How-To Archives - Ying Multimedia

Why Wedding Traditions Exist and How Modern Couples Are Redefining Them

yingphotography_ghmtv5 — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:26:45 +0000

Why Wedding Traditions Exist and How Modern Couples Are Redefining Them

Wedding traditions have shaped wedding ceremonies and receptions for centuries. From walking down the aisle to exchanging wedding rings these meaningful moments connect modern couples to generations of love stories before them. While some wedding traditions were created for symbolic reasons others were born from superstition practicality or even humor.

Today couples are blending classic wedding traditions with modern wedding ideas to create celebrations that feel intentional personal and unforgettable.

Classic Wedding Traditions and their meaning

The white wedding dress became popular after Queen Victoria wore white in the nineteenth century. It symbolized new beginnings and purity. Today the white wedding dress represents a powerful emotional moment when a bride truly steps into her wedding day.

The engagement ring worn on the left hand comes from an ancient Roman belief that a vein ran directly from that finger to the heart. While not anatomically correct the symbolism of love being connected straight to the heart continues to resonate with couples today.

Wedding rings are one of the oldest wedding traditions in history. The circular shape has no beginning and no end making it a timeless symbol of eternal love and lifelong commitment.

The rhyme something old something new something borrowed something blue was meant to bring good fortune into marriage. Old represents continuity. New represents optimism for the future. Borrowed represents shared happiness. Blue symbolizes loyalty and faithfulness. Many couples still incorporate this wedding tradition in subtle personal ways.

Bridesmaids and groomsmen originally existed to protect the couple. They dressed similarly to confuse evil spirits and ward off negative energy. Today the wedding party represents chosen family standing beside the couple offering emotional support throughout the wedding day.

Wedding Traditions Meant to Protect the Couple

Many traditional wedding customs were created with protection in mind. The bridal veil was originally used to shield the bride from bad spirits and jealous eyes. Today it has evolved into one of the most emotional reveal moments during the wedding ceremony.

Carrying the bride over the threshold began as a way to prevent evil spirits from entering the home through the feet. In modern weddings it symbolizes care protection and the beginning of married life together.

In many cultures bells were rung during wedding ceremonies to scare away negative energy and invite joy prosperity and good fortune. Even today bells appear in ceremony music and celebratory exits.

Funny Wedding Traditions With Unexpected Origins

Some wedding traditions exist simply because of human behavior and history. Leaving the bottom button of a suit unbuttoned traces back to King Edward VII who stopped buttoning his vest due to weight gain. Because he was royalty the style caught on and became proper suit etiquette still followed by grooms today.

The bouquet toss and garter toss originated from beliefs that good luck could be transferred from the couple to guests. Long ago guests would try to grab pieces of the bride’s attire and even rip the wedding dress up to get a piece for luck. Tossing the bouquet and garter became a safer and much more entertaining alternative.

The word honeymoon comes from the tradition of drinking honey wine for an entire month after the wedding. While modern honeymoons look very different the idea of celebrating love away from daily life remains.

Modern Wedding Traditions Couples Are Creating Today

Modern weddings are no longer about following rules. Couples are intentionally creating wedding day experiences that reflect their values. Many couples choose private vows to share deeply personal promises away from the crowd.

The first look has become a popular modern wedding tradition allowing couples to connect privately and calm nerves before the ceremony. It also gives the couple time back to enjoy cocktail hour.

Couples are also embracing non traditional wedding parties or choosing no wedding party at all.

During receptions more couples are choosing a private dinner for the couple. This allows them to eat reconnect and enjoy quiet time before visiting tables and celebrating with guests

Other modern wedding trends include unplugged ceremonies personalized rituals and ending the night with a private last dance instead of a staged exit.

Why Wedding Traditions Still Matter

Whether couples choose traditional wedding customs modern wedding trends or a blend of both the meaning behind the moments is what lasts.

Wedding traditions are no longer about doing things a certain way. They are about intention connection and creating memories that reflect the couple’s love story.

Years from now these traditions will not just be rituals
They will be memories worth reliving

The post Why Wedding Traditions Exist and How Modern Couples Are Redefining Them appeared first on Ying Multimedia.

13 More Tips For Your Wedding Day

yingphotography_ghmtv5 — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 20:02:52 +0000

13 more tips for your wedding day

Did you like our last 20 tips article? It has the highest view count of all our blog posts. We’ve heard lots of feedback on how helpful it is to answer questions and bring attention to things on your wedding date that otherwise, you might not have thought about before. With that in mind, we collected these 13 more tips on other things to consider before your wedding day.

Book your vendors early! The top vendors you should look into booking early are your venue, wedding planner, photographers and videographers. Often these vendors are small businesses and will not be able to accommodate you if they are already reserved for another date. On the other hand, businesses for floral, catering and others tend to have multiple teams to handle multiple weddings so they may be able book multiple weddings on the same date.

If you are the sentimental type or a big fan of details, get a few extra invitations for the photographers to snap pictures of. You can even add it afterwards to a keepsake box. Our top wedding package includes a keepsake box and prints of your top favorite photos. This would be a great place to keep all your favorite mementos from your big day.

If your future spouse plans on having a nice, fresh haircut for the day of your wedding, do it a week or so prior so there’s not a tan line from the hair cut!

Do you wear contact lenses? Make sure to pack some eye drops and contact lens solution if you are not used to wearing the kind of professional makeup you’ll have on your wedding day. On the day of your hair/makeup trial, consider wearing the kind of contacts you plan to wear the day of the wedding to make sure there are no unexpected reactions, especially if you are planning to wear a lot of eye makeup.

Have someone give you one last look over before you walk down the aisle. Usually a planner will do this, but if you haven’t booked a planner, a friend or someone in your bridal party will work for this. You don’t want to be walking down the aisle with a strap showing or toilet paper on your shoe!

Are you writing your own vows? Don’t forget to print them out! We’ve seen a lot of couples use their phone for vows, which is fine for reading, but not for photos! Printed or hand written vows make for a beautiful photo and add a special personal touch. It’s also a great idea to write each other a special wedding day letter or note to read during preparation, especially if you’ve decided not to do a first look. This can help you feel connected and give you an opportunity to share your feelings on your special day.

If you are doing a cake cutting, don’t forget to bring cutlery! Many companies make special wedding cutlery and some can even be personalized. Not every venue is equipped with these tools, and you don’t want to try and cut your big beautiful cake with a fork and a butter knife off the closest guest table!

Create a #hashtag for guests to use at your wedding so later you can look at your guest’s point of view by looking up the hashtag on social media! There are lots of clever ideas out there that can incorporate your names or other special details about your day into the hashtag.

Take a few moments to look around once you sit down at your head table for reception. Watch all your friends and the family you have invited. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the day and forget to soak in the moments.

photo courtesy of I Heart PhotoBomb

Everyone always worries about the wedding favors for your guests. Don’t! Most guests remember only a few things about your reception: how good the food was and how nice the music was. Sending them home with joyful memories is the best gift you can give! If that’s still not enough, hire a photo booth company like I Heart Photo Bomb, which offers professional photo booth services with professional cameras. Fun photo mementos are a great wedding day favor.

On your RSVP cards, put a line for requested songs. This way you have an idea of what everyone wants to hear and dance to and so you can build a list with the DJ accordingly. Another thing to have on the RSVP cards is a deadline. Make sure you provide a date you must hear confirmation back from them if they are coming. If you don’t hear back from those invited, give them a call to confirm. The last thing you’d want is 20 extra guests showing up on your wedding date after the venue has already set up the tables and decor.

Splurge on a new perfume/cologne you haven’t worn before your wedding day. That way, every time you wear it or smell it, it will remind you of your big day! Maybe go shopping with your future spouse for these special items together. Pick something you each love for each other!

During the first dance, focus on your new spouse! So many couples get nervous being in front of everyone, or are anxious to see all the friends and family they haven’t seen in so long. You’ll get plenty of time to visit with all your guests, but enjoy the moment of your first dance with each other! You never get a second chance for your first dance together as a married couple.

Bonus tip! Save your hair/make up trial for engagement photos or dress fitting day, this way you can see how the hair and makeup will look either as a complete package with the dress, or how it will look in photos for engagement!

Do you have some other tips or ideas that are not in the article? Be sure to let us know so we can share it with other couples!

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Engagement Sessions: Pave The Way To Your Wedding Day Success

yingphotography_ghmtv5 — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 00:26:01 +0000

Engagement Sessions: Pave The Way To Your Wedding Day Success

Photographers are going to be one of a few ‘strangers’ that you will spend the most time with on your wedding day (the other stranger you spend a lot of your day with is your wedding planner.) The more time you spend with your photographer prior to the wedding day, the more comfortable you’ll be with them. Our goal as photographers is to document your wedding day in a mostly unobtrusive manner and to let most of the moments unfold naturally. Having you be comfortable and relaxed around us makes that flow more naturally and it is less likely there will be awkward or uncomfortable photos.

Getting to know your photographers at an engagement session allows you to get familiar with them and their personalities. You want to make sure you mesh well with them and they are not awkward or annoying around you. The last thing you want is to find out on the day of your wedding is that the photographer isn’t a good fit for you. That will add additional stress to an already packed and busy d

Unlike in years past, where a photo studio stands on every other street corner and inside every shopping mall, most people nowadays have never had professional photography done. That means most people find having a big camera pointed at them uncomfortable or awkward. Many people have spent years having photos taken by cellphone cameras and seeing an actual camera with a giant lens pointed at them may seem intimidating. Having an engagement shoot helps to alleviate some of that by getting you comfortable with having the cameras and photographers around.

In addition to getting you comfortable in front of the camera, the engagement session also helps us provide some pointers for you both on posing and will familiarize you with strategies that we may use on the wedding day.

For example, a quick peck kiss is over too soon to be captured by most cameras. We normally ask the couple to hold it for about 5 seconds or so. A longer kiss helps to guarantee the moment isn’t missed and also helps you to slow down and enjoy the moment as well. We may also ask you to pose in certain ways during the engagement shoot, and having that posing experience and prior experience and communication before the wedding mean that on the wedding day when the timing is critical, there’s less time we need to explain something and more time capturing photographs!

Engagement sessions normally last an hour to an hour and a half long for us. That’s a lot of time to get familiar with your photographers, to get to know us as we get to know more about you during the shoot and to get familiar with how we work so you know what to expect on your wedding day. The engagement session also allows you to express your unique personalities and interests. We’ve done an engagement shoot in a Target for a couple who loves shopping at Target. In another we did, the couple had met each other at an OrangeTheory Fitness, so we went back there for engagement photos. Doing this gives you more opportunities to tell your story and express your individuality outside of the confines of your wedding venue.

One last thing an engagement photoshoot will provide is confidence. The engagement session gives you an opportunity to watch us work and craft your photos. There are news reports all the time of photographers out there who steal images as their own for advertising, and it’s only later that couples realize they weren’t a real photographer at all, and the quality and style they receive is much different, and often inferior to what was advertised. And unfortunately, it’s too late at that point. Having us do your engagement session shows our capability, with you in the image, so you can be confident that the images we create are genuine and legitimate. This gives you confidence on your wedding day that your photos will be everything you want and more. You can go into your big day without fear of the unexpected.

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Here are 20 Tips to Help Make Your Wedding Day Go Smoothly

yingphotography_ghmtv5 — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 16:30:07 +0000

Here are 20 Tips to Help Make Your Wedding Day Go Smoothly

Your wedding is fast approaching. Everything seems to be going smoothly and all your vendors are in place. Your timeline has been drawn and the planner states everything is going according to schedule. Nonetheless, in the back of your mind you feel like there’s still something you’ve forgotten. Here’s a list of twenty tips we have collected, through our years as wedding photographers, that might help make your wedding day proceed smoothly.

During Planning

You Shall Not Pass: Many churches and venues have restrictions on where vendors can be during the ceremony. Make sure to check with your venue to get a clear idea of what is and isn’t allowed. If they don’t allow your photographers near the altar, there’s probably not going to be a lot of photos near the altar. Set your expectations accordingly.

Have a Family Formal Shoot List: Depending on your family, family formals could be the most stressful part of your day. Having a list of all the formal photos you want with the names of the family members needed in each shot makes the whole process go much quicker. We recommend starting with the largest groups and dismissing those family to cocktail hour as soon as they are finished. Your planner might appreciate having a copy of this list so they can help to get the next group ready while the current group is being photographed. We provide a template shoot list for every couple at our consultation to assist in this process.

Enjoy Sun Screen: If you normally wear a watch or a fitness band and you don’t plan on wearing them on your wedding day, consider alternating the arm for the band or simply put the band away for a few weeks so the tan line fades before the wedding.

Even Batman Has a Utility Kit: Have a tool kit available with safety pins, wipes, scissors, body tape and stain eraser pens. You never know when there might be a wardrobe malfunction. Always best to be prepared!

Water Makes the World Go Round: Make sure your caterer and venue verify with each other who’s responsible for the water/coffee/lemonade/tea for those who do not drink alcohol. We were involved in a wedding in which the venue and caterer each thought the other company was providing the non-alcoholic beverages and neither brought them. As a result, the donuts had no coffee and there was only beer, wine and water available to the guests. Even if everyone attending drinks alcohol, it’s best to have other beverages available to keep your guests hydrated.

Get Hungry: Have your caterer or family provide some snacks and beverages for you directly after the ceremony. Many couples are too nervous to eat and drink a lot before the ceremony. As soon as the ceremony is over, when the weight is suddenly lifted off their shoulders, they suddenly realize how hungry and thirsty they’ve become. Many couples also schedule their couples photo session between the ceremony and reception leaving them precious little time, and it may have been an hour or two since they have had anything to drink. We keep bottled water on us in case this happens, but not every photographer considers this.

Sunset in Your Time Line: Depending on your ceremony time, considers scheduling a moment in your wedding timeline for sunset photos. That will likely be when the light is the most flattering for photographs.

Your Dress Deserves a Little Bling Too: Most wedding dresses come with a plastic or wire hanger, which doesn’t photograph well and doesn’t look very pretty. Purchase a nice wood or felt hanger to replace it and make your dress pop while it’s hung up. Some couples even purchase a customized hanger with their names and special date on it!

It’s as Hot as Mount Doom: We live in Florida. The humidity here guarantees we will sweat buckets when we are outside. If your groom (or bride!) can get a little too shiny in the sunshine, consider getting them a personalized hand towel on Etsy or something similar that they can keep in their back pocket so they can pat themselves dry throughout the day.

If You Don’t Say It, No One Knows: Many couples have surprises for their family that they want to keep secret, such as a special dance dedicated to their grandparents or a special moment set aside for a sister with their father or a brother to their mother. Let your vendors know ahead of time so they can plan for it accordingly. If your vendors don’t know it’s happening, they can’t be prepared with cameras, video equipment, special music or whatever else is needed to make the moment happen. Let them know and trust that your secret will be

1-3 Weeks Before Wedding Day

Bling Bling: During your engagement, your engagement ring has seen everything under the sun. Dirt, grime, makeup, meatloaf, hair and more! For your wedding and engagement photoshoots, your ring will be getting photographed VERY CLOSE UP. The macro camera lenses do not lie. You want to make sure the engagement ring has been cleaned, trust us.

Heels, Heels, Heels: If you plan on wearing heels on your wedding day, consider keeping a pair of flats or flip flops nearby. This way you can change from the heels to more comfortable footwear during dancing and the rest of the night. Your feet will thank you when you are walking around mingling with your guests and dancing the night away blister-free.

Practice Makes Perfect: Practice your dance with your future spouse to ensure that first dance goes smoothly, some couples even take dancing lessons to wow their guests! If you want a photo with a dramatic dip, make sure you practice that a few times as well!

Measure Twice, Cut Once: Test fit your dress one last time a week or 2 before the wedding. If your dress has a bustle, have your bridal party, or whoever is in charge of helping with that, practice to ensure everyone knows how it comes together. Some bustles can be very complicated!

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe: If you have a dress train or otherwise fairly long gown, speak to your wedding party and make sure you have volunteers to help you keep the dress straight and help you hold the dress up while you traverse outside of the ceremony site. We try to help when we can but having a wedding party member assist can really make life easier for everyone (shout out John Carroll, Best Best Man.) A lot of coordinators also offer it as part of their services, but it helps to determine that before the wedding.

Day of the Wedding

Thank You Cards: If you plan on sending a thank you card to your guests, you might want to bring a thank you sign to the reception. Your photographer to grab a photo of you holding the sign at the end of the night. This way you have a photo ready that can be used for thank you cards.

First We Eat, Then We Do Everything Else: Make sure both the groom and the bride have a meal during preparations. The last thing you’ll want is someone HANGRY at the altar!

It’s Potty Break Time: Use the restroom before getting into the dress. Also, make sure the bridal party gets a chance to use the bathroom as well before the ceremony. You don’t want your groomsman doing the pee-pee dance at the alter while you say your vows.

Feed Me Seymour: If your vendors have meal stipulation in their contract, or if you simply feel generous and want to feed them, arrange for them to get their meal right after the bridal party. This way the vendors are on the same timeline and will finish eating at the same time as you and they can be ready to go again as soon as you are. Having the vendors go last means they are either going to be too busy eating as the next event happens, or they are unable to eat because the next event is happening, causing them to not be able to perform up to par. No one likes to work hungry!

Electrolytes, It’s What Plants Crave: Have an open bar? Consider keeping some Gatorade or other sports drinks at your hotel room or wherever you are going the night of the wedding to help with replenishing lost fluids. Take care of yourselves! You definitely don’t want a hangover kick off your honeymoon.

Do you have your own tips based on your experience? Post them in the comments or shoot us an email so we can add them!

The post Here are 20 Tips to Help Make Your Wedding Day Go Smoothly appeared first on Ying Multimedia.

How to Maximize the use of your Wedding Photographer

yingphotography_ghmtv5 — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 22:41:19 +0000

Photography is one of the largest investments you will make on your wedding day. Not only in cost, but the memories that last for a lifetime. In the 6 years we’ve worked in weddings, there’s been many common factors that allow us to operate smoothly and to maximize your return on investment. Here are some tips to keep in the back of your mind. Follow them and you’ll be amazed at the quality of your images and make most of your photographers.

#1 BUFFER YOUR SCHEDULE

There’s going to be at least one thing that will not go as planned on your wedding day. Falling behind schedule can mean your photographers are left waiting instead of taking the next great photograph. If you buffer your schedule during schedule creation, you’ll be in a much better place when something unexpected happens. Things like delayed delivery of cakes, late bridal party members or someone forgetting their dress or make up can cause unforeseen delays in your day. Makeup and hair are always longer than what’s planned. A schedule with plenty of time will allow you to relax and enjoy the day.

#2 BEGIN EARLY

This goes back to #1. We always recommend starting your day earlier rather than later. Preparing for the unexpected means having the extra time on your wedding day to relax and enjoy the day. Getting ready earlier also means there’s more time for us to do bridal portraits, a first looks or any other photos you might want before the guests arrive.

#3 HAVE A ‘FIRST LOOK’

We love first looks! This is a chance for the couple to have an intimate moment for the first time on their day, away from prying eyes of guests and have some alone time to reflect with each other. A first look also yields amazing photographs as the couple has the opportunity to express their emotions in private, rather than in front of a large audience. If first look is not your thing, a “first touch” of the day where the couple share a touch of hand divided by a door or a wall also works great! Many of our couples even write a letter, a card or share a prayer for their future spouse to make the moment even more sweet.

A first look provides more return on your time as it allows you to get some of the formal photos out of the way now, reducing the possible need of a cocktail hour or to provide more time for family photos between ceremony and reception.

#4 REMEMBER THE LIGHT

Good light is a photographer’s best friend. To make the most of your bridal photos, schedule the time for posed portraits within the golden hour. This is the hour before sunset and it provides gorgeous, warm, and flattering light. Typically, the best time to schedule this is between the ceremony and your reception entrance.

A tip from our friends at BEWED: schedule sunset portraits in your timeline during reception, so you have 15-45 minutes near sunset to get some beautiful imagery.

#5 TRUST YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

On your wedding day, your photographer is going to ask you to do all sorts of weird poses or positions, and they may ask you to do something that may be out of the ordinary. Trust that your photographers have your best interest in mind. The dress can be dry cleaned, and the suit can be repaired, but your wedding photos are a once in a lifetime deal. Don’t let something temporary prevent you from having great photos that will last a lifetime. Trust that your photographers will do everything in their power to make sure the photos are as epic as your wedding day.

#6 HAVE AN ENGAGEMENT SESSION

Having an engagement session allows you to see how you will connect on a personal level with your photographer on the day of your wedding. The last thing you want is to feel awkward and uncomfortable on your wedding day. An engagement session is a great opportunity to get familiar with the person pointing a big camera at you as well. For the photographers, this is an opportunity for us to see your personality and to incorporate it into your wedding day photos. This is also a chance to see your photographer’s work with you as the subject instead of somebody else.

If you can’t or don’t want an engagement session, that’s okay too! Schedule a in person consultation, so you can spend some time with your photographer to get familiar with them.

#7 SMILE / LAUGH

Although it may seem that laughing and smiling would be natural, stress and tight schedules can make your day not as enjoyable as you have dreamed of.

Having everyone in high spirits will yield more and better images. Laughter is contagious, and it also creates the best smiles. Keep your wedding day as lighthearted and carefree as possible. Surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you, those who make you laugh, and those who you can be yourself around. Who knows.. maybe some of those moments will make it into a blooper album!

#8 HIRE A SECOND

Second shooters are common in wedding photography. It’s a considerable amount of effort to photograph an entire wedding solo, so when you’re in the market for a photographer you may want to consider finding one that includes a second. The price for an additional photographer at your wedding has a great return on investment and will allow you to have a fair amount of additional images. A second photographer is great for grabbing candid shots and generally ease the work load of the primary photographer. Furthermore, second photographers also act as lighting assistants during posed portraits. This assistance to the primary photographer will expedite the work flow.

photo courtesy of BEWED

#9 HAVE AN UNPLUGGED CEREMONY

An unplugged ceremony allows your guests to stop worrying about capturing the day and actually be able to share in the moment with you. You invited them to share your special day! This goes back to #5 as well for building trust in your photographer!

Having no phones during the ceremony also ensures your photos will be timeless. Five years from now, everyone will have new iPhones, and looking at your wedding photos where everyone is holding an iPhone 6 will stick out like an eye sore.

#10 HIRE A GREAT DJ

A DJ’s responsibility goes beyond simply playing music. They are the drummer of your vendor band and they keep the pace of the wedding on schedule. It’s also their job to keep the guests at your reception having a great time for long as possible. Couples typically spend the largest percentage of their budget on reception venue and reception related events and decor. A good DJ will play the right music, but a GREAT DJ will make sure you get your return on investment at your reception venue. In addition to that, a great DJ will ensure your guests are having a great time, which will facilitate amazing reception photos for the photographers.

Great DJs will also have several add-ons such as a mic for your officiant, an audio board for your videographer to get speech audio and little things like special requests. Some DJ even provide their own light and fog effects.

#11 HAVE A WEDDING PLANNER/COORDINATOR

The last thing you want on your wedding day is to worry about anything going wrong that may come up. Investing in a good coordinator ensures your wedding day runs smoothly. The planner will also take care of communicating with your vendors. A GREAT wedding planner will create a great timeline which will help you handle #1 and #2 of this blog post. They will also consider thoughtful things such as a quick break for a bite to eat and rest between ceremony and reception, or sunset photo session to maximize your photographers. We find that a professional wedding coordinator will make a wedding day go smoother and will return more photos for the couple. Many coordinators also have connections within the industry and may be able to get a better deal on other vendor services, help you to make the best of your budget.

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