This happens most often when the wedding party is seated on the same side of one long table. Do your best to place the head table in an alternative location. If it feels unavoidable, then make sure the bride, groom, best man, and maid of honor’s place settings are not near that big black divider so that their presence in photos is minimized.

Avoid sitting at room dividers

The bright light coming from behind you through the windows makes lighting difficult for the photos, which in turn reduces the quality of the images we take. When this happens images become hazy and discolored. Closing curtains or blinds can help soften the light but doesn’t always make for a great backdrop. To mitigate this, choose a different wall to place the head table, sit closer to the center of the room where the natural light can still reach your face, or put up a custom backdrop behind you to block the window light and make sure it is large enough for both you and any speech-givers to stand in front of.

Avoid sitting with your backs to windows

if needed so that we can truly see your faces and capture more of your guests in the background of the photos. This is applicable for very large venues where you are seated at a harvest table or kings table.

Turn chairs if needed

There are so many fun head table arrangement options! Regardless of which style you choose, we’ve put together recommendations to ensure we can give you the best pictures possible. Our general rules of thumb are:

head table placement

As photographers we need to stand up in order to capture everything that is going on and don’t want to block the view of your parents/siblings/grandparents in the process. The best way to ensure we have a great view of you and your speakers during the toasts and speeches is to make sure there is enough space for us to stand! Here’s an example of the 3 most popular reception setups for the head table. *other guest tables and spacing are not to size*

Leave 4-6 feet of space in front of the bride & groom’s table