April Wedding Day Tip

All brides love getting ready with their girls on their wedding day… it’s a fun way to spend a little extra time with just your girls before the day begins. A lot of sweet memories are made in these moments… laughs, tears, joy, excitement, toasts, and hugs lots of hugs. We love when we have the opportunity to capture these candid moments for our brides, and today we’re sharing our top 5 tips for making these moments picture perfect!

Tip #1

• Keep your bridal suite tidy!  
  • Make keeping your bridal suite tidy simple by having a designated spot for all your girls to place their bags and hang their dresses as they arrive. This will help keep everyone’s belongings from getting mixed up and lessen the confusion on who’s shoes are whose and where that necklace went. 😉  Plus no one wants to be tripping over bags all morning long! Another way to keep your bridal suite tidy… make sure your bridal suite has trash cans readily available, this way all the trash from unwrapping gifts, new products and snacks makes its way into the trash can and not the floor! These simple suggestions will help keep your bridal suite tidy and cut down on confusion and chaos. Plus it will save time, keeping you, your bridesmaids and photographer from having to make a mad dash to straighten up the bridal suite for pictures. You and your girls won’t lose a second of celebrating and your photographer can come right in and capture those candid moments you’ll treasure forever with your best girls!

Tip #2

• Coordinate Schedules with HMU and Photographer
  • As photographer’s, we typically arrive just after our brides have had their hair and makeup completed, because what bride wants to be photographed prior to hair and makeup on her wedding day?! One thing we always go over with our brides at our final meeting is the picture timeline for the day, this way our brides know when we will arrive and when pictures will begin so they can coordinate with their hair and makeup artist. When booking your hair and makeup artist we recommend asking them if a trial run for your hair and makeup is included, this way not only will you know how your wedding day look will look, but you’ll have an idea of how long it will take the day of and how much time you need to allow for hair and make-up. Also if you are hiring the same hair and makeup artist for your bridesmaids as yourself make sure your hair and makeup artist knows how many bridesmaids she’ll need to do hair and make up for. This way everyone is ready on time and your hair stylist and makeup artist aren’t scrambling to finish up and can have time for any last minute touch-ups!

Tip #3

• Get Matchy-Matchy!
  • Having matching robes, button-down shirts or tanks with monograms or maybe even a cute pajama set will take you’re getting ready pictures to the next level! Afterall who doesn’t love a good monogram here in the south! Plus they make for sweet gifts that your bridesmaids will be able to wear again and again!

Tip #4

• Pretty Hangers!
  • Another secret that will take your dress/getting ready pictures to the next level is pretty hangers! There are so many options when it comes to pretty hangers and you can find them just about anywhere these days. We’ve been seeing them sold in some of our favorite stores like  Wal-mart, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby! You can purchase hangers that spell out bride or Mrs. or if you want to a more personal touch head over to Etsy and you can order a hanger for your dress with your new last name! Or if you’re a DIY gal like us, you can pick up some wooden hangers at Target or Wal-mart, and create your own custom hangers for you and your girls!

Tip#5

• Have a planner or day of coordinator!
  • This will help keep your stress level down and allow you to enjoy this time interruption free with your bridesmaids. Having a planner or day of coordinator you can trust your special day with will not only give you peace of mind on your big day but it will also keep everyone from coming to you with questions about what flowers go where or what time is the cake arriving and etc. With a planner or day of coordinator on site, you can kick back and enjoy the day from start to finish! As photographers here in Northeast Georgia we’ve had the opportunity to work with some wonderful planners and day of coordinators… bride friends if you need a few recommendations or referrals we know some great ones!

Above all, remember sweet brides, it’s your wedding day, enjoy every moment of it and be sure to soak it all in!