LET THE DAY BEGIN
This portion of the wedding experience sets the stage for the entire wedding day. The next few articles will share tips and tricks that will ensure a seamless morning of bridal preparation and beautiful portraits!
UNPLUG
On your wedding day, it is time to relax. Rain or shine, you are getting married. There’s nothing else you can do last minute, so put your phone down, please. Or better yet, have your phone packed in your overnight bag. If vendors have your bridesmaids’ numbers for urgent matters, that’s more than enough.
GETTING READY
It is the morning of your wedding! Hopefully, all of the little details are taken care of, and you are relaxing with your best friends while your hair and makeup are being done.
If certain items haven't been checked off the todo list, it's time to hand them over to someone else. Delegation is a key part of a stress-free wedding day. We know that it is hard to hand over the decorating duties and all of the last minute things that need to be done, but it is important to relax on the morning of your wedding. The rest of the day is going to be fast-paced and filled with a lot of emotion! Take advantage of this downtime! There are a few things to consider about the "getting ready" portion of the day. Do you want to share a First Look with your Dad or any other important man that plays a huge part in your life?
Will you and your groom be exchanging gifts during this time? If so, who would you like to deliver them? Are there certain people in your life that would appreciate seeing you get into your gown? Some brides want very few people around for this special moment. Other brides love having aunts and grandmothers present! It's totally up to you!
A few other things to consider. As you get ready to put your dress on, refrain from putting any jewelry on. We love photographing all of those final steps when you are in your dress! If your dress is on a plastic hanger, try to make a note to bring along a nice wooden hanger for picture sake. If you forget, no big deal!
We are very adept at finding wooden hangers at venues! The whole day begins with the details! This is one of our favorite parts of the wedding day, as it allows us to prepare and get our creative side warmed up for the rest of the day!
We photograph brides details in a way that matches and extenuates the style of the entire wedding day. So in some way, the details set the stage for the look of the whole wedding. We love having ample time to stylize and photograph and film everything from the dress to the jewelry to Grandma's handkerchief! Below is a list of the most common details that we photograph.
We ask brides to gather any details that they have before we arrive so that we can walk in, say hello, and get to photographing and filming all of the detail shots! Please tell your mother that we will take great care of the dress. We promise!
What to gather for the bride details:
• Wedding dress
• Wooden Hanger
• Veil/Hair Pieces
• Rings (Both Partners)
• Shoes
• Jewelry
• Perfume
• Invitations
• Vow Book
• Your Something Borrowed And Blue
• Bouquet
What to gather for the groom details:
• His shoes
• Socks (if they're special)
• Cufflinks
• Tie or Bow Tie
• Pocket Square
• Boutonnière
• Vows Book
• Rings
• Anything else he'll have that is special or sentimental.
DETAIL TIPS
Gather The Goods
If possible, collect all of your details before we arrive so that we can begin quickly and have more time for some "getting ready" shots of you and your girls! Also, that way, we don't have to bother you every few seconds, asking where things are.
Extra Elements
Sometimes, depending on the theme and look of the wedding day, there may be some extra elements that you could include when you gather your details. For example, if you are having a country themed wedding, you could include a piece of the wooden elements, maybe save a small piece of wood for us to use when we are photographing your rings and jewelry. This makes for beautiful and consistent album spreads!
Keep The Rings
The most common detail is missing when we arrive in the rings! Mothers, officiants and wedding planners will tell you to hand over your wedding ring to the best man before the day begins. However, it's better to hand it over during the bridal party portraits or right before the ceremony so that we can get some great ring shots in the morning!
If you forget, not to worry, we can always photograph the rings at the reception if there is extra time.
Bring The Bouquet
Don't forget your wedding bouquet! Let the florist deliver the bouquet to the bride and the boutonnieres to the groom's party before the First Look so that she can have the bouquet in the portraits. Don't worry if it's hot; we will make sure to keep it in as much water as possible before the ceremony!
TIMING SECRETS
When you're planning a wedding day timeline, the best advice we can give you is to add plenty of cushion time! We can't stress this point enough.
Sometimes the most simple things can take an extra 20 minutes, and then all of a sudden, the whole morning is thrown off. We have seen "getting the bride into her dress" takes almost 40 minutes because of a button malfunction! It is a smart idea to add in an extra 10 minutes here and there so that we have some wiggle room to work with! This way, if one part of the day gets thrown off by 20 minutes, I can help you compensate for that time in other areas. There are so many things to think about when you are planning your wedding day, so here are some tips for the pre-ceremony timeline.
We realize that every single wedding day is different, and so not all of these tips will apply to every wedding day schedule. Something to remember is that not everything will go as planned, and we promise you, that is completely normal!
Bouquet + Boutonnieres
You will need your bouquet and boutonnieres for your First Look! Has the bouquet delivered to the room where the bride is getting ready and the boutonnieres to the groom?
Hair & Makeup
We encourage brides to have their hair done before we start. Who wants lots of photos with curlers in their hair! We will take most of the photographs of the bride as her make up looks more complete.
Travel Time
Be sure to think about the travel time, loading, and traffic to and from your getting ready location and your venue!
Groomsmen Prep
We will photograph the groom and their party getting ready in the same location
as the bride or at another location as appropriate.
Getting Dressed
We will instruct you to get into your wedding dress close to a window in a room that is not messy. It would be fabulous to have your bridesmaids dressed when you are getting into your dress.
Creating A Cushion
A 10-minute cushion now and then is a great idea! It is amazing how fast time slips away on the day.