If you're planning on having getting ready photos done on your wedding day - this is the perfect post for you. I hope I'll be able to answer a few of your questions here, or even give you answers to things you hadn't even thought of until now!
Having your details ready
Many fine art wedding photographers like myself enjoy adding detail photos to your wedding day album. These photos are absolutely gorgeous and can actually be really easy to put together, as long as you know what to bring for your photographer. Some great details to bring are your wedding invitations and save the dates, vow cards, shoes, rings, family heirlooms and jewelry. For more ideas visit my details styling blog here.
Having a clean and spacious area
I personally love shooting in spaces that have lots of natural light. Hopefully your bedroom or hotel room will have lots of window light as well as the living room or common areas. Some of our hotels in Nova Scotia are great for this - especially the ones with spacious suits! It's also extremely important to try and keep the space tidy. Trust me, you won't appreciate the photos to quite the same degree when there's a pesky McDonalds coffee cup or a bunch of clutter on the tables.
Wear simple outfits or matching gowns
Colour coordination in photography is key. You'll want to try and have your wedding party coordinate their outfits a little bit. It doesn't have to match perfectly, but if everyone wore the same tone of colours - your photos will look so much better. Pastel colours or earthy tones are my personal favorites. Bright colours like blue, green or red can reflect poorly on your skin tone.
Have a moment to yourself
This is the best possible time to step aside and have a moment to yourself. I love having my bride get dressed by herself first and take a few portraits. Then, invite her mom or best friend into the room to have some genuine first look moments and the ever so timeless button up the dress photo. Once your portraits are finished and you've have that moment of peace on your wedding day - let's invite the girls in to start having some champagne-popping fun!
For some really incredible getting ready inspiration, head to my Pinterest board here.
Caitlin Gray of Gray Weddings and Events
Getting ready is such an exciting part of the wedding day! The anticipation, the jitters, and getting all dolled up with your most beloved girlfriends around you is such a blast. Try and savour that time as much as possible. Something I also do for my brides is a "hair and makeup" schedule to share with the hairstylist, makeup artist and the bridal party beforehand so everyone knows the order and doesn't need to worry about it on the day of. Be sure to run it by your hairstylist and makeup artist beforehand to ensure they're comfortable with it and that you've allotted enough time per person.
As for getting ready photos, these are always some of my favourite to look at when the wedding albums arrive from the photographer! There are many special moments
and sometimes ones you miss that you get to see later when perusing your photos
Some Gray Weddings tips
- Have a bottle of champagne for you and your bridesmaids to pop at some point that morning - popping champagne always makes for such fun photos.
- Have some sort of matching item for the bridal party to wear while getting ready so you really feel like a bride tribe! There are many options... robes, pajamas, slippers, scrunchies are great options.
-Have a details box ready for your photographer of pieces you want captured (invites, jewelry, perfume, shoes and even a couple of extra blooms from your florist if possible). - Ensure both wedding rings are kept together so that the photographer can get detail shots of them during the detail styling.
Gray Weddings and Events is a full-service wedding and event planning and coordination company based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can visit their website here.