The Wedding Morning & Bridal Preparations
Photographing bridal preparations is one of my favourite parts of the day. There’s so much atmosphere to capture including laughter, nerves, tears, fun and raw emotion. There are a few things you can do to ensure you get the best from your photographs. Choose a room with as much natural light as possible for make up. Natural light is by far the most flattering on skin tones and doesn’t cause shadows in the way that light bulbs do so for hair and make up an ideal place is by a window. I like to photograph all the lovely details too, so hanging your dress up in a tidy room is always really helpful. Lots of brides say ‘could you avoid clutter and mess’ I like a bit of clutter though… it’s the real story of the wedding day. There’s usually a lot of make up and hairspray around and there might be a few bridesmaids with all that comes with them too.
Allow plenty of time to put your dress on. It will take you longer than it takes the lady in the bridal shop. Find out what time your photographer is planning to leave for the ceremony and try to be ready about half an hour before she is planning to leave. This will allow for any slight delays and ensure you have time when you are completely ready to be photographed and of course to capture the gorgeous moment when your dad sees you in your dress for the first time. Sometimes things run so late that the photographer has to leave before you’re ready and it’s a shame not to be able to record those beautiful moments. It’s worth talking this through with your hair and make-up artists before the day too so they know what time you need to be ready to get dressed and they can then plan that into their timings.
Communication is really helpful so that everyone knows what to work towards and it most definitely minimises stress.