The Beginning of Your Wedding Story
Couples often ask me whether getting ready photos are really necessary. Personally, I absolutely love capturing this part of the wedding day!
The anticipation, the butterflies, and the excitement before the ceremony are just as much a part of your wedding as the vows themselves. I love documenting the final touches of your styling, the moment you put on your wedding dress, and especially emotional first looks with your parents or closest friends.
Getting ready tells the beginning of your story and makes your wedding gallery feel complete. To help you enjoy these special hours to the fullest, I have put together a few of my favourite tips.
1. Choose the Right Location and Allow Enough Time
Your surroundings influence both your mood and the overall aesthetic of your wedding photographs. Bright rooms, large windows, and beautiful natural light create the perfect setting for timeless images.
Whether you choose a hotel suite, your own home, or your wedding venue, make sure you feel comfortable and have enough space for your preparations. Allow plenty of time for hair and makeup, getting dressed, and those final little details. A well planned timeline with some extra breathing room will help you enjoy the morning without constantly watching the clock.
2. Personal Details and Beautiful Flatlays
Your wedding stationery, rings, perfume, jewellery, and shoes all tell a part of your story. These carefully chosen details deserve a place in your wedding gallery. Flatlay photography allows selected items to be arranged beautifully and photographed from above. Elegant combinations of your invitations, a beautiful ring box, delicate silk ribbons, and individual flowers can create timeless and personal images.
My tip: Ask your florist whether they could provide a few individual flowers or flower heads from your wedding arrangements. These can be incorporated into your detail photographs and create a beautiful connection between your bridal bouquet, stationery, and floral design.
For my wedding couples, I also bring selected styling elements when needed, such as delicate silk ribbons and beautiful antique hangers to present your wedding dress in an elegant way. These little touches complement your personal details and help create a timeless aesthetic.
3. Write Each Other a Letter
One of my favourite ideas for a wedding day is exchanging handwritten letters before the ceremony.
Take some time before the wedding to write down your thoughts and feelings for one another. You could share what you are most looking forward to, what you love about each other, or your wishes for the future you are about to build together. Exchange your letters during the getting ready and take a few quiet moments to read them before seeing each other at the ceremony.
This can be an incredibly emotional moment. A smile, a happy tear, or the joy of reading your partner’s words are memories that cannot be planned and are all the more meaningful because of it.
Give yourselves enough time to enjoy the moment without feeling rushed. Your letters can also be beautifully incorporated into your detail photographs alongside your rings, stationery, and a few delicate flowers.
4. Your Wedding Dress and the Moments That Matter
For many brides, choosing the wedding dress is one of the most emotional parts of the entire wedding planning process. That is why I always encourage you to allow enough time to get dressed and enjoy the experience.
A beautiful hanger and a spot with lovely natural light can make your dress look even more special in photographs. Delicate embroidery, unique buttons, and your veil are also wonderful details to capture. If your mother, sister, or a close friend helps you into your dress, this can become an incredibly meaningful moment.
The groom’s preparations deserve just as much attention. Getting into his suit, putting on a favourite watch, adjusting his cufflinks, or sharing a moment with his groomsmen are all part of your wedding story, too.
If you are getting ready at different locations, this should be considered when planning your photography timeline. Depending on your schedule, having a second photographer can be a wonderful way to capture both sides of the morning.
5. Create a Relaxed Atmosphere with Your Favourite People
The people who surround you during the getting ready often make these hours even more special. Perhaps it is your closest friends, your siblings, or your parents. Shared laughter, warm hugs, and familiar conversations become meaningful memories that make your wedding day uniquely yours.
Think about who you would like to have around you and create an atmosphere in which you feel comfortable. Enjoy breakfast together, listen to your favourite music, or simply take a few quiet moments before the celebrations begin. If your bridesmaids are joining you, you can coordinate your outfits through complementary colours and beautiful fabrics. Everything will feel harmonious without everyone having to wear exactly the same thing.
First looks with your parents or closest friends can also be incredibly special. Their reactions when they see you in your wedding attire for the first time are often filled with love, surprise, and genuine emotion. These are the kinds of moments you will treasure for years to come.
6. Be Present and Enjoy Your Morning
Between hair and makeup, the timeline, and the final preparations, the morning can pass more quickly than you expect. Try not to treat every moment as another item on your schedule.
Take a breath, enjoy the company of your favourite people, and allow yourself to look forward to everything that lies ahead.
For me, fine art wedding photography is about bringing together beautiful aesthetics and genuine emotion. I love timeless compositions, meaningful details, and natural moments that reflect who you are as a couple.
Your photographs should do more than show what your wedding looked like. Years from now, they should remind you of how it felt.
Planning your wedding and looking for a photographer to capture your story in a timeless and meaningful way? I would love to hear more about your plans. Get in touch to receive a personalised proposal for your wedding day.