The Q: I have a few really large group photos that we want to have taken at the wedding, beyond bridal parties and stuff. I have made a pretty thorough shot list, but my photographer is freaking out a little bit that we won't have enough time to get all of them done. Is there anything that we can do to get these to go faster?
The A: Totally, but I should verbalize that from the Photographers P.O.V. he knows that each of these photos can take about 5 minutes (good rule of thumb when making your timeline, btw) so he/ she is probably concerned about you missing too much of your day taking group shots.
However, that said, you need to do 2 things. First you need a family "Captain"- someone who can help ID all of these people in the various photos AND who has a booming voice. The next thing you need to do is to organize your shot list. If there are shots that can be done pre-ceremony, great. If you have a ton of post-ceremony group photos, I suggest working in the REDUCTION format. Take the largest group shots first, so that you can dismiss any guests who aren't needed in later, smaller group shots. Have your "Captain" line up the guests for the next shot while one shot is going on, and have him or her get guests who aren't needed out of the photo area- many bodies cause confusion.
The main thing is that you don't want 30 people standing around while you and your new hubby take photos with you MOH and BM, or your Mom and Dad. If they are "off duty", they are free to head to the cocktail hour, or leave the ceremony site, or generally do their own thing. If they are on "stand by" they will get antsy.
