Embracing the Unexpected on Your Wedding Day

While fog is never an advisable driving condition, it makes for an intimate, romantic backdrop to your wedding day photos. You may not realize it at the time, but you’ll notice the dramatic ambiance when you get your photos back!

You can plan for almost anything on your wedding day—almost. Here’s why you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff.

I spent the final weeks leading up to my wedding tweaking, adjusting, re-tweaking, and readjusting logistics from the important to the trivial. It was a time that I felt both crazy and in-control, prepared and utterly lost, all at the same time. Surprisingly, the most helpful advice I got was from my wedding photographer.

During our final video chat with Laurent of Helena & Laurent Photography (Bay Area, Calif.), he said something that has stuck with me for months after. He told my husband and me to embrace the unexpected and roll with the proverbial punches of our wedding day.

If you, like I was, are hesitant to throw caution to the wind on your big day, all I can say is: don’t be. As a photographer, Laurent knew that one of the best ways to guarantee great wedding photos is to capture every ridiculous, unplanned moment. The moments that make your wedding day yours.

Don’t take our word for it; take a look through the photos below that illustrate just how much magic can happen when you’re not even searching for it.

Family Photobombs

You never know what to expect when two families gather to become one—and that’s a good thing for your photos.

Your wish list of family photos could wind up including a few extra shots you weren’t planning for—like a photobomb from your show-stealing flower girl! Image via Helena & Laurent Photography
This groom’s brother helped calm his wedding day jitters with a hilarious twist on the traditional “first look” photo—he’ll never forget this moment! Image via Kevin Chole Photography

Furry Friends Having Fun

Involving a family pet in your wedding can result in some hilarious mishaps, making for quite the assortment of funny photos to look back on.

You can’t teach a dog table manners. Then again, if you could, this couple’s wedding photographer would have never captured this adorable act of rebellion. Image via Helena & Laurent Photography
Planning an outdoor wedding always involves the possibility of wildlife joining in on the fun. This couple definitely had an uninvited guest come out to celebrate. Image via Huff Post

Wacky Weather

One thing every bride knows all too well is that you can plan for a lot, but you can’t plan for everything. Rather than fight what you can’t control, prepare to be as easy or breezy as the weather on your wedding day.

While fog is never an advisable driving condition, it makes for an intimate, romantic backdrop to your wedding day photos. You may not realize it at the time, but you’ll notice the dramatic ambiance when you get your photos back! Image via Izzy Hudgins
Wind doesn’t have anything on your wedding day! This bride gave in to the desert gusts and wound up with epically fun photos as a result. Image via Chris and Ruth Photography

Plunge In The Pool

If your wedding ceremony or reception—or after party—is located anywhere near a pool, chances are, someone is going to wind up in the water.

If this isn’t romantic, I don’t know what is. Ending up in the pool at the end of your wedding day seems like a no-brainer if you wind up with photos like these! Image via Chris and Ruth Photography
Any celebration around a pool automatically becomes a pool party. If you ask me, it looks like more of a blessing than a curse. Image via Caroline Ross

Last-Minute Alterations

While it’s not common, a last-minute alteration falls within the realm of possibility on your wedding day. If it happens to you, view the mishap as an opportunity for your guests to rally together and fix that stitch.

Your wedding day is ultimately about you and your significant other, but it’s also kind of about your guests. A wardrobe malfunction can be easily mended when you’re surrounded by your biggest supporters. Image via David Clumpner

Your Wedding Day is Going to be as Wonderful as You Think it is…

It should go without saying, but let me remind you: your wedding day is going to be as wonderful as you think it is. Things can—and will—go wrong in ways you can predict and in ways you’d never expect.

At the end of the day, all you can do is cross your fingers and resolve to enjoy every moment, and hope that it makes for a great photo.

By Brittney Winters-Gullo

Brittney spent the majority of her teenage and college years swearing she’d never get married. Then she met a man who changed all of that, and they’ve been happily sharing their lives since 2011. She and her husband Grant got married in 2018, which has given her a whole new perspective on this whole wedding business. If she’s not writing, you can find her shopping online (very guilty), baking cookies, or running in the Florida sunshine.

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