With (what will feel like) a never-ending to do list, one of the things to begin to think through is preparation for your wedding pictures! You’ll be in good hands when you partner with the right photographer, but it’s also important for you to prepare in advance. Here are 5 ways for how to prepare for photos on your wedding day.
Preparing for Photos on the Big Day: One Month Before
1. Leading up to the big day, don’t neglect your skin care! You will have a lot on your plate and will likely have frequent nights out and celebratory meals. It’s important that you stay well hydrated and keep your skin care routine at the top of your list of daily priorities. After all---natural, glowing skin is one of the best accessories that you could have on the big day. (Don’t try anything new at this point! Get up to speed on bridal skin care tips here.)
2. Share a Pinterest board with your photographer. If you haven’t done so already, browsing other wedding photos on Pinterest can help to inspire you and the creative vision for your big day. It will also give your photographer a better idea for what you and your significant other have in mind. By reviewing other weddings, you can get ideas for special wedding photos, as well as how to pose. This is the kind of research that is worthwhile! (Here's a link to the Joy Pinterest page!)
Getting Ready for Wedding Pictures: One Week Before
As you begin to turn the corner on the final countdown, here are a few more important tips for how to prepare for photos on your wedding day.
3. Collect the items for your details shots. A details shot is exactly that: a photograph of key items that you have with you on the big day. We recommend having more than less, and your photographer can pair down as needed. Items like the following will be important: wedding rings, wedding invitation, bridal accessories (shoes, earrings), your “something” items (old, blue, borrowed, new), and any other special heirlooms. Compile these items together and save them together in a box. This way they’ll all be in one place so your photographer can get some photos quickly.
4. Finalize your shot list. By this point, your shot list should be in a good place and already aligned on with your team. Feel free to take one more look through it and make sure you haven’t missed anything. This would be a good time to reiterate anything that you feel is important to share with your creative wedding professionals and to make sure there’s a plan to capture anything that you need to purchase for your shot list. For example, if you plan to have balloons or champagne in your getting ready shots, then now is the time to designate someone to be in charge of this! (Check out the standard Joy shot list here.)
How to Prepare for Wedding Photos: One Day Before
5. Take a look at the space where you’ll be getting ready on the big day and make sure it’s ready for 'Prime Time'. Everything will be happening quickly that morning and there will be quite a few people around, so do what you can to make sure it’s prepared in advance.
If you’re getting ready at home, walk through the main rooms of your house to determine the locations with the best light. (Yes, it’s likely that your photographer will want to capture you getting ready in the living room if that happens to be the main light!) We recommend doing some light cleaning. Move the dog bed out of the main walkway, put your stray shoes in the closet, and make sure the cabinets are cleared off in the main areas where photos will be captured.
While it’s special to have photos captured of you getting ready at home, you don’t want the background to feel like it’s been ‘lived in’ or it could be distracting.
If you’re getting ready in a hotel or other venue location, use one of the rooms of your bridal party to compile things that you don’t need. The space where you are getting ready should be streamlined and easy on the eyes. In the primary room, we recommend designating one corner, out of the camera’s eye, that can house any items that belong to your wedding party like bags or phone chargers. (The last thing that you want is a ‘junk table’ in the corner of all your getting ready shots!)
We hope you enjoyed learning about how to prepare for photos on your wedding day.
To continue with your research, check out this article from Brides.com, “Photography Wedding Checklist: Every Photo to Take.”
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer and videographer, we’re here to support you! Take a look at our packages and get in touch with us today. We still have some availability in 2023 and are actively booking 2024 weddings nationwide.
[Photoshoot in the spotlight: Gina + Blake in DFW, Texas]
Choose Joy,
The Joy Team