Wedding Getting Ready Tips

I can't wait to photograph these meaningful moments with mom, siblings and best friends. This is one of my favourite parts of the day. Emotions are high and excitement is in the air.

Since this tends to be the time of day when the most emotional photos are taken I will require 90 minutes to photograph the details and moments.

What Happens During The Getting Ready Time?

I arrive with my assistant at bridal preparations and introduce myself to everyone while my assistant gets my equipment ready. I will begin photographing the tail end of hair and makeup while my assistant gets the bride's dress, rings, flowers, accessory, heirlooms and paper details ready to be photographed.

Hair and Makeup

The hair and makeup stage of your day is not usually photographed from the beginning. We usually show up at the tail end of you hair and makeup and photograph the last minute touches. We will then begin to photograph the day as it unfolds with your best friends or family in a journalistic style.

Tip: Hair and Makeup IS the number 1 reason you may or may not run late for your wedding ceremony. This is definitely the part of the day where you may want to pad the timing by adding 30 minutes to the schedule. If everything runs on time then you'll have more time for fun stuff with your wedding party like champagne toasts or jumping on the bed photos.

The Details

Allow 30-45 minutes

Upon arrival, the first thing we will do after introducing ourselves to everyone is scope out the light and layout of the getting ready space. My second shooter/assistant will gather all items that you have laid out for us to photograph. We usually start with the dress and locate the perfect light and backdrop for this image. Sometimes, depending on locations, we may ask to take your dress to an epic scene or beautiful light. This image can take some time to create and depending on the timeframe we may photograph your other details such as the rings, the flowers, the accessories and the paper details at a later time in your day, but usually all the details are photographed within 30 minutes of our arrival at bride and groom preparations.

Bride and Bridesmaids in Robes

If you have allowed enough time during your bridal preparations for details, getting ready and portraits, which is a minimum of 90 minutes. then we should be able to photograph all your bridesmaids in robes before they get dressed. Your bridesmaid are required to be done with hair and makeup and dressed before you get into your gown. This way, they are looking fab for all of your getting ready photos and ready to go when you are. Many brides request photos of their bridesmaids in their custom matching robes having fun together.

Bridal Portrait

Allow 5 minutes

We ask for 5 minutes alone with the bride to photograph a beautiful portrait. Many photographers no longer produce these timeless images and I think they are one of the most important of your day. We photograph this image immediately after you are finished getting ready when your makeup and hair is perfect. We also ask for this time to be alone with the bride and photographer only. This allows the bride to have 5 minutes to breathe and collect her thoughts before heading out to the first look or ceremony.

Champagne Toast / Scotch Toast / Flowers Handoff

This is a fairly new preparations ritual where the bridesmaids open a bottle of champagne and enjoy mimosas while getting ready for the big day. The groomsmen tend to open a bottle of scotch or bourbon and toast to the day before heading out.