I’m getting married next month, and our photographer has told my fiance that he wants to take a photo of me in my wedding gown about 3 weeks before the ceremony so a life-sized portait of me can be displayed at the reception. Have any of you ever heard of this custom? I haven’t. Personally, I’d rather not do this. First, this seems like nothing but vanity to me, and my vanity doesn’t run in that direction. Second, this is a small wedding, and most of the guests are reasonably to unreasonably intelligent. I figure most of them can work out who the bride is and, if they can’t, well,
Has anyone heard of this and can anyone tell me why someone would do this?
Some people might think it’s cute to have the focus be on the bride like that (you’ve heard the whole “it’s your day!” stuff I’m sure) but I agree with your instincts here. I would not want to do this either. It will make you look like an egomaniac.
If you really want a life size portrait there, it should be of you and your groom.
But, hey, maybe the photog only mentioned it because it’d be a good moneymaker for him.
Um, no, I’ve not heard of such a thing. It would strike me as a bizarre but not unreasonable notion at say the wedding of the Former Miss America Heather Renee French and Lieutenant Govenor Steve Henry-- a wedding which had sufficient numbers of guests that the bridal pair apparently cut 3 wedding cakes and had 3 “official” first dances, so that all the guests could observe (the wedding reception took place on 3 floors of a hotel.) (This information all comes from my memory, the wedding in question was not particularly recent. Also, I have no reason to believe that a life-sized photo of the Bride was employed. It just strikes me that a Former Miss America might qualify as a the type of Bride that people would want to be photographed standing next to, and might settle for a picture of the person with a photo of the Bride).
But for a normal person with a small, simple wedding? I think your photographer is bonkers.
My instincts tell me this would be a very expensive addition to your wedding that would make the photographer quite a lot of money. I would refuse the lifesize picture and save your extra cash for the honeymoon.
I used to work wedding and I have never of of it. I can say with confidence that it would be tacky as all hell though. You could have fun with the concept though. Hire a plane to tow a big banner with your picture on one side and your fiance’s on the other. Have the plates for the reception specially made with a close shot on your face on it. For the full effect, you need a for computer projectors and a computer with lots of photos of just you. Have a different projected image of you on all the walls and a few of the ceilings. That way, nobody will complain that they didn’t get to spend enough time with you at the reception. The original idea could be a fine addition too but you need a lot more cutouts than one. You need one to stand next to each table and a few for the dance floor. You need lot of smaller ones to sever as a napkin holder for each plate.
What on earth would you do with it after the reception? Hide it in the attic for decades until people start to marvel at your mysteriously youthful appearance?
Life size seems really weird. Are you sure he didn’t mean a full-length portrait (but normal portrait size)? I have seen that at a couple weddings…I think it might be some kind of regional or ethnic tradition.
I’m sure the different ways I’ve interpreted the OP cannot possibly be what the photographer means but it has been entertaining so, thanks for that.
At first I imagined the lifesized bride as a cardboard cutout like I have, at different times, had of Chewbacca and Bart Simpson in my apartment. I went on to imagine that, similar to the dollar dance, it could be set up where guests would have to pay $1 to be photographed with it.
A life sized portrait from the shoulders up is not as unreasonable as my next thought which was just a 6’ high full length portrait. Man, I’d like to get that framing job…
I’m past the point in my life where my friends are getting married at the rate of one a month, and the nieces have a few years before we start marrying them off so I can’t claim to be up on the latest trends. I do hope, however that I can convince one of the girls to get a life sized portrait cake, or maybe my son will marry someone who will be up for it…
You do realize if you say yes to this idea, stills and videos of your reception will end up on the internets for everyone to gossip, snicker, gawk at, laugh, make fun of, etc. It might even end up as a SDMB thread, complete with web links.
