My top 10 Bridal Preparation Tips: getting the most out of your bridal photos
There’s lots going on the morning of your wedding day. Follow my top 10 bridal preparation tips for perfect photos and just lots of fun.
Once your makeup & hair team arrives, it’s fair to say that the rest of the day goes by so quickly. Making sure your bridal preparations go smoothly will definitely help you get the most out of your photography
GETTING READY LOCATION
Just consider the light. Some brides love the idea of getting ready at a hotel, others want the sentimental surrounds of mum and dads home, or where they grew up. Either way, just ensure you get ready in a room that has lots of available light, not only will that help your makeup artist but it will work great for photography as well.
Try, I know it will be hard, to limit the clutter to one space, so that when it comes time to photography there is a nice neat area.
You want your chosen getting ready place in a nutshell to be to be bright, pretty, uncluttered and large enough for everyone to fit.
Don’t forget, if you’re having your wedding in the warmer months, I definitely recommend a getting place with air conditioning so you are not overheating whilst getting ready for your big day.
HAIR & MAKEUP Bridal Preparation Tips
I HIGHLY recommend hiring professional hair and makeup artists that come to your location the morning of the wedding. This way you are able to relax and enjoy the process. There is nothing worse than all of you having to rush back and forth to a salon or beautician for your bridal preparations. Stay comfortable!
Don’t forget to have a trial either, I love doing engagement session for my clients and l always get my brides to have their make-up done, then they can get a feel for how long it takes, and also make sure they are truly happy and confident with the makeup artist that will be involved in the bridal preparations. You really don’t want a hiccup with makeup on your wedding day. Correcting makeup is very time consuming, and will most definitely affect your photography time.
TIMING
I notice a lot of brides underestimate the time it takes for everyone to get dressed and ready! I can’t work a schedule out for you makeup artist or hairdresser because its not my profession, but I can advise you on allocating enough timing for your photos. Here are a few of my tips to make things run a little smoother on your day;
I allow at least one hour for photographing the bride and her bridesmaids. So let’s say your ceremony is at 3pm.you need to consider your travel time to the church/ceremony location, and then work backwards. In my opinion the biggest pitfall brides make is they tell their makeup artist and hairdresser “my photographer will be here at 1.30” so that’s when they finish up. Do you know how long it takes to get into a wedding dress?. You need to allow 30 mins (time can vary depending on whether you have a zip up dress or lace up dress), for your dress, jewellery veil, shoes etc.
So be sure you don’t miss out on all those gorgeous “before you are married photos”. The other hiccup we see quite often is the bride having her hair and makeup done last! This really can be a problem. If we arrive to a home and all the bridesmaids are ready but the bride is still in the makeup chair, it really does affect the schedule. We can only take so many photos of the bridesmaids. But if one of the bridesmaid still needs makeup and hair done, it’s not such a big deal. We have a tonne of photos we want to take of the bride, the bride and her parents, sibling etc. So the bride should never ever go last when it comes to hair and make-up.
I hope my hints and tips help in getting you to the ceremony on time!!
Cathy xx
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