Preparing for Your Bridal Session

For those of you who are unfamiliar with bridal sessions, this is a Southern tradition (that seems to be especially popular in Texas, as nearly 100% of my local brides choose to do them) where the bride does a portrait session in her full wedding day attire – hair, makeup, jewelry, veil, bouquet, and of course, the dress.  Generally a large portrait from the session is displayed at the reception, typically near the wedding cake.  In many cases the large photo is given as a gift to the Mother of the Bride after the wedding, with smaller photos being given to the Father of the Bride and the Groom, as well.

I’m a strong believer in bridal sessions myself.  Not only is it one of the few times that a woman gets to get all gussied up and primped and polished and take gorgeous portraits of herself, which in itself makes the whole experience worthwhile, but it’s also a great trial run for the wedding day look.  It’s one thing to put an ensemble together in your mind and imagine how it will hold together after hours of hugging and talking and dancing, it’s quite another to actually test it out.  I would say that the majority of brides who shoot with me end up changing something about their wedding day look after the bridal session.  Maybe they realized the dress was too big, or the shoes gave her blisters, or the eye makeup was too intense, or the hair kept falling in her eyes and annoying her, or the hydrangeas in the bouquet wilted and browned after five minutes in the Texas sun.  These are all things I’ve seen happen many times over at my bridal session, and each time, the bride was able to make adjustments BEFORE the wedding day.  After all, most brides do a trial run of hair and makeup anyway – at least put that beauty to good use!

Once you’ve decided to do your bridal session, there are a few things that will help to ease the process and make the experience smoother and less stressful for everyone involved.

DO accept that your dress will get dirty. Not rolling in the mud, rips up the side, big purple stain dirty, but yes, the hem will get a little brown and dingy.  I’ve had brides who brought dropcloths, bed linens, tarps, and towels to try and protect the hem of their dress, and each time, the dress still managed to get dirty.  Accept this, embrace this, and add a little money in your budget and time in your schedule for a dress cleaning before the wedding.

DON’T do your hair, makeup, or flowers yourself (unless you also plan to do that for your wedding day). Half of the point of a bridal session is to test out your wedding day look, so make sure that the same people who will be doing your wedding day hair, makeup, and flowers will also be a part of your bridal session.

DO bring a sister, bridesmaid, or friend to help you during your session. Every regal woman needs a lady in waiting to fluff their train, fetch them water, and help them up and down stairs, and you my dear are no different!

DON’T bring your mother. This is a controversial one, I know.  Many mothers would be heartbroken to hear me say this.  However, remember that whole “accept that your dress will get dirty” bit?  Most moms are biologically incapable of accepting that, and they will fuss and fret and drive you absolutely loony worrying about each and every tiny thread of fabric on that dress and strand of hair on your head.  I’ve seen countless moms and daughters get into arguments during their bridal session because the moms were overly fussy or opinionated, and that stress and irritation came through on the bride’s face in the photos.  I’ve stopped just short of forbidding moms from coming to sessions – if you desperately want your mom there, then by all means bring her – but it’s not something I generally recommend.

DO eat a good, solid meal before your session, and bring some cold water bottles and a big of healthy snacks such as fruit or granola bars. This is especially important.  You probably won’t be hungry on the day of your session – nerves usually take care of that – but it is VERY important that you eat a good, big meal and bring water and snacks regardless.  Modeling is hard work, doubly hard when you’re doing it in a heavy, thick dress, and triply hard when you’re doing all that under the Texas sun.  I’ve had more brides than I can count pass out on me or get lightheaded and have to quit, especially between the months of April and October.  It’s not a fun feeling, so make sure your energy level is high, and take as many snack and drink breaks as you need to during your session.

DON’T try to “tough it out” if something feels wrong during a session. If you feel like your veil is hanging weirdly, or you’re having trouble breathing, or you start to feel lightheaded, or the poses just aren’t “you,” please please please SAY SOMETHING.  This is not a big professional model shoot where you’re expected to suck it up and do your job, this is YOUR session, and YOU make all the rules.  Communicate with me, let me know how you’re feeling and what you want, because the most important thing to me is making sure that you enjoy the experience as well as the end result.

DO bring props, if that’s your thing. Some girls like to include their dogs in their session, or perhaps a football or baseball bat that is special to their fiance, or some beautiful vintage headpiece or parasol, or a few fun pairs of shoes.  Many brides are content with just themselves, and that’s perfectly fine, but if you want to mix it up a little bit, go for it!  If you like this idea but aren’t sure what to bring, talk to me and we’ll come up with some ideas together.

DON’T obsess over the location. A good location can be helpful, but it’s not the be-all-end-all of how your photos will turn out.  In most sessions, you can’t even tell where the location was from looking at the images.  Hotels, parks, and churches tend to be the best options for bridal sessions, but I’ve had brides shoot at antique shops, horse ranches, abandoned warehouses, shopping malls, college campuses, football fields, and one who simply pulled off the highway and shot her session in a random patch of overgrowth.   When asked what my favorite place to shoot is, my answer is always the same: “Somewhere I haven’t shot before.”  I love the challenge of new locales and environments, and I especially love it when the location is somewhere meaningful to the bride or groom, so think about the locations near and dear to your heart.  If that doesn’t help, come talk to me and we’ll find the perfect setting together.

DO consider your bridal session when purchasing your dress and having alterations done. Most dresses take 6-8 months to come in once purchased, and then require another 1-2 months for alterations.  Remember that it will usually take 3-4 alterations appointments to get the dress fitting perfectly, so don’t expect to take the dress in two weeks before your bridal session and have it ready.  Ideally your dress should be finished and ready to go no later than two months before your wedding, which will give you time to do your bridal session (and reschedule it, if bad weather pops up), get the dress cleaned, and have any final alterations done.  I have done bridal sessions as late as the Monday before the wedding, but I definitely don’t recommend it, and you will pay hefty rush fees across the board.

DON’T shoot during the extreme weather months – mid-June through August for summer, and mid-December through mid-March for winter.  Sessions during these months should be reserved for last minute emergencies only, because I can guarantee you that if you shoot during these times, you will be absolutely miserable.  Weather is especially important for bridal sessions because a rainy day or windy day or an especially hot day makes it nearly impossible to shoot, so make sure you factor that in when scheduling your session (and be prepared to reschedule, if necessary).

If you have questions about your bridal session or want to get one scheduled, please contact me!