Jim and Brooke at Bartlett Hills Country Club

Lighting plays a major roll in the quality of your photography and the enjoyment of your attending guests.  You have a major say in positively influencing both.  But you will need to understand how lighting will work for you, or against you, as you plan your ceremony.

Many wedding venues have more than one setting for having a wedding ceremony.  Lighting will play, in most cases, the largest consideration in which one to use. A given location might be great setting for a morning ceremony and a poor choice for one in late afternoon.

The enemy, as any photographer will tell you, is a condition call 'Back Lighting.'  Back lighting occurs when the primary light source comes from behind the subject.  In your case, this will be the two of you and your bridal party.

Both of these ceremonies took place at Oscar Swann in Geneva, Illinois and both were performed at the same time of day- late afternoon.  The bridal party at left is facing north with sunlight coming in from over their left shoulders.  The bridal party at right is facing east with sunlight coming in from behind them causing a 'Back Lit' situation.

Notice how the sunlight degrades the quality of the photo at right with a hazing effect. This condition worsened as the sun continued to set during the thirty minute ceremony. Significant detail is also lost on subjects when back lighting is present. Worst of all, the guests are forced to squint at you as they are practically looking into the sunlight.

Neither are indoor ceremonies immune to this. The wedding above has been moved indoors because of rain.  Having their hearts set on a daytime wedding the couple did not want to draw the curtains.  Backlighting now works against the photographers and the guests.

Next to aesthetics, lighting is the second most important consideration in choosing a setting.  Having the light source work with you will make all the difference to your guests and photographers.