Wedding Shoot Tips

AMarshal

Hey all :)
My brother and his fiance are getting married at the end of September! Congrats to them and congrats to me, because they've asked me to take all the photos at the ceremony! This will be a low key, family only wedding held in my parent's backyard, on a lovely Sunday afternoon!
I'm hoping for some tips on how to get the most out of this experience, and give the some really great photos.
Can anyone suggest a great lens, or offer a beginner some helpful tips? I'm beyond excited to hear what you have to say!

kravattisolmu

I'm not a wedding photographer, but maybe get some tips from Flickr wedding topics.

Afternoon gives enough light for your kit lens to work efficiently. Group photos are great with this lens. It's a sharp lens no matter what others say; it just won't do in low light, but that's not issue here so we are fine!
I would use aperture mode (or all auto even maybe with kit lens) for group shots. Weddings are about candid shots with small aperture where you bring out the subject from the background. I would either get a 17-50mm f/2.8 Tamron/Sigma or a fast prime like Nikkor 35mm DX f/1.8G.

Sigmas and Tamrons are great all around lenses and their prices are coming down like no tomorrow. Sigma being now 365 euros when it was 670 euros in May (search Amazon).

Nikkor is 180e new or even 120e used.

Most importantly, make a list what shots needs to be taken. Have a talk with your brother's fiance about what they want rather than just taking some random pictures. If you shoot randomly as an amateur end result will probably be horrible!

Here are some shots to consider for the ceremony:

1) Photo of wedding dress. Hang the dress next to window and take a shot of it before bride wears it (of course only if she wants to).
2) Photos of guests arriving at the reception. I would have a black and white shot of bride hugging your mother upon arrival. Position yourself in a place where you can take shots. Talk to the bride beforehand for a good spot or you are probably going to be blocked by other quests all the time. During the ceremony ceremony take some photos at 50mm as far as you can without disturbing the ceremony. Try to catch the first kiss!

3) Shots of rings, flowers, cake, and all other decorations like tables etc.

4) Group shots: family, bride + fiancee, all guests etc.

Hopefully someone with wedding experience will help you, but I would get a fast prime or f/2.8 zoom for this event.