HOW THE MORNING SETS THE TONE FOR
AN ELEGANT WEDDING

Itโ€™s worth saying again – we fully believe your wedding vows are the most important part of a wedding day. A wedding day does NOT revolve around the details. However, the ceremony is often the shortest part of the day and a couple typically spends a lot of money to achieve the wedding look of their dreams.

One thing weโ€™ve found is that publication worthy images donโ€™t come from crossing your fingers and hoping everything works out. Our goal is to make it EASIER for you to get beautiful images from every part of the day!

Thinking Through the Start of your Wedding Day

While the order of each wedding may vary (to learn more, check out this post on wedding day timeline planning), all have four basic components:

1. Getting Ready
2. Creatives / Family Portraits
3. Ceremony
4. Reception

The first one, Getting Ready is frequently overlooked. To fix this, we want to give our couples more information about how it affects the rest of your day!

Getting Ready - the morning of the big day

The wedding day is finally here! While preparations get underway itโ€™s time for lots of laughter, coffee, stories, and maybe even some celebratory Champagne!

We love being a part of these times, itโ€™s a great opportunity to capture the lovely details a bride has spent so much time thinking about โ€“ the wedding dress, jewelry, and flowers, along with images of the bride and bridesmaids (sometimes mom too!), relaxed and being themselves. For amazing images, here are three things to keep in mind:

1. The โ€œGetting Readyโ€ Space

A clean and simple background let you, your attendants, and all your personal details take center stage. Think neutral walls and furniture that compliments your overall wedding style. A little hint – large, non-west facing, windows are the best! This way we can take advantage of the beautiful morning light โ˜บ Also, remind everyone to keep the space around the largest window clear of clutter. Ideally, water bottles, bags, shoeboxes and such can all be kept in a consolidated area away from the photo action. You donโ€™t need any Aquafina bottles in your bridal portraits!

2. The Attire

What will you wear before rocking your wedding dress? While sweat pants are comfy, think about what you want to see in your pictures. Matching robes, and custom hangers, make awesome gifts for your bridesmaids! Itโ€™s always a good idea to have your bridesmaids plan to be finished with hair and make-up before you are ready to put on your dress. You want everyone to look their best for your pictures from this part of the day!

3. The Details

Itโ€™s a fun to incorporate traditions, whether itโ€™s heirloom jewelry, a grandparentโ€™s ring box, or โ€œSomething Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blueโ€ โ˜บ If youโ€™re hoping for an image of all of the bridesmaids dresses together, one think to keep in mind is that bridesmaids tend to forget their hangers or just bring plastic ones. As mentioned above, custom hangers are the perfect way to avoid this and create a special memory.

Brides tend to get most of the attention, but donโ€™t forget about the guys, they have to get ready too. Though they usually do it in a beer and poker kind of way, tip #1 still applies ๐Ÿ™‚

Capturing the laughter and fun moments of both the gals and the guys sets the scene for the rest of the day.

Of course, not every day is the same, and not everyone has a โ€œmorning-ofโ€ routine. Any quality photographer understands how to be flexible with each unique wedding day, though as a rule, โ€œMore Time Allocated = More Unique / Beautiful Shots.” So we always like to start with a bride as soon as sheโ€™ll let us!