for you every single step of the way. While there are milestones throughout the process that we'll ask you to set up a call with us at, we're always here if you need to hop on a call or shoot us a text to go over a question or idea that you have. Visit the link below at any time to set up a consult call with us. We can't wait to chat!
helpful videos
How to nail family photos:
Should you do a first look?
recommended vendors
Florist
Makeup Artist
Hair Stylist
Stationary & Signage
Wedding Planner/Coordinator
Cake & Dessert
Officiant
Catering
Seasons of Love
Seasonal Considerations for your wedding
Spring
The sunset time from early spring to late spring differs drastically, which will impact your photos. For example, sunset is at 6:40PM on March 1st, so you could do a late afternoon/early evening ceremony and still have time to finish with some outdoor photos.
Sunset is closer to 9:00PM in late April and in May. If you want those beautiful, glowing sunset portraits, you’ll want to block off some time during your reception for those photos, and you can really do your ceremony at any time that you want.
If you’re doing photos at a venue with little to no shade (like open fields or in a city), consider a late afternoon ceremony with a longer cocktail hour before dinner so the majority of photos can be done in the early evening in soft, pretty light. Photos in the late
morning/early afternoon are harsher because of the direct and bright light. That doesn't mean they won't be gorgeous! But you do run the risk of shadows and squinting.
summer
Summer provides, hands down, the most flexibility with your wedding day timeline. With sunsets close to 9:30PM, it’s super easy to sneak away from your reception to do some really beautiful sunset portraits. That being said, since you’ll likely want us at your reception later, you’ll want to think about when you want to get things started. Working backwards, if we stay until 9:30PM and you booked an 8 hour package, we’ll start at 1:30PM. You would want your ceremony to be no earlier than 3:30PM to give us ample time for detail and getting ready photos.
Reinforcing what we said about spring, mid-day photos are even harder in summer than they are in spring, because not only is it even harsher light, but it’s also so hot during the day, and unless there’s ample shade, it’s really hard to do wedding party photos in the afternoon. Again!That doesn't mean they won't be gorgeous! But you do run the risk of shadows and squinting.
Fall
Our favorite season! People often ask what our personal favorite wedding season is, and it’s September and October hands down. It’s warm enough to not be shivering, but cool enough to not sweat while you’re outside. Don't get us wrong, EVERY season is so wonderful and has it's perks, but as Midwesterners at heart, fall is our first and truest love.
Sunset starts getting earlier, usually in the 7-8:00PM range. If you want sunset photos (AND YOU SHOULD), we often have to do those during dinner, which isn’t a problem, but something to be aware of. It’s generally easier to take photos in the afternoon in the fall as well, as the light is typically softer and more overcast. This can make timeline planning easier.
winter
Winter weddings are so cozy and beautiful, but they can be really hard to plan from a photo perspective. Sunset starts to dip down at 5-6:00PM, and if you don’t do a first look it can get difficult to fit all of the photos in during daylight. That doesn't mean you HAVE to do one if you don't want to! You just need to be aware that without one, the majority of your photos will likely be with flash or indoor lit settings.
If you’re planning a wedding from November- February, make sure that your ceremony is early enough to get all photos done by 5:30PM, which means the ceremony needs to be over by 3:30-4:00PM at the latest. If you’re doing photos at a venue with little to no shade (like open fields or in a city), consider a late afternoon ceremony with a longer cocktail hour before dinner so the majority of photos can be done in the early evening in soft, pretty light. Photos in the late morning/early afternoon are harsher because of the direct and bright light.
So you're booked!
Now what?
First things first
...we're the realest. Kidding. Now that you're officially part of The Lang Gang, the fun part(s) begin! If you've booked wedding design, we'll get started on your questionnaire and start working on selecting your vendors. If you want to make your timeline, like, yesterday, we'll set up a call to get that started. And if you just want to breathe a little bit now that you've got us locked down? That's just fine too. Pick you own pace, friend. No pressure from us! Most couples like to either get engagement photos scheduled pretty quickly as well, so if we're currently booking for the month you want those to happen in, we can get those on the books and start planning for those!
The middle
Most of our couples book us 12-24 months out, and unless you've booked us for wedding design, there really isn't much that we "have" to do (other than your timeline, of course!) between booking and a few months out from your day. That said, we are always, ALWAYS here for you. Whether you need to vent, brainstorm an answer to a problem you're having, or send stupid TikTok's back and forth (Kayla's specialty!), we're just a text or an email away. We'll check in periodically just to make sure that you don't need anything from us, but other than that we'll leave you be for the most part unless you reach out. We KNOW how stressful wedding planning is, and we know that you're working with like, a bajillion people, so we want to be as involved or as hands off as you want us to be. Whatever works best for you is what works best for us.
two months out
Those who chose to wait to do their timeline until closer to the wedding day typically like to start that process around two months out. We'll shoot you over a big 'ol questionnaire to ask you allll of the things, then we'll schedule a timeline call to go over the details and put together the thing! After your timeline call, we'll send over your official wedding day timeline. From there, you can make suggestions, adjustments, change it completely, or consider it Bible. Two months out is also when we recommend you start working on your family photos list and getting your details together so that you don't have to stress about it as the date quickly approaches.
One week out
Eeeeek, it's ALMOST HERE!!! The one week mark is when we'll do one final check in to make sure that your timeline is good to go, that you don't have any questions or concerns, and that your family photos list is in our hands so you don't have to worry about it anymore. We can also hop on a consult call (or come over for a glass of wine!!) if you have any nerves you want to talk through, but really- everything is done at this point, and it's time to party and make it happen!!.
The afterparty
As hard as it is to believe right now, your wedding will have come and gone before you know it *cue sniffles.* Once we leave the party, we get to work right away on some sneak peeks because obviously, Instagram is DYING to see. You'll get at least 25 (!) pretty pictures in your inbox within 24 hours of us leaving the dance floor, and DUH we want you to post them everywhere! Just tag us please and we'll be the happiest photographers alive. From there, we get to work backing up your images (and then...backing them up, like, four more times. No really. your images always live in four places for maximum data protection). After they're safely secured all over West Lafeyette and the interwebs, the fun begins! We go through every, single. image we took on your wedding day (which in case you were wondering, is usually somewhere in the 8,000-15,000 range) and select every single image that isn't a duplicate or a test shot or, let's be real, unless someone is picking their nose or we caught them mid blink or sneeze. After we hand edit every single photo, you'll receive your final images! Your full gallery will be in your hands within 8- 10 weeks of your wedding date. Wedding videos are a bit more time consuming, so those are delivered within 12- 14 weeks. From there, it's time to print and post (and tag, pleaseeee!) away!
Family for life
Our relationship doesn't end when your married life begins. Because we get to know and love our clients so deeply, you're stuck with us for LIFE!! We offer maternity, newborn, family, and of course anniversary sessions as a discounted rate of $100 off of the package price for full sessions and $25 off mini sessions to show our gratitude to you for continuing to trust us for your biggest life moments. Oh, and if you're extra awesome, you help our TLC family grow as you start the process of building yours! We would be SO eternally grateful if you would spread the word of your experience working with us to your friends and family- selfishly so that we get to see you again and keep hugging you and celebrating life's most fun memories together! We love you and are here for you, mean it, and that's never going to end.
