2025 Behind the Scenes | Hannah Barlow Photography

It’s that time of year…the end of the year. End of year blogs are here and every year…every time this year I ask, “do I have to keep blogging”?! AND year after year you all tell me….”Yes…yes…you do!”

So, here we are! If you still want me to blog in 2026, let me know. If you think blogging has gone out of style…let me know! I’ll gain back 3-4 hours of my life per wedding and blog…no joke! (Can you tell I’m TIRED…) But alas, the Instagram poll already said…”you wouldn’t dare…” so once again, blogs are here to stay another year, I guess! This is me just whining…you know…I could NEVER! So, thank you in advance for reading! I know we live in a 10 second scroll kind of world (guilty as charged) so it means the world to me you all keep reading year after year!

I did know what you would all say though before I even started this…SO…let’s end this year with some end of year fun, shall we?! The Hannah Barlow Photography behind the scenes blog is coming to you right now! I know it’s been a fan favorite in the past…so here we go! ENJOY!

This is where you can see how we took it vs. the finished photo result! Let’s start with Kelsey and her fall wedding! You can see the minor hand adjustment I made too! Little things matter!

…and sometimes we even enlist some friends and family members to help! What you can’t see in the finished photo is that he is actually hiding behind the bride’s dress while holding the leash! HA! WE APPRECIATE YOU! I’m still mad I didn’t think in the moment to get a formal one WITH him in it!

Sometimes on a busy day…you take the dress and church shot with your second shooter in it (because she’s just trying to clean up your mess and therefore clean up your photo) but I just say I’ll worry about the editing and photoshopping later! I make the mess…and I’m also impatient. I appreciate ALL my help…don’t you ever think I don’t!

One common theme of 2025 was…dresses. Photos of dresses…hanging dresses…dresses blowing in wind…you name it…we worked to get that dress shot!

It appears Becca was questioning life decisions on this more chilly windy November day. HA! It doesn’t seem like much but her role in this is to make sure the dress doesn’t blow and hit the ground…but also run out fast enough for me to get a photo and then run back in! These are the little (big) things you don’t see that makes all this possible!

Regardless of location…we WILL find a place to hang your dress!

…and sometimes we are at the same venue multiple times in one year. Different wedding…different set up…different approach!

The key to a good photo regardless of time of day is setting up the dress when it’s on the bride. It’s not just us photographers either…we also tag in other vendors to help! Buttons, veils, trains…it all needs to look PERFECT.

It really IS neat when you think about it…about this job of mine. How many dresses do we think I’ve had my hands on…fluffed…carried? SO many…SOOOOOOO many! Dresses don’t scare me…Bring it on!

Shoes. Hair…bride AND groom (I’m fixing Luke’s hair here below). Adjustments aren’t just for the women! We fix ties…veils and bustle dresses…fasten shoes…whatever we need to do to help and keep the day moving!

For real! Sometimes it’s the grooms too!! I have no idea why I have so many photos of us fixing Ben…I don’t have any major memories of major tux issues on this day but I did chuckle and sent his bride a screen shot of this!

It wasn’t just that wedding! It’s ALL weddings! Calling all hands on deck! This is the very fun life of a wedding vendor!

We are more than happy to help with the little ones too! Sometimes we even let them press the buttons! I always wonder if I’ll see any of them as adults as brides and grooms! Wouldn’t that be SOMETHING?!

…and in all the wedding craziness…sometimes you just need a drink and your planner is right there. Especially when a thunderstorm is coming…peep those dark clouds coming right at us.

But even with the looming thunderstorm, we didn’t stop making sure every detail was right to get those beautiful photos. The “show” must go on…rain or shine!

Sometimes we make it weird too for sake of an amazing photo! I always laugh when getting under the veil with the couples…”time to make it weird…TRUST!” They usually respond “HANNNAHHHH…what are you doing?!” I’m (or in this case “we’re”) that close! But they almost always pick these pictures to print!

Lacey is known for getting in the bushes! The couples always crack up…which makes for a great photo.

No. For real…if Lacey goes missing on a wedding day, she’s usually in the bushes. There are many times I turn around and and she’s just…gone. Then, I find her…she’s close…but hidden. She would make a great paparazzi!

…or she is on the ground!

No. I mean it! These are all her taking the photo…and the photo she took.

I LOVE that Erica and Billy (wedding below) said they were looking through their gallery and recognized Lacey’s photos based on her position while taking it. “Ope…that’s a Lacey photo!”

Regardless of who is shooting with me…those second angles are so fun! These photos below…were taken at the exact same time…just by two different people at two different angles with two different lenses.

I can also get a few different angles out of a situation with just a slight adjustment myself.

Same thing here for this first look!

Sometimes we even take advantage of the help from other vendors. Sara (Sara Ruth Films) set this up for her film and I ran over and snatched a still photo one myself. Gotta give credit where credit is due!

…back to Lacey on the ground. HA!

The rubber duckies have become very popular with the little ones. I always have them ready and at this wedding they ended up on the head table! Now, when the same kids come to my studio for sessions…they expect rubber duckies. So, I now have them for all holiday and occasions!

So much goes into getting a great shot. We spend a whole lot of our day coaching and helping people get it JUSTTTTT right.

It’s all day long…gears moving all day long to get those photos you’re used to seeing. Most people have never done this wedding thing before and since we do it every weekend…it’s our job to arrange, coach…whatever it takes!

A little coaching to execute my vision goes a long way!

We fixed lots of ties this year! And pocket squares…and flowers!

Planners like Ashley (Plans for Perfection) jumped in and fixed hair and veils too!

The one thing brides tell us is that the flowers get HEAVY…so we quite literally take those off your hands and place theme as a prop in your photos.

One thing that always remains constant…wrangling dresses and veils. Olivia’s veil popped right out right before their first look. Becca’s waiting for me to come help…she doesn’t mess around with those veils!

Every wedding day…another beautiful dress!

…and helping prep for wedding cake cutting is pretty common too. If Ashley is the planner, I’m off the hook!

Ashleigh (my Ashleigh…second shooter Ash, as we call her) has always been obsessed with photographing the inside of the cake AFTER it’s been cut.

We got a lot of help this year and got to meet a lot of new faces! Billy’s mom played “limo driver” and was the keeper of the rings! I got to meet new video friends too and meet Planner Ashley’s sister!

Some familiar faces showed up this year again too like Mr. Jay Morris!

AND some past couples too!

Photographer friends too! AMP Photography sends me all her wedding requests…she’s not touching weddings. Newborns? She’s ALL over that…she loves it (and you know…I do…NOT…so it’s a great relationship). Almost all my Hookstown weddings come from her!

Old friends or new friends…sometimes me and my new video friends have to beg for favors from our old planner friends. “Ashley…I’m going to need you to give me MORE time…” She always responds “I know you got this…” and runs….

AND we kick in and help with other different planner friends! This couple did the photo bomb “race” and we set up the chairs while the DJ got guests going. It had been a while since I’d see Elegant Event Solutions.

DJ Brian Oliver was simply trying to hide and stay out of my photo and ended up being Becca’s test photo subject before this ceremony processional.

Grooms don’t get out of being test subjects either! Ironically enough, this guy’s wife and mother in law own a flower farm business (Little Red Hen Flower Farm) AND this ended up being a high traffic super popular photo on my page! We appreciate you, Zac!

Regardless of who you are, we need to get set up and prepped for important moments FAST so no one is safe from being the subject of a test shot…including me!

One common theme this year and EVERY year…we laugh. Weddings are happy occasions and even our behind the scenes reflect that!

These were actually gallery photos that went in the couple’s finished gallery not behind the scenes…but SEE…even the traditional church weddings had laughing moments! It was a good year for weddings! It really was!

Well…that’s a wrap on one of the last blog’s of the year! I can NOT believe it. Outtakes are NEXT! Are you READY?!

I’m now booking 2027! There are still some 2026 dates left too! See my contact page for more information!

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Disclaimer: Hannah Barlow Photography behind the scenes blogs only represent a small portion of weddings in each year. If your wedding wasn’t included, that’s simply because we didn’t have the time or simply didn’t get any “behind the scenes” moments. Most of these photos were taken for a purpose (example: a test shot) and not specifically taken with the intention of being used at the end of the year. Most of these were never included in the finished gallery either BUT if you’d like a copy, let me know. Happy to share! These blogs are meant to be fun and highlight favorite photos and favorite moments of the wedding days.

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Vendor Shoutouts

Plans for Perfection

Tim Pierce (Pierce Media)

Moving Mountains Events (Cassie Minder)

DJ Brian Oliver

Jay Morris Video Productions

m20Media (Mara Shields)

Peggy’s Floral

Sara Ruth Film

AMP Photography

Elegant Event Solutions

DJ Mike Mason

Little Red Hen Farm

Finest Events