March 26, 2015
Bridal Details & Getting Ready | Wedding Day Breakdown
We are kicking off the new Wedding Day Breakdown series with some tips on planning for the very beginning of the wedding day! Your big day has finally arrived and you’re getting all dolled up with your best girlfriends as you anxiously wait for the festivities to get started! Be sure to hand off any last minute to-do’s to someone else so that you can relax and enjoy your big day! Once I arrive, I will start with shooting your bridal details. Then once everyone has their hair and makeup done, it’s time to get you dressed! Here are some tips on making this part of the day smooth and stress-free!
Gather details beforehand. The first thing I photograph on a wedding day is your bridal details. This really helps me to warm up and get my creative juices flowing for the day! I ask all my brides to have all their bridal details gathered ahead of time so that when I arrive I can get right to work! Consider having a bridesmaid be in charge of gathering and keeping track of the items so that you don’t have to worry about it! Here’s a list of items I ask my brides to gather together: dress, shoes, veil, jewelry, rings (all 3), garter, invitation suite, perfume, your something borrowed and blue, bouquets and boutonnieres. I strongly encourage getting a nice wooden hanger for your dress as that will photograph much better than the plastic hangers they come with! It’s also helpful to include other decorative elements from your wedding day such as ribbon, fabric, etc so that I can style your details in a way that matches your wedding style!
Flower delivery. Your flowers are a big investment for your wedding, so I really like to include them when I am photographing your details! So have you bouquets and boutonnieres delivered to where the bride will be getting ready. This way I can get plenty of shots of all the gorgeous florals at the beginning of the day!
Window light and clutter. The quality of light in your getting ready space will make a huge difference in your pictures! I prefer natural light for my style of shooting, so having at least one window in the room where you are getting ready will make a world of difference in your images! And the more windows the better! Also, try to keep the space near the window free of clutter throughout the morning. This is where I’ll photograph you putting on your dress and no one wants to see phone chargers and water bottles in the background!
Getting dressed. Once you and your girls are all dolled up and ready to go, it’s time to get you into your dress! I’ll first ask that all the bridesmaids and moms get dressed first. This way they will be in their wedding attire when they are dressing you. Figure out ahead of time who you would like to dress you and who you want in the room while getting dressed. Also, wait to put your jewelry on until after your are in your dress so I can get those shots while you are in your dress!
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