Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Photos by Stephanie is an DFW Wedding Photographer and will {Capture} Raw Emotion between Soulmates.

Bridal Portraits are MY Favorite Type of Portrait Session.

Why? Stephanie?

Because it’s so much fun to spend time with my clients as they see themselves as BRIDES for the very first time!!! For most of my beautiful Brides, this is their first time seeing everyone together – the dress, the hair, the veil, the bouquet, the makeup, the jewelry… their excitement and joy are contagious and we always have such an amazing time shooting bridals together! During scheduled bridal portraits, we are able to take our time and have fun together, all while my bride is glowing with anticipation and excitement of their actual wedding day. I highly recommend doing a bridal portrait session, even it you willn’t be displaying anything at your reception. It’s still such a fun time to create beautiful images of you in your beautiful gown without the actual stress of the wedding day. Brides often ask me what they need to do in order to prepare for their bridal portrait.

Below are some of my awesome top tips on how to prepare…

1. Plan ahead and schedule early. My calendar fills up quickly, especially in the spring and summer. If you want to print and display any of your bridal portraits at your wedding reception, you should plan on scheduling your bridal portrait at least six weeks prior to your wedding day. If you’re not planning on displaying anything at your reception, then you can schedule your bridal portrait session anytime before (or even after) your wedding. Once you have some dates in mind, let me know as soon as you can to ensure you get on my calendar.

2. Consider a weekday. I know it’s not completely ideal to take a vacation day of from work prior to your wedding day for a bridal portrait session, but most venues will not be available for rental during the weekend… and most of my weekends are booked with weddings. So plan on looking at a weekday for your session, for the most flexibility.

3. Have a rain plan and rent a venue! There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to bridal portraits. You’ve booked hair + makeup, picked up your dress, ordered a bouquet… if we don’t have to worry about weather causing us to reschedule, that’s amazing! So the best way to avoid having to reschedule due to weather is to book a venue for your bridal portrait session.

4. Book your hair and makeup trial. It’s always important to have your hair and makeup done for your bridal portriats by the same team who will be doing your hair and makeup for your wedding day, so that you can have an amazing “test run” of your entire bridal look. If you’ve already scheduled a second separate hair + makeup trial for your wedding day look. There really are no rules!

5. Wear comfortable shoes. If you have a special pair of shoes for your wedding day, you can definitely bring them. We won’t see your feet in your bridal portraits, so keep in mind that you can also just wear tennis shoes or flip flops under your dress! This will keep your wedding day shoes pristine for your wedding day detail photos!

6. Bring water and blotting cloths if it’s hot – or, if you want to go the extra mile, bring a fur stole! Bring a coat or blanket if it’s cold. We can utilize these things in between photos to keep you as comfortable as possible in the case of really cold or really warm weather.

7. Don’t stress about being outside in your dress. Trust me – I never ask any of my beautiful brides to do anything that would I would never get your your dress dirty. And even if it does get a little bit of dirt or grass on the bottom. It should be easy enough to remove the dirt before the wedding day and at the end of the day. No one is going to be looking at the bottom hem of your dress with a microscope on your gorgeous wedding day!

8. Bring your jewelry and veil. If you’re undecided about what you want to wear on your wedding day, bring all of your options to see which set looks best in photographs.

9. Order a bouquet. Some florists include a complimentary bridal portrait bouquet in their pricing, so check with your wedding florist to see. If not, that’s okay, just make sure to bring a bouqet along so you have something to complete your bridal look. If you forget, don’t worry I always have a bouquet on hand.

10. Ask your mom or a close friend to come along with you. Most of the time, they can notice the tiniest of details way quicker and more frequently than I do. They’ll notice a wrinkle in your beautiful dress, a stray hair, or perfect the way your veil lays far better than me! It’s always nice to have a second pair of eyes, from someone who knows you well, plus the moral support is always fabulous as you see yourself all done up as a Beautiful BRIDE for the first time!

11. Want to do something unique? Rent a fun piece of vintage furniture for your session! If we’re shooting on a weekday, you can most likely get a pretty good deal.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Happy Planning!

If you are looking for an DFW Wedding Photographer who can {Capture} your unique love story, we would love to chat! By clicking the contact us button above and inquiring today.

ELOPEMENT | WEDDING | BOUDOIR | ENGAGEMENT | BRIDAL | PROPOSAL | COUPLE BOUDOIR | TRASH THE DRESS | WE STILL DO