Three problems this Crystal Bridges Wedding Avoided

Written By Miles Witt Boyer

Not another Crystal Bridges Wedding blog right?

Serafina and Alex are well on their way to being Bentonville Royalty. How do I know? Well, she’s brilliant, beautiful, and successful and a mountain biker, and he’s a founder, dreamer… and a mountain biker. Honestly if that isn’t the recipe I’m living a lie. These two are so genuinely good. Just good. They love life so much and hired a team to bring this wedding to life at Crystal Bridges that totally blew me my mind. It was refreshing to work with a few vendors I didn’t know and most of all to see this day through their eyes. So before I go into a couple quick tips below let me first say this : if every couple I worked with were as cultured, as kind, and as in love as Serafina and Alex de la Fuente the world would be a much better place. Absolutely honored to call them friends and to have been asked to be the wedding photographer on their big day.

Side bar : before we get to it. Can we have a moment for how cool these florals were from Arhlo Flora, how wild this dancefloor was from Brock Entertainment, how beautiful this lighting was from Lightworks, how great the makeup was by the one and only Boun, and of course how flawlessly planned the whole day was by Leslie Carter from Bella Baxter? Links below to all of these brilliant people.

Ok here we go : three things you haven’t thought about for your Crystal Bridges Wedding and tips on how to solve for them!

  1. The museum is still open you guys. This is a 1.3 billion dollar art museum not a wedding venue. Yes the kitchen is amazing, yes the architecture is amazing and yes the grounds are amazing but they aren’t there for you as a wedding client. You’re kind of a VIP guest, but you’re still just a guest which means that there will be random people around all day. So quick tip number 1 : have your photographer scout out locations ON the wedding day where you can have some privacy for key moments like first looks, prayers, and even champagne toasts with your wedding party. Just knowing the grounds isn’t enough because this place is truly dynamic. True story here from another wedding I plan to blog about soon : I walk out the door from the main lobby into Walker landing with the bride and all of the bridesmaids only to find out that there is a live salsa party going on with about 150 people taking dancing lessons at the bottom right where we had planned to do the first look. A few places that are usually pretty easy to work around : the modern art gallery, the small balcony on the west side of walker landing, the walkway just past twin bridges, the Frank Lloyd Wright lawn.

  2. The great hall is a glass box on three sides with a dark ceiling. Why is that a problem? Because if you aren’t careful with when your ceremony is, where it is in proximity to the windows, and who our photographer is you’ll end up silhouetted in all of your photos. Basic rule of photography : try not to put your subject in front a background that is lighter than them. Impossible in great hall. What does that mean? Well it means a few things : 1. You can’t stand RIGHT next to the glass if you want to show up. Back into the middle of the room just a little bit. To be honest, every single foot helps and the more you are in similar light to the room around you and not contrasted to a background that is way lighter than you, the better you’ll show up in your own photos. 2. Be cautious with a stage (at least until the crane goes away). For the time being there are two huge cranes in the background over Eleven and when you’re on a stage the photos are looking right up at them in the background of every photo. If you’re upset about the crane, reread tip 1.

  3. This place is big. I saved this one for last because it so perfectly relates to this particular wedding. When we first got the schedule in for this wedding it had about 15 minutes per side for group photos and 15 minutes for couple’s photos. The honest truth is that isn’t enough for any wedding unless you’re hiring a photographer who’s super posey and you’re not really interested in having any fun on your wedding day. Not you? Duh, you’re on my blog. We want time to wander, to laugh, to sip champagne and see real memories show up. At some point I’m going to time this but I’d estimate that to get from the bridal suite (read conference room in the library) to the modern art gallery takes a minimum of 10 minutes and that is without wandering, without stopping to shoot other places, and without saying hi to anybody. This place is massive and beautiful and dynamic. Every wedding I’ve shot at Crystal Bridges has had it’s own set of amazing things show up as well as it’s own set of challenges. Believe me when I say that Chelle and Jessica and the whole amazing team know this and they want to help you make this day perfect but - in case you start to feel a little entitled… Reread tip 1.

Ok that’s it. BUT not really because I’ve actually written out a ginormous “HOW TO PLAN YOUR CRYSTAL BRIDGES WEDDING” article here that has so much for you AND we just released the ULTIMATE WEDDING PLANNING GUIDE FOR ARKANSAS. So what do you do now?

First : Go check that blog out. Because it’s awesome and took a lot of time.

Second : Whether you’re getting married at Crystal Bridges or just surfing around looking at beautiful wedding photos SAY HI. I love to meet the people who take time to read this little corner of my internet world.

Third : If you enjoyed this post, here’s a few more that you might like as well!

Miles Witt Boyer
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