There are lots of external factors at a wedding that can take away from the beauty of a photograph. During the toast, the biggest of these, in my opinion, is a speaker in the background. Imagine a father giving a tearful toast to his daughter with a large black box next to him. Chances are because of the size of the speaker, you’ll focus more on it than the tear rolling down the dad’s cheek.
While I will work every angle possible to exclude this from the image, there are a few simple things that you can do beforehand to help your photographer capture only the people and emotion involved in this moment.
First, ask the DJ or band to bring a portable microphone so that the person giving the toast has free range of the floor. As a bonus, it’s always nice when they’re able to speak near the bride and groom’s table allowing for some wide shots that include both the speaker and couple’s reaction in the same image. If your DJ doesn’t have a portable microphone available, ask your maid of honor, best man and any other family members giving a toast to step away from the DJ’s table and equipment, as far as the cord will allow before beginning their speech. And remember to do the same, if you speak yourself. If you’re having a smaller wedding in an intimate setting, forgo the microphone altogether.
When looking back through your photographs, you’ll want to remember the events of the day and not the logistics that made it possible!
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