Posing Wedding Party: Tips for Getting the Perfect Shot

When it comes to posing the wedding party, the bridal party shots are some of the most important. This is your chance to capture everyone looking their best and having a good time! However, posing a wedding party can be tricky. If you don’t know what bridal party poses to do you could end up with some stiff, awkward-looking photos. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for getting the perfect shot of your wedding party!

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Posing Wedding Party: Boy-Girl-Boy-Girl

This pose is really simple and looks great! Place the bride and groom in the middle and then line the bridal party up on both sides of them alternating gender with every other person. The easiest way to do this is to tell the party prior to the shot to find the person they walk down the aisle with and stand beside them. Then just place one couple at a time.

Posing Wedding Party: Boys vs Girls

Instead of mixing them up, another thing you can do is place all the guys on one side with the girls on the other. I like to sometimes place the groomsmen behind the bride and the bridesmaids behind the groom, as shown, to mix it up a little bit. This pose is more relaxed with the bridesmaids leaning on each other instead of standing in formation.

Bridal Party Poses Ideas: The Walking Shot

For a really relaxed, fun pose, try a walking pose. Have your wedding party alternate on both sides of the bride and groom. Make them all link arms and walk toward you. Tell them to talk with each other and not to look at the camera. If they seem stiff, have them over exaggerate a fake laugh. This typically generates some real smiles.

How To Pose Wedding Party Staggered:

This pose works especially well with larger parties. Depending on your location, you can switch this up a lot. Sometimes they’ll all be standing, sometimes they can sit on objects or squat. The possibilities are endless. You can mix boys with girls or split them up. The bride and groom should be together and separated to draw more attention to them, while the rest of the party is staggered off to the side.

Posing Wedding Party Staggered Position 2:

Here is another example of a staggered pose. This one splits up the party by couple. Some are standing, some seated on objects, some on the ground. They are all kind of clustered together though in a way that is pleasing to the eye. It is easiest if you pose one couple at a time. Then it’s not so overwhelming. Just think of them as individual couples.

Here’s one more sample stagger pose for bridal parties. This one involves more interaction between the party, as only some of them are
camera aware.

Posing The Bride And Bridesmaids:

Start with placing the bride in the middle, holding her bouquet. Then start placing the bridesmaids around her. Their shoulders should
overlap as shown. Have the girls slightly turn in toward the bride. Place the maid of honor closest to her. This pose will work whether or not there is an even number of bridesmaids. Have all the girls hold their flowers about the same level and close together with their arms in an L formation.

Bride and Bridesmaids Detail Shot:

While in this position, have your second shooter go to the side and take a shot of the row of flowers that the girls have now created. This is a fun detail shot that is easy to set up because it is already in place.

Bride and Bridesmaids Group Posing:

I like to add some more relaxed photos into the mix. as well as the traditional lined up pose photos. These relaxed poses consist of the girls sitting down, leaning on one another, and just having a good time. I do a lot of back to back posing, with hands on hips and other
bridesmaid’s shoulders. Foot popping is also fun! See below for some samples.

Bride and Bridesmaids Must Have Shot:

Don’t forget to take photos of the bride with each individual bridesmaid. I like to do these photos vertically. I take one closeup and one full body shot. If time allows and they want to, I’ll also let them do a silly shot of their choosing.

Groom and Groomsmen Posing:

For the groomsmen photos, I like to start off with a simple stagger. I’ll place the groom front and center, with the best man at his side, shoulder to shoulder. Then I’ll add in the rest of the groomsmen. I’ll start filling them into the windows between the groom’s shoulders. If there is a larger group of groomsmen, I’ll have more along the front row on each side.

Groom and Groomsmen Posing Alternative:

Guys like to be cool, so I always try to set up some more “cool” photos for them. I’ll have them line up with the groom in the middle and swag it out. If you tell them to show you some swag or to look cool, this will usually do the trick. Crossing ankles, popping a knee, hands in pockets or crossed are all good swag poses. I also like to try to set them up in a similar formation as the girls for a pose (as shown in the second photo) to show side by side in the album or in a nice wall collage.

Must Have Groom and Groomsmen Photo:

I always get individuals with the groom and each groomsmen, as well. Just like the bride and her girls, I take them vertically, close up, and full body. Since they don’t have flowers to hold to occupy their hands, I’ll have them place their hands in their pockets and turn slightly into each other.