Why schedule a bridal portrait? It goes without fail that every time I shoot a wedding one of the things a bride always shares with me is that the day just goes by so fast.  I wish I could stop time for my brides sometimes.  It is so easy to get caught up in all little things it takes to pull together the big day.

I like to think I can slow down time a little during my portrait sessions.  My brides and I can spend several hours together – and my brides are able to well, be a bride during that time.  It takes time to capture someones true essence and their inner beauty.  These are two qualities that are very important to me to uncover during my portrait sessions.  Here are my top five reasons why you should schedule a bridal portrait before your wedding.

1. Trial run for the real thing

My wish, for every bride I have the opportunity to work with, is for them to have a stress free and smooth sailing wedding day with no snags or unnecessary distractions.  Scheduling a bridal portrait enables my brides to have a chance for a trial run with their hair, makeup and dress.  When my wife did her portraits (not with me, obviously!), she discovered that she needed to find a new hairdresser AND that her dress needed to be altered because it was not falling right.  Had she not made the time to have her portrait made, she would have been contending with these issues on our wedding day.  I recommend scheduling your portrait at least six weeks before the big day so you have time for dress alterations and making changes to your vendors (hair and makeup) if necessary.

2. Spending Quality Time with Your Photographer

I take pride in knowing that many of my brides (and grooms!) feel like friends by the time their wedding day rolls around.  I want to get to know them to the best of my ability so I can capture images that speak to directly who they are and what their relationship is all about.  This involves being very comfortable with one another.  If you are someone who does not like to get their picture taken, it may take some time to warm up to the camera and feel comfortable in front of it.  I mean, this is YOUR DAY!  During the portrait session we are able to spend several hours together, getting to know one another and definitely doing a lot of laughing.  So, by the time I see you on your wedding day, it is like you are old friends with me and my camera.

3.  No Pressure

Emotions run high on the day of the wedding.  Time is almost never on our side.  Even my most organized brides can never anticipate the energy and emotion that is running through them as they get ready to say “I Do”, forever.  During the session there is no pressure on your to be somewhere, there is no one asking you any questions.  We always make time for a bridal portrait on the day of the wedding, even with my brides that schedule portraits ahead of time – but you will never get a two or three hour chunk of time to get it, just right.

4.  Feel Confident

There is nothing more beautiful, from my perspective, than a confident bride.  Having a bridal portrait means that you get to see pictures of yourself in your dress before your wedding day. I love working closely with my brides during the portrait sessions to help them learn the best way to stand and pose. The style of your dress, your body type, if you have veil or not and also your shoes all play into creating the “look” you want to achieve on your wedding day.  During your portrait sessions, we have the time in a relaxed space to play with all of these things until we get them right.

5.  The WOW Factor!

There is nothing quite like seeing the look on your guests faces when they walk into the reception and there is a gorgeous framed print of your bridal portrait there to greet them.  I have always encouraged my brides to select several of their favorite images from our bridal sessions and have different sized frames and a mix of color and black and white.  And, mothers and grandmothers are always happy to take these beautiful framed pictures home with them after the wedding!

I hope you enjoyed this collection of bridal portraits, most were taken before the wedding but a couple were taken day of. I included a variety of styles from traditional to modern, artistic and creative to just plain beautiful.