Do You Really Need a Second Shooter at Your Wedding?
Couples ask me this all the time, and my honest answer is always “it depends.” If your whole day is happening at one location and you loop me into the timeline planning early, one photographer can absolutely get the job done. But if you’re bouncing between three or more locations and the schedule is more of a suggestion than a plan, a second shooter earns their keep fast.
Garrett and Ashley’s wedding at the University and Whist Club was one of those in-between cases. It could have gone either way. They ended up skipping the second shooter, and while the timeline got a little disheveled by the afternoon, I still absolutely love how this wedding turned out. I did bring backup of a sort, though: my oldest daughter, Elyse, came along to help with lighting and keep me organized. She was a huge help, and having an extra set of hands (even an unofficial one) made a real difference.
A Relaxed Start to the Morning
Garrett and Ashley both had easy, unhurried mornings getting ready with their crews, which is always a nice way to start a wedding day. It gave us room to knock out most of the groomsmen portraits before the ceremony even started. The bridesmaids weren’t quite as lucky on time, so their formal portraits got pushed to later in the day.
Fortunately, Garrett and Ashley kept their ceremony short and sweet, held right under an oak tree on the property. That efficiency bought us back some breathing room, and we used it to knock out the rest of the wedding party and family portraits immediately afterward.
No First Look Meant No Room to Coast
One decision that shaped the whole day: Garrett and Ashley skipped a formal first look. That meant cocktail hour became the one real window to capture genuine, unscripted reactions between the two of them, and I had to be locked in for every minute of it. Honestly, I love that kind of pressure. It’s the moments when there’s no safety net that push me to slow down and pay closer attention to the details I might otherwise rush past.
A Porsche, Because Why Not
Garrett brought his antique Porsche along for the day, and we made sure to grab a handful of portraits with it. There’s something about pairing classic cars with wedding portraits that just works. It adds a little edge and a lot of personality to the gallery.
Party Time, Cruise Control Engaged
Once the reception kicked off, we shifted into cruise control (pun very much intended, thanks to the Porsche). Garrett and Ashley’s guests came ready to celebrate, and the dance floor stayed full deep into the night. Nights like that make the earlier timeline hiccups completely worth it. Once people are having that much fun, nobody’s thinking about the schedule anymore, including me.
Why I Keep Coming Back to the University and Whist Club
This venue is consistently one of my favorites to shoot. The downstairs lounge has a great look and feel for portraits, the staff are genuinely wonderful to work with, and the grounds give you a surprising range of backdrops for one property. My only complaint, and it’s a small one, is that it’s not a bit closer to our studio. Everything else about shooting there is a win.
Garrett and Ashley, congratulations again. I hope you love looking back through these images as much as I loved capturing them.
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