Top Tips for Brides from a Professional Wedding Photographer

Dear future Bride, if you want some super helpful tips for your wedding day from a professional wedding photographer who’s seen it all, this is for you! A wedding photographer is your absolute best friend when it comes to wedding tips! They often act as the wedding planner, emergency go-to, wedding co-ordinator, hype person and so much more! So your first tip right off the bat – Trust your wedding photographer! They know what’s up! So let’s dive right in to my top tips for brides from a professional wedding photographer! (That’s me by the way, I’m Heidi- Nice to meet you! 🙂 )

Ask Your Florist For Extra Florals For Your Flat-Lay Photos

This is such a great tip! Flat-lay photos are so amazing to see all the little details from your special day laid out together. Ask your florist for some extra loose flowers that your photographer can use for your flat-lay photos. It really elevates those detail shots! Bonus tip- have all your flat-lay details put aside in a box so your photographer can immediately get right to it! That way, you don’t have to scramble to try find it all.

Have a NEAT/CLEAN Getting Ready Space

Try to keep a clutter free space for your getting ready photos. Preferably near a window or somewhere with natural light. This really helps to get gorgeous, clean photos with no eye-sores or distractions. Trust me, the amount of dingy, dark, messy hotel rooms I’ve done getting ready photos in….I mean…I made it work, but help ya girl out will ya! Sheeeesh, haha! Also, you will love your photos so much more when doing this!

Add in a “First Look” With Your Future Hubby Before The Ceremony

This is such an awesome way to not only have some alone time together on your big day, but it also creates for a stress-free timeline! You can do your first look right after you’re done getting ready, while your hair and make-up is still fresh! After that, you can get the immediate family photos and wedding party photos out of the way! This way, you can truly enjoy the cocktail hour with your guests and not rush to cram in Bride&Groom Portraits, Family Photos and Wedding Party photos in 1.5hrs before the grand entrance! Check out this blog on why you should include a first look HERE!

Ceremony Tips

1-Hold hands during your ceremony. When you’re standing up front during your ceremony, it can feel weird not knowing what to do with your hands. Holding each other’s hands looks cute and feels less awkward!

2-Ask your officiant to step out of the way during your first kiss as Mr. and Mrs!

3-Don’t forget to grab your bouquet on the way back down the aisle. Brides often forget their bouquet with the Maid of Honor.

4-Do a dip kiss in the middle or at the end of the aisle on your way back down. This makes for an awesome photo while all your guests cheer for you in the background!

Have Your Family Shot List Figured Out & Written Down Beforehand

Trust me, you don’t want to scramble around trying to gather people for your family photos on your wedding day. It’s so helpful to have this list already made. This way, you can be sure that the people who are in the group photos know where they need to be and when they need to be there. You will also not have to worry that you’re forgetting any combinations that you wanted since you’ve already created the list! Bonus tip, make sure your point person has this list so they can help the photographer gather the groups quicker and easier.

Add Some Twists, Turns & Dips To Your First Dance

I love first dance photos! But I’ve done SO many first dance photos where I have 57thousand exact same photos of the two of you swaying around holding each other for 3minutes. Do some twists, turns, spins and dips. Movement is key! Make that dress flare girl! It will create beautiful first dance photos that you will LOVE! Plus, the crowd always goes wild when you add a little something, something extra to your first dance ;).

Well, those were my top tips for brides from a professional wedding photographer! If these tips helped you and you’re looking for a professional wedding photographer to help capture your special day, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me right HERE! I am beyond excited to hear from you!