Do you actually need formal group wedding photos?

A Suffolk wedding photographer's perspective.


Formal group photos: a time-honoured tradition, or an unnecessary hassle? It’s a question more and more couples are asking themselves, and with good reason. While classic group formals have their place, they’re not the must-have they once were, and if you’re drawn to documentary-style wedding photography (which, let’s face it, you probably are if you’re reading this), you might be wondering whether they’re even worth the time and effort. So, in honour of BuzzFeed, here's a series of little lists I made for you:

A wedding party wearing navy suits and rust-colored bridesmaid dresses laughs while walking on a green lawn.
A wedding party in sage green bridesmaid dresses and white bridal gown walk together on a lawn with weeping willows.

The Case for Formal Group Photos

Despite my obvious bias towards candid photography, I’ll be the first to admit that group formals do have their merits.


A Few Quality, Frame-Worthy Images

Even if you’re all about candid photography, there’s something nice about having a couple of well-lit, well-composed shots with your favourite humans. Grandparents practically demand them and they're consistently the most purchased kind of image from my print store. I'm not saying the candids are trash from a quality perspective, but I don't have luxury of controlling who's standing where, doing what and what the light's like in that space. For formal group photos however, I'll put a bit of effort into selecting the right spot with the right composition. There's a bit more finesse, if you know what I mean.


A Guarantee That Key People Are in the Album

Candids are fantastic, but they’re unpredictable. If you know you're going to want a photo with your best mate from university or your godparents, a formal group photo ensures you get one, rather than hoping the documentary shots align in your favour. I'll grant you that at some point you'll be standing next to each other, but I might not be near you when that happens, and even if I am, will everyone be looking in the right directions or doing something interesting enough to make a decent photo worth taking? There's not much point in having a photo with your favourite people if your favourite people happen to look fairly bold at that particular moment.


A Record for Future Generations

Your wedding might be the only time in decades that certain family members are all together in one place. Years from now, a well-executed group shot could become a treasured keepsake - or, at the very least, a great source of embarrassment over questionable fashion choices (have you seen 80s bridesmaid dresses?).

Four Suffolk bridesmaids in colourful dresses hold rustic bouquets of wildflowers and greenery at sunset.

The Chaos Factor: Why They Might Not Be Worth It

While group formals sound great in theory, in practice they can be a logistical nightmare.


The Herding Effect 

No matter how well we plan or announce them, I guarantee you that regardless of the size of your guest list, Uncle Bob will be in the toilet when he's needed. Every single time, without fail, someone manages to vanish without a trace. Wrangling guests takes time, and time is a precious commodity on your wedding day.


Posing Fatigue

You didn’t book a documentary wedding photographer to spend an hour standing in the same spot forcing a smile. I’ve seen it happen: couples start off keen, but after the first few, they’re questioning every life decision that led them to this moment.


Guest Resistance

It’s not just you who might be uncomfortable posing, many guests actively try to avoid it. I genuinely have yet to do a full congregation photo where at least a one guest wasn't actively trying to hide behind someone else so that they didn't appear in the photo. If you thought your uncle John was outgoing, just wait until he has to stand still and smile in front of a camera.


Time Suck

Even the best-organised group formals take at least a few minutes per setup. That might not sound like much, but if you have ten groups and they take 5 minutes each that’s nearly an hour spent posing for photos instead of actually enjoying your own wedding. And trust me, drinking champagne and eating tiny delicious canapés is a much better use of that time.

A Suffolk wedding group poses outdoors in a green field during a summer day with bouquets and formal attire.
A group of groomsmen stand with their groom on a gravel driveway in front of a wedding barn.
A bridal party stands together on a sunlit lawn, wearing colourful floral dresses and a white wedding gown.

The Best of Both Worlds: A Smarter Approach to Formal Group Photos

If you’re torn between tradition and your desire to actually experience your wedding day, there’s a happy middle ground. Here’s how to make group formals work for you without them taking over the whole event:


Limit Your List

I set a soft limit of six formal groupings to help couples keep it quick and simple: anything beyond that starts to seriously eat into your fun-time. Prioritise the ones that matter most - your work friends probably don't need to make the cut unless you'd literally die for them (military wedding *cough*).


Appoint some ‘sheepdogs’

Choose two trusted guests (one from each side of the family) to help round people up. This keeps things moving quickly and avoids you having to do it yourself, me shouting at your guests from a distance or either of us having to go and look for aunt Maud who seems to have mysteriously vanished. The aim is to have the next group waiting ready to go when you've finished the first so you can smash them all out without too much standing around while your mum casually saunters over, stopping at every distant relative she finds to say hello.


Timing can be helpful

The easiest time for group shots is right after the confetti throw (if you’re having one). Everyone is already in one place, meaning minimal effort required to organise them since they haven't had a chance to run off yet. Additionally, it's the 'traditional' time to do them so some people are almost expecting it to be then. The downside to this time however, is that this is also the moment when people most want to run up and shout congratulations in your face, so I often feel that immediately turning it into a photo-op kind of breaks the mood a bit. It's your wedding though so if you value speed and efficiency with your group photos over a quick catch up with a glass of champagne after the ceremony then this is your moment.



The Final Takeaway

Your wedding should be about celebrating, not posing. Formal group photos can be valuable, but they’re not mandatory, so f they’re important to you, we’ll make them happen in a way that’s quick and painless. If they’re not, that’s okay too, documentary photography is more than capable of telling the story of your day in a way that feels natural and unforced, without any posing whatsoever. Either way, I certainly won't be asking people to do anything weird like throw the groom up in the air or pretend they're running away from a t-rex. There's no pressure, no rules, just do whatever works best for you. And if you’re still unsure? Give me a shout, and we’ll figure out the best approach together.


Bridesmaids in dusty blue dresses stand with a bride in white lace gown, all holding rustic bouquets on green lawn.