I love seeing the smiles and silly moments that happen during the “getting ready” part of each wedding day. These are the moments that set the stage for whats about to unfold, and its more common than not that the same mental commentary runs through my head while shooting these things. So I thought instead of keeping these delightfully funny and useful things to myself, I would share them with you! I hope you enjoy my comedic and truth filled tidbits below!
Hydrate in style. This is a pretty simple one and gives a great gift for your bridal party. I REGULARLY see tons, and I mean tons of plastic water & juice bottles literally covering Bridal/Groom getting ready rooms. These make for ugly additions to photos and constantly leave the room looking horridly messy. Try finding cute monogramed water bottles, tumblers or wine glasses instead. Here are a few links of idea starters!
Lilly Pulitzer Monogrammed Wine Glasses
The rest of my internal commentary and tips, really have to do with the big moment of “putting on the dress”. But before I get into it, when it comes to getting dressed practically in public I usually tell Brides to step into the dress and get covered to a comfortable level before I pick up the camera and start shooting anything… because let’s be honest we want to keep your images Grandma appropriate HAHA! So here are my tips for this short, but powerful moment of the day.
The sea of hands. Putting on your wedding dress can be an incredibly beautiful, fun and captivating moment…. that doesn’t mean that it needs to be a team effort. As a Photographer, there is nothing more frustrating than having 2-3 (and yes, sometimes more) people “helping” to put on a wedding dress. The result is almost always a “sea of hands” and little, to no dress peeking through the images. I recommend picking one person to assist you and MAYBE one person waiting in the wings on standby. Having less people will make the moment more relaxed, let you enjoy it…. and frankly, when you have a question about what they are doing or how it’s going, you only have to communicate with one person rather than three.
Dressing the doll. This is what I call it to myself when the Bride stands there arms out, neck stretching to the ceiling, as one person puts on her bracelet, another her earrings and a third is clasping her necklace…. Add in a balancing act of another person on the floor trying to help her slip on a shoe and it’s down right a comedy act in motion. This is WAY too many people helping, and frankly takes away the emotion of the moment. To help alleviate this and give us a better photos… put on most of your own jewelry, but maybe pick one piece that’s important to you (or hardest to get on) and have ONE person help you with this. However I get needing some help with shoes, because being in a big fluffy (tight) dress is pretty much like being pregnant… good luck seeing those feet! HAHA!
I promise your boobs aren’t going anywhere. I don’t know what it is about putting on a wedding dress that makes women instantly hold onto their boobs as if a gremlin is going to run up and grab them before the ceremony, but I see it all the time. This makes for INCREDIBLY unflattering photos…. and I promise, they will still be there once the dress is on. In all seriousness I know that this is done because we think it helps to get the dress on while keeping the “girls” in the right and comfortable place, but the truth is it doesn’t… and you can adjust after its on. To help avoid this, when you are putting on your dress to a “conformably covered” level for me to start photographing, snap up any sewn in or unattached undergarments all the way, then let your helper do their thing. Relax and let them worry about the buttons, zippers and corset strings. You can adjust the girls once they are done.
Weddings aren’t for worry lines. Relax your forehead and STOP LOOKING SO STRESSED! Enjoy the moment and the people around you as your being zipped/buttoned/laced (or sewn… yep I’ve seen it) into your dress! 🙂 Don’t forget to laugh, breathe and most importantly… go to the little girls room BEFORE your dress is on!
Your shoulders are not sea shells…. you will not hear the ocean. Remember to relax your shoulders when you are putting on your dress. There is not a woman on earth this is a flattering position for.
