The family photo list: who is in each shot, and in what order

The family photographs go quickly when the photographer has a list with names on it, in an order that lets people go once they are done. Write each shot down by who is in it, start with the biggest groups that include the oldest guests, and print it for the photographer and whoever is rounding people up. This is written for UK weddings, but none of it is law.

Start from the usual shots

Most lists are the same at the start: the two of you alone, each of you with your parents, the two of you with all four parents, and the wedding party. In Group shots, Seed the classic list puts those in, in your own names rather than "the bride" and "the groom". Then delete what does not apply and add your own.

If your families are already on the guest list, + families and groups adds one shot for each family and named group, filed under whose side they are. Pressing either button again adds nothing that is already there.

Name the people once

The classic shots are written by role: your mother, their father, your wedding party. Say who fills each role once, in Who's who, and every shot that uses it shows the name. If you get a name wrong, correct it there and every shot follows.

A shot can also hold particular guests, a whole family, or something that is not on the guest list at all, like the dog.

Before the day

Group shots checks the list as you write it. It tells you about a shot with nobody in it, a guest who has said they are not coming, and a guest or family who has been taken off the list since the shot was written.

The sheet for the photographer

Download PDF prints the list on A4 or A5, numbered, section by section, with the names in each shot written out. Download CSV gives the same list as a spreadsheet, if your photographer would rather have that. Give a copy to someone who knows both families, too: the photographer can take the picture, but someone has to find Uncle Pete.