The bridal detail checklist is one of the biggest resources I share with all my brides. After all these years, I decided to finally write a blog post for all brides and photographers! The bride has a million things running through her head on the wedding day. The last thing she’s going to remember is to grab ALL the things needed for the photographer during the pre-ceremony time.  

THIS POST IS FOR BRIDES AND PHOTOGRAPHERS TO USE AND SHARE IN PREPARATION FOR THE WEDDING DAY.

 I usually start my day photographing the Bridal details and the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready. This gives me time to shoot all of the bridal details well and still capture the girls getting ready together. After the details are done I photograph the bride getting into her dress and the day begins!!  The pre-ceremony time is a GREAT time for me to get warmed up and for the bridesmaids to get used to me being around. I know it’s VERY tempting for brides to cut this part short when they are only working with a certain number of hours but this time is vital. 

When I send out the emails with our custom timeline I like to include a “check list” of items to have ready for me for when I get there. Most of the time my brides will put everything in a small tote or a gift bag so it’s all together and no one has to track things down in the hustle and bustle of the morning. After I arrive and give the bride a big “It’s your WEDDING DAY!” hug, I begin to get settled and these are the items I start looking for! I realize not EVERY bride is going to have ALL of these details, and that’s completely ok!

– DRESS PRO TIP: Even if you don’t have a custom hanger, make sure you have a decent hanger for your beautiful gown. Your wedding dress deserves more than a plastic/metal hanger and believe me, having a classy wooden/white hanger makes a HUGE difference in your images. If you forget this, most hotels and venues have extra “nice” hangers in coat closets… I “borrow” them all the time!

– RINGS : All 3 of them! Many times, the best man has the bride’s band at the start of the wedding day, or the groom has his own ring. I love getting the ring shots with all of the other detail shots and so I ask my brides keep all of the bling with her. Once I’m done with details I usually give the engagement ring back to the bride to wear and both bands I put into one ring box together and hand it off to the Maid of honor for safe keeping until right before the ceremony and she usually makes sure the best man gets them.

– SHOES: Most brides wear heals, even if for a few portraits and the ceremony and then they switch into something more comfortable. I’ve even had some brides have me take pictures of their beautiful heels that they didn’t even wear on their wedding day but wanted the pictures of them. I also have brides who have worn converse, Toms, crocs, or even sandals. Whatever you decide to wear, I want to document it for you!

– KEEPSAKES: Anything that is special or significant to you, your mom, new mother in law, or grandmother, it all counts! Handkerchiefs, heirloom pins, something blue, etc. make sure to have it all.

– PERFUME: So many couples think it’s special to gift each other, or even just the bride, a special perfume that they only wear on special occasions or anniversaries that they wore on their wedding day! What a beautiful way to remember the fragrance of the day.

– INVITATION AND OTHER STATIONERY: I LOVE to be able to see all the different invitations and stationery! You spend hundreds of dollars on invitations and they deserve to be documented so you can remember what they looked like for years and years.

– EARRINGS AND OTHER JEWELRY: Every little detail is important and deserves its own time in front of the camera! Usually I ask brides to wait and put on ALL jewelry once their dress is on! It makes for a much more beautiful portrait!

-Clutches & Purses: When I say I love to photograph it all, I really do. You spend so much time and effort finding the perfect accessories for your day, I want to make sure you have photos to remember them.

-Charms: Many brides have special charms, necklaces, or bracelets made with pictures or names of their Loved ones who passed away. I definitely want to make sure these are photographed.

-Vow Books: I love photographing these. I love also opening them and photographing the last I love you’s.

– BOUQUETS & BOUTS: You spend sometimes THOUSANDS of dollars on florals. We absolutely photograph these! Especially if you choose real flowers. With Artificial flowers you can keep them forever, real ones fade quickly! I usually ask if the bride is doing real, can they ask their florist for some extra stems of flowers we can use for detail pictures. If there are extras left over from putting together artificial ones, I would love those too!

Honestly, the list can go on and on. My biggest encouragement is whatever is special to YOU! I also have a groom’s detail list to have ready for us, but that will be another post for another day! I hope you have found this helpful! If you have, or if you use this list leave a comment so I can encourage you or answer questions you may have! Good Luck!