‘The highlight is gigantic — so are the precautions’

They’re amongst Hollywood’s most trusted secret-keepers. They’re within the room when the robe goes on and the bride is handed the bouquet. They witness first appears to be like, kisses and dances. They’re the marriage photographers behind the lens for a few of the most well-known “I do’s” — and so they’re cordially inviting us into their world.

With privateness a uncommon commodity for celebrities, the workforce they assemble to hold out their wedding ceremony goals is important to a easy, blissful day. Photographers play a key function; not simply documenting the event for the bride and groom, however capturing the essence of every love story within the handful of photographs that the star shares publicly.

Yahoo talked to Robert Evans, Sandra von Riekhoff and Lauren Fair about documenting star-studded ceremonies. The visible storytellers say their reputations get them a gathering with shoppers, however reserving the job is about constructing belief, past the usual non-disclosure agreements, along with their shutter fashion.

Not solely are they snapping timeless pictures — the portraits a star would possibly share on Instagram to mark their anniversaries for years to return — however celebrities are trendsetters, and the imagery will likely be shared throughout social media and may stand out from the everyday Pinterest fare.

Their work isn’t merely accomplished behind the digital camera. They’re identified to maintain paparazzi at bay, mix in with company on the reception — with a cocktail in hand — to be a buddy with a digital camera and keep up all night time serving to decide which photographs make the ultimate minimize.

“Shooting what people call a ‘wedding of the century’ is always a fascinating experience,” Evans, who shot Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s Italian nuptials and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s Malibu celebration, tells Yahoo. “The spotlight is enormous — and so are the precautions.”

A matter of belief — and NDAs

Celebrity {couples} don’t choose their photographer on fashion alone. It’s simply as a lot about connection and selecting somebody who will maintain each element personal.

“Trust is a key element to making sure that everything runs smoothly,” says von Riekhoff, who Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi employed to shoot their wedding ceremony in Tuscany in October 2024.

That begins with early conversations, in particular person or nearly, the place photographers take heed to the couple’s imaginative and prescient and assist them really feel comfortable about how the day will unfold.

“Anyone who gets to the point where they’re shooting celebrity weddings … probably has a good number of years and experience under their belt,” says von Riekhoff. “So [it’s] coming to the table and understanding their needs very well.”

Von Riekhoff, who additionally captured Princess Eugenie’s 2018 royal wedding ceremony to Jack Brooksbank, storyboards prematurely with shoppers. It aligns their inventive visions, lets her see photographs they might wish to emulate and helps determine key individuals they need photographs with.

Not each shoot has that benefit. When Evans was employed for Aniston and Pitt’s wedding ceremony, he was instructed he’d be photographing a company occasion. He solely discovered the reality concerning the project two days earlier than the celebration.

Sitting throughout from two superstars, discussing what they need at their secret wedding ceremony, it’s worthwhile to keep cool.

“I see celebrities as people who just want to be treated normally,” Evans says. “I’ve always approached these weddings the same way: Capture authentic, emotional photographs that tell a love story.”

Once a pair selects their photographer, formal steps observe to legally shield their privateness.

“NDAs are always part of the process,” Evans says. “While I’m the kind of person who believes in a handshake and trust, their teams and lawyers make sure everything is airtight.”

Paparazzi, superfans and the media — oh, my

Even essentially the most tightly run clandestine operations could be uncovered. The press might catch wind of the occasion, paparazzi would possibly stake out the venue or an keen fan may attempt to crash the marriage.

“At Brad and Jen’s wedding, you could see photographers camped out on the hills above the property,” Evans says.

There was a “million-dollar bounty” on the photographs, Evans says, so he organized a safety escort to take him from the reception to the lab, the place he developed greater than 1,000 photographs via the night time. The guard took the negatives, proofs and prints on to Aniston and Pitt’s workforce. Of all the pictures, just one was ever launched publicly.

“It was my first high-profile wedding of that scale, and I wasn’t about to risk those priceless negatives,” Evans says.

Six years later, Evans was in a Fifteenth-century fort exterior Rome to shoot an excellent larger affair: Cruise marrying Holmes. It was a media circus.

“Tom and Katie’s was different — not really dramatic, just lots of pressure,” he says. “It was a full-scale global spectacle — fans lining the streets, paparazzi everywhere, helicopters buzzing overhead.”

Being a professional at dealing with paparazzi throughout a heightened occasion like these takes ability — and typically a jab.

“[They] can be quite aggressive, so it’s important to remember that you’re in charge … and for them to know that’s the case too,” von Riekhoff says. “So holding your space and telling them where they need to be with a wink and a smile or an elbow, if required, is sometimes something [we have] to do.”

Getting the fitting pictures — and dealing with the VIPs

“Often celebrity weddings are incredibly fast-paced, with big teams in place and security to work around, so that’s truly where an experienced wedding photographer comes in,” says Fair, who Issa Rae employed for her 2021 nuptials in France. “When you’re only given five minutes to shoot portraits, you have to go in confidently, with a smile and an upbeat manner, while still moving very quickly to capture the shots you want.”

Von Riekhoff describes her strategy as a “wedding guest with a camera” — mixing in with the group whereas capturing genuine moments. While snapping the occasion footage through the reception, she likes “to engage and create a strong rapport” — typically with a martini in hand.

Photographers additionally need to delicately deal with VIP company.

“They really are just guests who are there to love their people, so I treat them the way I would any other,” says von Riekhoff, who had Jon Bon Jovi as the daddy of the groom at Brown’s wedding ceremony in addition to Stranger Things solid members. If somebody is “a little bit hardened by seeing a camera whiz by them, l usually make sure to say hello and introduce myself … so that they feel comfortable.”

That strategy led to playful photographs at Brown’s wedding ceremony — together with a memorable one the actress posted to social media through which she’s blowing a bubble with gum whereas sporting Bongiovi’s bowtie.

Von Riekhoff says she had that setup in thoughts previous to the marriage, explaining, “I try my best to get inspiration from sources outside of the wedding sphere… Storing things I see in my head [in] notes which I’ll go back to before the day to fill my brain up with ideas.”

How social media is altering the sport

In the Instagram period, the place stars share picture carousels to social media as a substitute of releasing a single picture to the press, it’s about creating one thing visually recent and novel.

“People get bored quickly, so dreaming up a new idea that feels a little dangerous and outside of the box is easier to get people behind these days,” says von Riekhoff. “I find people are much more playful and willing to try new things now, and I’m willing to bet that a big part of that is social media-driven.” One instance is a photograph von Riekhoff took of Bongiovi standing on a mattress over Brown. She’s since seen it “becoming quite a thing on people’s mood boards and … being done over and over again.”

Still, stars are after each the viral pictures in addition to capturing the “big, classic moments,” says Fair, who photographed magnificence influencer Mikayla Nogueira’s 2023 wedding ceremony in Newport, R.I.

“Her wedding was a modern, black and white, clean lines style,” says Fair. “It was really chic and classic.”

For social media stars like Nogueira, there can be emphasis on content material creation all through the marriage weekend. That would possibly imply highlighting a sponsor or capturing particular appears to be like for style designers the influencer couple collaborated with.

Evans sees social media as a double-edged sword. While it lets {couples} regulate how they share their photographs and provides them limitless inspiration, it’s led to brides and grooms chasing tendencies.

“I’ve seen fads come and go — filters, staged looks — but the photographs that last are authentic, emotional ones,” he says. “[News outlets] and social media often highlight the ‘expected’ shots like the cake cutting and aisle walks, but the most meaningful images are usually unscripted — a father’s reaction, a couple’s private laugh, friends caught in pure joy — and stand the test of time.”

One shot to get it proper

Needless to say, capturing a star’s wedding ceremony day is a pressure-filled job, particularly when the photographs will even be circulated and inevitably criticized.

“I’ve never looked at it as, ‘millions of people will see these images,’” says Evans. “My mindset is simple: I shoot 90% of every wedding for myself. If I walk away excited about what I captured — the candid emotion, the timeless moments — then I know my couples will be thrilled.”

Von Riekhoff agrees, “If I thought [too much about it], I might freeze like a deer in the headlights.”