Photographers – do you ever have a bridal party that’s one party member off from an even number on both sides?  I used to CRINGE when my bride let me know she had SEVEN bridesmaids.  I mean, FOUR on one side and THREE on the other?! How in the world do you make that look good?  I used to worry SO much over the odd number of bridesmaids.  But you don’t have to.  Today, I’m sharing my absolute FAVORITE bridal party posing tip — one that I’ve never shared before!

I’m not even sure how it came about, to be honest, or when we started implementing it.  It must have been somewhere in the middle of a wedding when I realized as I was moving the bridal party around that it worked.  Are you ready for it? It’s so simple, you might laugh.  I did, when I realized it.

THE TIP: When we realized that having an odd number of bridesmaids or groomsmen or both made our photos feel off kilter, we realized it was because it took the bride and groom out of the center.  HOWEVER, by implementing this tip, your bride and groom will never loose the center stage again.  Simply by making sure the side with more people on it crowds in a bit more, you can make sure that your sides FEEL even, LOOK even – even if they aren’t EVEN.  (How many times can Cassie put the word “even” into a sentence? FOUR. A new PR thank you 🙂 )

Take this image, for example : At first, you really don’t notice that there’s more bouquets on one side.  Why? Because the bride is still center.  To your eye, it’s still pleasing, not heavy on one side.  WHY? Because we made sure the crowd on the left hand side of the bride loved one another a little bit more and we made sure their bouquets ALSO loved each other a bit more.  From top to bottom, this image never feels off, even with more people on one side.

Let’s move on to an example with face, shall we? These cuties did superb at following directions.  Luckily, the girls always look extra cute when they’re cuddled up and we LOVE for our bridal party photos to feel fun and natural.  We instructed these girls to lean in together, but we made sure the girls on the bride’s right were spaced out just a bit and made sure the girls on the left hand side of the bride were loving each other extra.  We tend to make a joke about it and let them know ahead of time, “Hey, there’s more of you on this side, and to make sure you all look good, we’re going to let you guys get extra close.”

BONUS tip: What do you do when there’s more guys than girls ? Or vice versa ? Step one: Roll with it.  Don’t panic.  Step two: think it out carefully – remembering that symmetry is what the goal is here – not even-ness. Step three: Start with the bride and groom in the center, and build out from there.  The last thing to remember? Don’t worry if it doesn’t work.  Just simply move them in a calm way.  IF they feel your panic, they’ll panic — and that’s no way to feel on your wedding day!