A Morning With the Bride

Most brides will spend a huge amount of time planning every little aspect of their days — from the flower arrangements, to the type of jewelry they’re going to wear, all the way down to the their garter, which ends up being out of sight for the majority of the day. Even with some of those details being out of sight, they shouldn’t be left out of mind. Knowing how much time and dedication our brides have put into perfecting every detail of their day, its my job as your photographer to make sure that every last one of those details is documented.

For me, those details are the first place that I focus my attention when I arrive in the morning. With the fast-paced nature of the wedding day, this often times ends up being our only chance to do so. Anything and everything that the bride plans on wearing for her big day is collected and meticulously photographed. This also includes anything special to the bride, such as wedding invitations, keepsakes, or miscellaneous details that might not actually be worn on her person, but are close to her heart.

When considering locations for these photos, its important to me to try and carry over the theme or mood of the day into these images whenever possible. By doing so, we are able to pull a consistent style throughout the images, which helps tie everything together as a whole. In addition, if we are planning an album for the couple (which is often the case), shooting all of our images with a consistent style or theme will allow the album to flow seamlessly from one spread to the next, telling the entire story of the day.

Here’s a perfect example of the little details we always make sure to capture that might otherwise be overlooked. Imagine the amount of time the bride (or someone) spent hand-crafting all of these awesome hangers. At the end of the day, when the party is over and the dust settles, the images we capture will be the only thing you have to remember many parts of your day.

We often coordinate our morning so that we finish up photographing the detail photos right about the time that our bride is finishing their makeup process. This is the perfect time to get a few photos of the final touches. Kathryn looked just as amazing BEFORE she started her makeup, but there’s no doubt that Melissa at Beauty Pros definitely did an incredible job of enhancing that beauty for the big day.

And finally, the moment every bride dreams about since they were a little girl, its time to put on the dress. Kathryn’s dress, from Here Comes the Dress in Chesterton, looked absolutely stunning on her.

Once the bride is settled into her dress, its time to grab a few bridal portraits. Most venues or homes will have some sort of mirror where the bride is getting ready. This is a great place to start. I always like to give the bride a few extra moments to look herself over and make sure she’s 100% happy with everything before I pull her away for more photos. The last thing I ever want to do is make a bride feel rushed. Remember, this day is about the bride (and the groom) first, photos after.