The Bride Guide

Everything you will need in one place to help me, help you for your big day

What should I expect?

I know that planning a wedding is stressful and getting everyone together to make the day go smoothly can feel overwhelming. I’m here to help, don’t worry. Almost every part of the day will revolve around the photographer- so here are some breakdowns, suggestions and things to consider when creating your timeline for the day.

My arrival

Ahh, the question that is most important because that is what starts the day. For starters- I never photograph woman with out hair or make-up done. It’s just not something I do. And being a woman myself- I don’t want photos of me with out it. So, I always suggest that you are one of the last people to go in the hair and make-up train. My arrival is based partly on the time when you sit down for hair and make-up, whether I have a second shooter or not, what time your ceremony starts and the hours of coverage I am there for. Those are all factors to take into consideration when choosing my arrival time.

Flat lays, Dress & All the Details

When I arrive onsite, I start with all the details. I always ask that you bring a full set of your invitations with envelopes, a stamp and addressed (if possible). Also have set aside for me your engagement ring, your wedding band and your grooms wedding band. Perfume, your shoes, your dress, any other jewelry you will be wearing for the day. Also anything else that is important to you… maybe heirloom pieces, or something you are borrowing. Lastly, I always ask that you see if your florist can have some loose flowers set aside for me at my arrival time so that I can use them in your flat lay set up. It really ties the whole flat lay look together with florals that are incorporated in on your wedding day.

Things to consider

-Keep in mind how important light is for photography. When picking your space to get ready in, natural light is always best. Light that is filtered in from windows provides soft ambient lighting which is a photographers dream. White walls and ceilings are also our friends too :)

-Talk with your hair and make-up artist about setting you up close to a window, and facing it while he/she is doing your hair and make-up. Your hair and make-up artist will likely do this because it is also helpful for them to see what your make-up will look like in the natural light and in photos :)

-Don’t have Mom’s go last for hair and make-up… they should have their hair and make-up completed well before the dress photos. Mom’s or who ever is going to help you get in your dress needs to be completely done with hair and make-up and dressed before you are ready to get in your dress.

-Consider getting a velvet ring box that goes with your color scheme. I always bring a styling kit with me for flat lay set ups… but if you bring your own- you can have it customized to say things like “Mrs” or each of your first initials or your new last name.The possibilities are endless! Etsy has so many wonderful options… that is where I get all of my ring boxes from and am happy to share links with you if need them.

-Speak with your florist ahead of time to see if they would be willing to bring loose flowers to your getting ready site so that I can have them to work with when I arrive and am ready to start shooting flat lays. Giving them enough time to plan for this is always helpful.

-Make sure that you eat and are drinking plenty of water! Your body needs fuel and hydration on wedding days because there is a lot of moving parts and it can be easy to get caught up in things that are going on.

Getting ready photos should be fun

Make it your own

After all girls have finished with hair and make-up get the gang together to take some fun photos of you all hanging out! Doing things like a champagne toast, confetti pop or also popping a bottle of champagne to watch all of it fly. Or maybe you want to keep it low-key and just have a few photos of you and your girls hanging out in your matching robes or pajamas… sounds like no matter what you decide to do, it will feel like the party is actually starting.

Here are a few tips for you to decide on what you may want to do!

-Robes or PJ’s- Give your girls a designated time to be in their outfits by and be photo ready before we are actually ready to sit down to take these photos. That way if anyone is running behind, it gives you a few minutes of buffer room!
-Confetti Pop- I love these photos… usually you can find these on Etsy in all different colors. Make sure you have enough for each girl to have their own popper. Also be sure that you check with your getting ready location that it is ok for us to do this. We don’t want to step on anyones toes. I always recommend getting the bio-degradable ones too.
-Champagne toast and/or pop- This is by far my favorite. These photos turn out so well and is sure to be a good time between you and the girls. If you decide to do a champagne pop, I have found that you as the bride pops the standard size bottle and if you give your girls their own mini bottle of champagne to pop, it makes the photo very dramatic. If you don’t want to give each person a bottle, one will still definitely do the trick. Always spray towards the camera and away from yourselves and once the bubbles stop spraying, take a sip from the bottle!

Time to get in your Dress

When you get in your dress, I stage a lot of those shots. You will get into your dress with out worrying about being photographed… and then once it is on, we can stage all of the shots with your Mom or who ever is helping you get in your dress. Depending on your dress, sometimes it has to be slipped on over your head making it a little awkward in photos. So that is why I stage the photos after you are in it.

Things to consider when you are getting dressed

-Know how long it will take you to get into your dress and add an extra 10 minutes to it. A little bit of extra time to account for when getting in your dress is never a bad thing. Plus, adding in extra time for things will help keep us on track and keep you from feeling rushed or stressed.

-The room you are getting dressed in should have lots of natural light and be completely clean (at least by the windows because more times than not, I shoot with you by windows)

-Before you get in your dress, Mom and your bridesmaids need to be in their dresses and photo ready. So often what ends up happening is the people who need to be dressed for photos in order for you to get in your dress, are not and then we end up having to wait for them… which is fine, but it also can create unnecessary stress for you, and we definitely do no want that.

-Make sure your hair artist shows you and mom (and me too if necessary) where the veil should go.

-Having your bridesmaids participate in smoothing out and fluffing your dress always makes for really pretty photos too, you also may want to consider doing a first look with your bridesmaids as well.

Grooms matter too

Getting ready for your Groom

These photos never take very long, boys don’t get their hair and make-up done. But, getting ready should still be fun. Your groom will get a “Grooms Guide” that will outline everything that I will need from him to make everything run smoothly an efficiently as well. I ask that he have some of his details set aside for me so I can arrange his things in a quick set-up and then get into the getting ready portion for him. Sometimes- depending on timeline constraints, your groom may have to come dressed when he gets to the venue… and that is ok. If this is something we have to do, we will photograph him with the details on his person.

Details for him

-Shoes
-Cufflinks
-Watch
-Tie or Bowtie
-Boutonniere

First Looks

First Look with Dad

If you decide you would like to do a first look with your dad, give dad a time to be at the venue/getting ready spot. He will need to come dressed and photo ready. I usually like to have dads there about 15 minutes before our scheduled first look time so I can tell him what to expect and set him up. First looks are completely candid moments that happen between you and dad. I like to step back and let the events unfold naturally.

First look with your Groom

If we are doing a first look before the ceremony with your groom, I always recommend that we do this about 2 hours prior to ceremony start time. This will give us plenty of time to execute the first look, do some of your bride and groom portraits and do all of your wedding party photos as well. Make sure that your groom knows that he will need to be pinned with his boutonniere before the first look takes place. Same as with dad first looks, I like to stay back and let these events unfold naturally. You can tap him on the shoulder, tell him to turn around or what ever you would like. This is totally a moment made just for the two of you.

Also, have a bridesmaid assist you with carrying your train and bouquet to your first look :)

Other first looks

Other types of first you can do are first looks with your girls, first looks with Grandma or Grandpa, or a first look with your dog! Of course these are all optionally but are things you may want to consider that you may not have though of!

Things to Consider

-If you decide that you do not want to do a first look between you and your groom, keep in mind that we will need to do family photos, Full wedding party and bride and groom photos after the ceremony. We need to have good light for these photos. We will need about an hour to finish all of these photos after the ceremony.

-If we do do a first look, and you want to try to get some family photos done before the ceremony, we can do that! Just make sure you give your family a time to meet in a specific location and they will need to be photo ready. I usually suggest just immediate family for pre-ceremony family photos (Parents and siblings) and then we can do the remaining photos after the ceremony… but, you know your family better than I do, so if you think your family that you want in family photos can be there prior to ceremony and we can have them done so you don’t have to worry about it after the ceremony… I say let’s go for it.

-For first looks with dad, if you have a gift for him- this is a good time to give it to him!

-As a general rule of them- we should have you back from photos hidden away about 30 minutes prior to ceremony start time. Guests usually start to arrive about 30 minutes before the ceremony so we will want to get you stashed away and also relaxing before the ceremony starts.

Ceremony

Your ceremony is all candid moments! So there really isn’t much to give you directions on here, other than to make sure you both smile when you walk down the aisle and make sure that any family members and wedding party peeps that are walking down in the precessional and recessional know to also smile as well. For the ladies, always walk with your bouquets at your belly buttons!

Things to keep in mind:

-Walk slowly, don’t rush anything. For me, the slower you walk- the better! That gives me plenty of opportunities to capture many reactions and moments. Also tell your wedding party this too! I know that our nerves can get the better of us sometimes, but just relax and take a deep breath… slow and steady wins the race!

-Make sure that you are center during the ceremony! Have a marker your officiant to stand that is dead center in front of the arbor and mark where each of you will be standing. I also recommend this for the wedding party. When things are off center or your wedding party is not lined up correctly, this affects the mood of the photo. Yours truly is a HUGE fan of symmetry. During rehearsal, make sure everyone knows where and how to line up… 45 degrees to the center- bridesmaids should hold their bouquets at their belly buttons and groomsmen should hold their right wrist with their left hand.

-After you share your first kiss and before you start making your way back up the aisle, pause and take a breath with each other and celebrate! Throw your arms up, cheer with your people, what ever you would like… just savor this moment. When you start walking back up, remember… slow and steady wins the race. I also always recommend sharing one more kiss at the last row when you are walking down as husband and wife! It is one of my favorite photos to capture, and I am sure you will love it too! If you forget, that’s ok! I can remind you.

-Make sure your wedding party does not rush the exit. The first couple after the bride and groom should not line up until after y’all share your kiss at the last row of the aisle, then they can start walking. From there- each couple should not start walking until the couple in front of them is at least half way down the aisle. Again, going nice and slowly.

Post Ceremony Family Photos

I recommend keeping family photos to 10-12 different arrangements. having multiple different set-ups can take a lot of time, and we usually don’t have a lot of time between the end of the ceremony and start of the reception. Also- if we did not do a first look before the ceremony between the two of you, we will also need to get the whole wedding party together and your bride and groom photos as well. If we did a first look and did the full wedding party before hand, then they can be dismissed to cocktail hour (if you want them to).Be sure to tell the family that you want in photos after the ceremony ahead of time so they know to not go to cocktail hour and to stay behind after the ceremony for photos.

Examples of different family photo set-ups

Bride, Groom + Brides Parents
Bride, Groom, Brides Parents + Brides Siblings
Bride, Groom, Brides Parents, Brides Siblings, Siblings significant others + Grandparents
Brides Groom, Brides Parents, Brides Siblings, Siblings significant others, Grandparents + any other extended family
Bride, Groom +Brides Grand Parents

***And then we do the same for the grooms side***

Also keep in mind that these set-ups vary- make sure you let me know of any special relationships I will need to be aware of.

Reception

Just like the ceremony, a lot of the reception is candids and in the moment! If there is anyone you want photos with that was not in family photos, I am happy yo follow you around and take photos of you with whoever you would like! The main thing is for you to mingle, and have fun! The hard part is over at this point in the night because you can breath, relax and enjoy the company of your guests. I will be in contact with your planner the entire evening so that we are on the same page about events taking place during the reception.

Send-Off

And no matter what kind of send off you do… walk slowly, again- this is one of those moments that you are going to want to savor. Walk down stop half way through the aisle and celebrate with your people, kiss each other, add a dip kiss in there… what ever you would like. Just enjoy this moment with each other.