5 wedding day tips

As an undergraduate student at Loyola, Maria Linz studied photography with Dan Schlapbach, associate professor of fine arts, whose passion for the subject was “contagious.” “I found an excitement and challenge in making photos that continues to inspire me today,” Linz says.

Today the owner of Maria Linz Photography, a wedding, portrait, maternity, and newborn photography studio based in Ellicott City, Md., travels all over the country to capture inspiring images of people’s lives. She and her associate photographer, Helen Macaulay, shoot around 50 weddings a year. Linz, who earned her bachelor’s degree in advertising from Loyola in 2005 and began her business in 2007, has always enjoyed getting to know brides and grooms through the lens. “I realize that I get to spend time with these couples on their best day, in the middle of one of their happiest moments. I love being a part of it and being able to capture their memories.”

In the spirit of the summer wedding season, Linz shared with Loyola magazine five tips for the bride and groom before and during their big day.

1. Pick a photographer whose personality you like.

You will be with them a lot throughout your day and you want to make sure you are comfortable with them and how they interact with you and your guests, as well as liking their photos.

2. Embrace the unintended.

The stories you will tell your grand-kids of your wedding day will not be of the details that went off without a hitch… They will be the little unplanned moments that went awry. Because in those moments, it doesn’t matter that 11 inches of rain are falling, or your flowers look wilted, or the shrimp appetizer you know your mother is looking forward to has been mysteriously removed from the catering menu... You are marrying the man or woman of your dreams, and that is what it’s all about. So take a deep breath and go with the flow.

3. Bustles almost always break.

Keep safety pins handy in your purse or at the reception.

4. Use the tools bestowed to you that day.

Look under your train, there is a handy, dandy loop that you can put on your wrist so walking solo in a big wedding dress will be easy as pie!

5. Wear a strapless bra or go bra-less the morning of your wedding.

This way you can avoid bra strap marks in photos.