You are turning 21 soon and you'll be throwing a party of the century, what do you need to know and how will you allocate the time slots for when to do what at the most suitable moments? It's got to suit your own pace. Everyone does it differently, how long you spend on which activity is up to you, but here is a general model that we like to inform our clients about:
1) Photographer gestures to take family photos (15 minutes)
2) Greet guests by the door (15 minutes)
3) Photographer gives indications of when to take work colleague/ family friend/ relatives/ cute couple photos etc whilst roaming around. They will most likely ask around groups whether they want to have their photo taken or not, just so the photos are not all paparazzi style. (20 minutes)
4) Then we move on to the backdrop group photos and intermingle that with a mix of photos taken by jumping from the bar area to the entranceway for more hugging "long time no see" photos. Then jump back into the crowd for more roaming photos to capture the wholesome interactions that the birthday superstar has with their friends and family.
Usually, this part consists of waiters and waitresses walking around with platters on their arms filled with food to serve to you and the guests. Part 4 takes up most of the night to be honest. (1 hour)
5) Food time!! Everyone is at their seats fine dining and breathing. YAY! But if there was no such arrangement for the vast crowd to all "sit down to eat a plate of food at a large round table at the same time" then we fast-forward to the actual Part 5!! Speeches!! We have seen it all, sentimental speeches of handing over the sacred key, heart-throbbing stories of endearing memories, the amazing hakas performed, the proud parents absolutely in awe at how fast their sons or daughters grew up. (30 minutes)
6) Song singing, making a wish, blowing the candles and cake cutting!! My favourite part!!! Smashing cake into the face is an option you never know who will surprise you with a cake slap on the face hahhaha (15 minutes)
7) More group mingling, more group photos for say 10 minutes-15 minutes?
Everyone's kinda half drunk by now and then they go drink a bit more. Whilst the bar-go-ers burn that unlimited bar tab to its max potential, we also have guests that are:
-Very tired from work and want to go home and rest
-Do not want to drive home late
-Have a curfew with their flatmates or parents.
Therefore, we bid our farewells and do long, hearty hugs. (More candid hugging photos)
8) Now we get onto the dance floor and start boogie-ing!!!! DJ dropping all the latest beats and all the sick tunes. (15 minutes)
After 3 hours of crazy photo taking and flash going off non-stop, your designated photographer is off for the night!! It is time for us to end work. Whoop whoop!!!
Family photos ALWAYS come first, I don't care how unexpectedly early your guests arrive or how the cake has not arrived as of just yet. We are gonna get family photos done well before the guests arrive at 7:30pm (as written on your invitation), this is the quiet time and personal time that you deserve to have before being fully occupied for the rest of the night from catching up with work colleagues/friends you haven't seen in ages or hitting the dancefloor with your besties. Once we get family photos done from 7pm-7:15pm, you can be assured that you will be worry-free for the rest of the night.
Tip: Your designated photographer should have plenty of visual memory of who has been grouped with you and who hasn't for at least ONE photo. However, if we do miss anyone important or if there are particular poses you want to do or if you just want heaps of different photos with your bestie(s), go ahead! Go wild! We are all for it!
Even with our strong memory brains, do wave from the other end of the venue or tap your photographer's shoulder if we missed anyone.
The most important part of your special day is to have fun!!!! Enjoy it as much as possible!
If you are like me, who hasn't had a photo with their sibling since 8-12 years old. NOW, is the time to take the CHANCE to get some naturally stunning photos with them, I know it sounds ridiculous, but keep us occupied with work, we need to be buzzing constantly. These are photos to be treasured, LITERALLY, make it worthwhile. I feel the awkwardness and fear of even asking my older sibling to take family photos and it will only get harder as time passes by.
Then, we have got the guests slowly arriving it is time to get those
