Wedding Tips: Family Outfit Coordination

When was the last time your family had professional photographs taken together?  You know, the kind you frame and decorate your home with.  Years ago?  Never?  At my wedding it had been about 9 years since my dad and I had professional photos together.  For my husband’s family, our wedding was the first time they had professional photos taken together, EVER!  If you fall into either of these camps, then you (or mom) is going to put high importance on the family pictures from you wedding.  So, you want to make sure they look extra amazing.  (And if you don’t fall into one of those camps, read on because you will still want amazing family portraits!)  The best way to making your family photos really stand out is with outfit coordination!

Coordinate Colors

The best way to make your family photos look great is to coordinate the outfit colors of your immediate family members.  This would generally be parents, siblings, and grandparents, but may include a few others depending on your unique family!  The key here is coordination not matching.  Have them choose outfits with colors that also compliment the colors of the wedding!

Matching Wedding Colors – This option is great if you have family members in your bridal party.  They will already be wearing the wedding colors, so have the rest of your family follow suit.  For example, if your wedding colors are burgundy and grey, have your family wear different shades of grey and maybe accent their outfits with pops of burgundy.

Complimenting Wedding Colors – This option gives your family members more options when it comes to choosing outfits.  For this, you would have your family choose outfits is the same color family as your wedding colors.  For example, if your wedding colors are natural greens and lavender, your family can wear different neutral earthy tones.  Tans, whites, browns, etc.

Neutral Colors – Maybe you don’t quite have a wedding color.  (Mine was earth greens and burnt yellows.  Not really a specific color…) A good option here would be to ask your family to dress in neutral colors.  Tans, whites, blacks, greys. There are so many awesome options in this neutral colors!  And they will all look nice and coordinated!

Coordinate Formality

The bride and groom will usually look a bit more formal than the rest of their family members.  The key here is “a bit”.  If you are wearing a ball gown and tux, you do not want your dad showing up in kakis!  Or for your father to be in a suit and your father-in-law to be in jeans!  As a rule of thumb, your family should dress at your formality level or just one below.

Another quick tip is to have both of the dads rent coordinating suits.  The father of the bride will generally wear/rent a suit to walk the bride down the aisle.  But why not include the father of the groom as well?!  That way they both look stunning for your family pictures, and it includes the father of the groom in your wedding planning!

Make Sure To Tell Your Family

If you don’t tell your family members that they are going to be in the pictures, they may not know!  And if you don’t let them know what types of outfits you want them to wear, you cannot expect them to read your mind.  So make a list of the important family members that you want to include in your formal family portraits.  Usually parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces/nephews.  But this could also include anyone else that is extra important to you.  (We all love our aunts and uncles, but usually those photos can be taken during teh reception!)

Once you have your list of the important family members to include in your family portraits, now you have to tell them what to wear!  You can create a Pinterest board with inspiration of what to wear if you have a cool family that knows how to use Pinterest!  Another option is to create a quick guideline to print and hand to them.  Be sure to include a picture or two and your wedding colors if you go this route.  But the funnest way is to go out with them to find their outfits!  You can make a family day of it and go out to dinner after.

There you have it.  My top tips on getting amazing family portraits on your wedding day!  Want more tips for creating an amazing wedding day?  Click here for more Wedding Tips!