Expert Tips

Wedding Day Getting Ready Tips

By Lajoy Cox of LaJoy Photography

So it’s wedding day! The day is finally here and now it’s time to get ready for pictures. Did you sleep well? Did you eat breakfast? I hope so because now it’s time to get ready to walk down the aisle. Before that happens we need to capture amazing photographs of the start of your day. This is how you get ready for that. 

1. The bridal suite is just for the bride.

All of the women in the family and bridal party should not be getting dressed in the bridal suite unless it’s large enough. When the room is overly crowded, the images scream chaos and clutter. There are tons of bags, shoes as well as hair and makeup products laying around that either need to be moved to another area before any images can be taken or they become eyesores in the photos. This takes time out of the photographer’s timeline and ultimately cuts time spent on the important photos of the day.  


2. The bridal suite should be clean.

Make the bed neatly, remove all of the clutter from the room, throw away any trash, and hide any items you don’t want to be photographed. The photographer will take photos of everything in the suite and if you don’t want it in your pictures keep it out of site in a closed closet or designated area. 

3. Have all of the bride’s details and important items ready to go.

Her dress, shoes, jewelry, garter, bouquet, invitations, rings, and anything the bride would like to have captured should be gathered so that the photographer can get right to work when they arrive. When the photographer is standing around waiting for these items they are wasting valuable picture time. Some of these items may even be taken out of the room to be photographed so make sure they can be easily packed up if the photographer needs to move anything for photos. 

4. Bridesmaids should be ready for photos once it’s time.

Most brides want shots with all her bridesmaids before they all get dressed for the wedding. Pictures such as the iconic robe shot are easily achieved when all the bridesmaids have hair and makeup completed and ready with robes on when the photographer arrives. This way as soon as detail shots are done, which usually doesn’t take long, they can get right into shooting the bridesmaid’s robe shot, so after all the ladies can begin getting dressed. 

5.The Maid or Matron of Honor and Mother of the bride should be dressed first.

When the Mother of the bride and Maid or Matron of Honor are dressed its time to finish up the bride’s hair and makeup and get her into her beautiful dress. The staged shots of the bride getting fussed over are nice for the album. Usually, the bride doesn’t know her make up artist or hair stylist on a personal level so they aren’t included in the images of the day. Allowing two important women of the day to be apart of the brides getting ready photos are easy when these ladies are dressed and ready to go immediately following that robe shot.

6. Helping the bride into her gown.

The already clean bridal suite is now an amazing stage for the bride to get into her gown so that those images can be captured. Bridesmaids normally help with the dress being put on and for this shot, they should be fully dressed. No rollers, hair shouldn’t be tied up, and makeup should be done. The bride is placed in a nicely lit area facing the photographer. Once the bride is comfortable for photos, the photographer will start snapping away. 

7. Help the bride into her veil.

After the dress is on, the mother of the bride needs to put the veil on and she should be dressed completely as well so that the moment can be captured and shared with pride because all women in the photo love the way they look. Cut off all the tags of the items the bride will be wearing so that nothing is torn rushing to get the bride dressed.

8. Next up, Shoes.

The brides shoes are then put on by a member of the bridal party. This person should also be dressed for glamorous pictures but be prepared to get down low and put the bride’s shoes on her. The dress, shoes and the veil are on. Now bridal portraits are about to take place. Have 1-2 members of the bridal party come along for these shots if they are taking place outside of the bridal suite. The bridesmaids will be responsible for holding the back of the bride’s dress when moving from location to location. This makes sure the bride’s dress doesn’t get dirty before walking down the aisle and allows the photographers to focus on carrying their equipment and having a stress free bride. 

9. Photos of the Bridal Party

Bridal party shots now take place and this can be done anywhere! This fun shoot is easier when all the ladies have their bouquets in hand, phones put away and shoes on. The photographer will need your undivided attention at this time. Selfies and Instagram stories will only prolong the photos and make the process slower.

10. Stay on Schedule

The photographer has already started thinking of amazing shots and will give an opportunity at the end of their shoot for the bride to give input on what photos she would like to have before they head to the ceremony. Allow your photographer to pose you and get the photos knocked out quickly so that you stay on schedule with the timeline. Once those shots are captured and the photographer is headed to the ceremony space feel free to take selfies with your friends and enjoy your day. 

Sticking to a timeline with your photographer makes the day go smooth and allows for creativity to flow so that you get the best images possible. We all know how important this day is and we want you to enjoy yourself and have a memorable day. 

Sources

LaJoy Photography

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