I love weddings that have sentimental decor that reflect my couples personalities and their adventures. I learn a lot about my clients through their decor and absolutely love everything about how it can alter the entire vibe of the venue. It is amazing to see all the inspiration, ideas and hard work come together on a wedding day.

As a photographer, the one thing I want at the end of the day is to deliver those incredible details photos along with amazing candid reception photos; the kind that allow you to relive the entire experience from another perspective. However, for some weddings, there was something with some decor that kept getting in my way and that was the head table decor. Believe it or not but this year I began going up to the head table before speeches and began taking off anything that was high than the plates (with the exception of wine glasses of course). Why did I do this? Well, it is simple, I wanted my clients to have all those important people that are sitting by their side in their photos and it is hard to get candid if I am standing directly in their faces to work around a decor piece that is cutting off their face trust me they will look at me and I will be left with an unflattering frowny face. Moving around a room full of people is easy enough but a head table I can usually only shoot from a handful of angles if it is spacious enough and it is hit and miss with a maid of honor having a bouquet for a face while all the other girls are seen in the photo.

So my advice to you is to save on that fancy head table decor and keep it simple. If photos are the most important aspect of your day then please keep it less cluttered and available for those candid photos. One way to keep it simple is to do some greenery on the table or have a fancy backdrop of decor vs the table top stuff so that faces can all be seen in the most flattering way. This is so important especially if you have your reception in a crowded place with little room surrounding the head table. I ask that the bouquets be placed behind or elsewhere during the reception speech time unless your table is ground level the bouquets being laid on the table are fine or use them around your cake for decor there while the reception is going on (maybe just a thought of mine that came at random). If your head table is up on a stage, however, this is so crucial that you keep as much off as possible.

If you are working with a wedding decorator then just forward this information to them to keep in mind when you are planning out the design of your wedding reception. If you are a DIY bride then hopefully this helped you with your planning tips when you are searching ideas on Pinterest!