A lot of important photos take place during the “getting ready” portion of the wedding day.  Your bridal details, candids of the girls hanging out together, the finishing touches of hair + makeup, the bride stepping into her wedding dress and getting zipped up before seeing her groom for the first time…  therefore, where you choose to get ready on your wedding day is a very important decision!  I’ve already written a post about what you should look for in a getting ready location, but I wanted to write this post with some helpful tips and tricks that will help make this part of the day run smoothly for all of my brides – since it can get overwhelming + hectic very quickly.

#1 – If you have a large bridal party and/or have a lot of people getting their hair + makeup done, think about booking a large multi-room suite or several rooms that are close together.  Having room to spread out in can make a huge difference in terms of keeping the energy mellow and giving your vendors enough space to work.  Between the makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer + videographer, we all need plenty of natural light to do our jobs well… so the more room we have to work in and the more space that you, your bridesmaids, the moms, and other family members have to relax in – the better!

#2 – Have all of your bridal details gathered in one spot so that I can come in, say hi, and get to work right away!  I’ll send you an email about 10 days before your wedding day with a list of things that I typically photograph in the morning, so that you can get them all together for me prior to arrival.  Having everything in one spot will make things very easy for me and is greatly appreciated!

#3 – Confirm with your wedding planner and/or florist that your bouquet, all of the boutonnieres, and styling blooms will be delivered to your getting ready location prior to my arrival.  I always like to include the bride’s bouquet + styling blooms in my styled bridal detail photos – and the boutonnieres in the groom’s styled detail photos – so this is super important… and it’s often overlooked.  Also, having the florals with us will ensure that we aren’t having to wait for them to be delivered later in the day – and we can get started earlier than the timeline says if we’re running early.  So please try to have your personal florals and styling blooms delivered as early as possible on your wedding day.

#4 – If you want photos of you + your girls in cute robes/pajamas before you all get dressed, please make sure that your hair + makeup team is aware that they need to have everyone done with hair + makeup about 15-20 minutes BEFORE the bride is scheduled to put on her dress.  Otherwise, some of the girls will not have their hair + makeup done for this photo… and while it doesn’t necessarily matter to me, I’ve found that your bridesmaids DO care and don’t want to take this photo without their hair + makeup done!  So just communicate with your hair + makeup team so that they can get everyone finished with enough time to spare for these photos before everyone gets dressed.

#5 – Try to keep an area near a window or glass door clutter-free.  This is most likely where I’ll set up my styling studio for all of your bride + groom details – and also where I’ll probably have you get into your gown.  If there isn’t a ton of space in your getting ready room, I may take all of your details + photograph them in another room, the lobby, a covered porch, etc. just FYI!

#6 – Whoever is going to help you into your dress needs to be done hair + makeup and in their dress at least 15 minutes before you’re scheduled to get into your dress.  Please make sure this is communicated to the hair + makeup team.  The #1 reason why things run behind on the wedding day is because the Maid of Honor and/or Mother of the Bride is the last to get their hair + makeup done and we have to wait on them to finish up before we can get you dressed.  So please plan accordingly.

#7 – Make sure you + your bridesmaids eat something before getting into your dresses!  This is especially important when it’s hot outside and/or if you’re enjoying some libations early in the day, but eating is definitely something you should prioritize in the morning.  You may not have time to eat anything else until dinner time… so get something in your belly before all of the festivities begin!

#8 – If you have custom calligraphy done on your wedding invitation suite or envelopes, ask your calligrapher to use a dummy address on the envelope so that I can photograph it and share photos without it being your actual address.

I’ll try to keep adding to this list as things come up – and if you have any suggestions for me to add, please feel free to comment below!