Creating your bridal style is a lot of fun and sets the tone of your look for your most important day! The challenge is how can you easily have these “pretties” in one place for the photographer to capture. What should you prep? How many and when?
Follow these 3 easy tips to having beautiful flat-lay images
- As you select our bridal accessories, receive your wedding invitations begin collecting them in a plastic bin! By the time the wedding arrives, you will have an organized accessory/details box your Maid of Honor hands to Leigh.
- Request additional flowers from your florist. On the wedding day, it’s awkward and sometimes not even possible to track down the florist and beg for flowers. Request a few stems of greenery and 5-6 signature blooms that are in our bouquet. Ask for small accent flowers too or “filler flowers”.
- Get your rings cleaned and have all 3 rings together in the accessories box. No offense to the best man, but we will get the rings to him later!
Please have the following set aside in one place before I arrive in the room you will be dressing.
Bridal Details & Accessories
- 2 Full Invitation Suites – all stationery pieces including envelopes. If you have included wax seals and custom stamps, add those too.
- Additional Weddig Stationary Pieces – Ceremony program or custom name cards for the bride and groom.
- Wedding Dress and Veil – Steam the gown and veil as early in the day as possible so it’s dry and ready to go.
- Wooden Hanger for the Bride
- Bridesmaid Dresses
- Custom Hangers – It’s best to have all gowns on their custom hangers so it’s quick to photograph and organize.
- Shoes
- Family Heirlooms – These can be jewelry, keepsakes, or even photographs. Have them all in one place together.
- Perfume
- Jewelry – Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces
- Wedding Rings – Include all 3 rings – the bride’s wedding band, the groom’s wedding band, and the engagement ring.
- Vow Books
This is a great job for your MOH to collect all of your “pretties” so I can photograph them quickly and in an organized way.
Bridal Gown and Veil Prep
When you arrive at the venue, pull the gown out of the bag with the veil and hang it by a wooden hangar. Use a customized one if you have it, but often a simple wooden hanger is so elegant. We do not want to photograph your gown on a plastic hanger.
Flowers
Ask the florist to deliver all of the personal flowers before the photographer arrives. Gather the bouquets and Mother’s corsages in the bridal suite and the boutonnieres with the groomsmen for the second shooter to photograph when he is with the gents.
Extra flowers from the florist elevate the details and make them even more stunning and elegant. Ask your florist for a few extra greenery stems and flowers to incorporate. They set these aside when they deliver your bouquets.
Invitation Suite & Paper Goods
Please have 2 sets of your full invitation. It is best to have envelopes, save the dates, RSVP cards, etc. Your entire invitation suite and program help tie all of your detailed photos together.
Rings
All 3 rings (the engagement ring and both wedding bands)- It’s always helpful it get them cleaned before the big day so they shine!
Most brides purchase a color-coordinated velvet ring box as a keepsake, but this is not required. Leigh has a few to use if you don’t have one. After we photograph them Leigh will hand the rings off to the best man or whomever you choose to carry them. If you are doing a first look Leigh will keep them so you can put them on after you see each other for your photos.
Accessories
Vow Books, Perfume, Garter, Family Heirlooms
- Custom Hangers – It’s best to have all gowns on their custom hangers so it’s quick to photograph and organize.
- Shoes
- Family Heirlooms – These can be jewelry, keepsakes, or even photographs. Have them all in one place together.
- Perfume
- Jewelry – Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces
- Vow Books
