Between the red carpet, the surprise performers, and the paparazzi shots already circulating online, this has been the season of the camera ready wedding. You do not need a team of professional photographers stationed outside a venue to get photos that feel just as unforgettable. You just need to know what to ask for. Here are five photography and video musts to build into your wedding day.

1. Book a golden hour portrait session

That soft, glowing light you see in every stunning wedding photo online is not an accident, it is timing. Ask your photographer to block off 20 to 30 minutes during golden hour, the hour before sunset, for couple portraits. It is the single easiest way to get that magazine quality look without changing anything else about your day.

2. Do a first look, even if you are camera shy

Many high profile weddings keep their first glimpse of each other completely private, away from guests and cameras. A first look does the same thing for you. It gives you a quiet, unscripted moment together before the day gets busy, and it almost always produces some of the most genuine photos of the whole wedding.

3. Build in a real detail shot list

Red carpet worthy weddings do not skip the small stuff, the shoes, the invitation suite, the florals, the rings. Before your wedding day, sit down with your photographer and make a list of every detail you want captured. Left on their own, even the best photographer might miss the one thing you actually cared about most.

4. Get a shot list for the moments you cannot redo

The first dance, the cake cutting, the toasts, the exit. These moments happen once, and there is no asking anyone to do them again for the camera. Walk through your reception timeline with your photographer ahead of time so nothing important gets missed while everyone is celebrating.

5. Pair photography with video

Even the most talked about weddings this year are being captured in both photo and video, and it is easy to see why. Photos give you the stillness, video gives you the sound, the vows, the toasts in someone's actual voice. If your budget allows for it, having both means you are never left wishing you could hear a moment again instead of just seeing it.

The takeaway

You do not need a star studded guest list to have a wedding that photographs like one. A little planning with your photography and video team goes a long way toward getting an album you will want to look at forever.