8 Top Tips to Keep You Calm on Your Wedding Morning (& get the best pictures)

The morning of a wedding is filled with so much excitement, mixed in with a good dose of nerves and emotions. So here’s my top tips for navigating through your wedding morning with ease, making sure you keep calm and in control.

Timelines

Getting your timings right on the morning is SO IMPORTANT! There is nothing more stressful to a bride than not being ready as the registrar arrives!

Top Tip 1: Make sure you are not the last person to have your hair and make-up done. Choose the middle slot – bridesmaids have a tendency of using more time than expected because many of them haven’t had a trial.

My role as a photographer is to take beautiful images of you and your wedding party – so I know that keeping you all calm and happy is the best way to get those images. That often means making sure your hair and make-up is timed to perfection well in advance…..it really is better to be ready with time to spare!

Dealing with Clutter

Wow! Seriously – when you get a group of girls together it literally takes seconds for the room to explode in a haze of foundation, shoes and tissues! When you are running to a deadline, not being able to find something can send the calmest bride into a panic!

Top Tip 2: Select someone (before the wedding) who will be in charge of keeping the room tidy.

I personally love clean, clear backgrounds in bridal prep images, as it’s less distracting and aesthetically more pleasing to the eye.

Top Tip 3: Keep the bridesmaid’s dresses and shoes in a separate room. Or have a completely different room for the bride to get ready in, so she’s not tripping over piles of other peoples things.

 

Keeping the Kids Happy

I adore children……I have 2 of my own! However, on a wedding morning, this is probably the one thing that causes the most amount of arguments between people. Little people can get bored (and messy and tired and emotional and lost!)

 Top Tip 4: Put one specific person in charge of your children (or that of the bridal party) If they are being taken care of , you will be able to concentrate on getting ready, ensuring everyone is calm and happy.

However, make sure that whomever you choose is committed to their role and capable of doing it without help!

 

 

The Bridal Morning Emergency Pack

In my camera bag, I carry a Wedding Day Emergency Bag. It has everything from plasters to Rescue Remedy, Tampax to Ibuprofen, Sewing Kits to Safety Pins. You name it, I have it!

After years of photographing the wedding morning, I have become super prepared for every eventuality.

Top Tip 5: Write a list of everything you can think of that your bridal party might need and have it ready and to hand on the wedding day. Not all photographers carry them!!

 

It’s all in the Details

Hangers

Details shots are such an important part of telling the story of your wedding day. Your photographer will want to take a shot of your wedding dress (and possibly your bridesmaids dresses) hanging up before you put it on. These shots become an important narrative in a wedding album. Your wedding dress is a huge investment….so treat it to something nice to hang on!

Top Tip 6: Buy a nice hanger for your wedding dress.

A padded silk hanger or a strong wooden one will support the dress properly, putting less stress on the material. It also looks a lot nicer in photos!

Dressing Gowns

Top Tip 7: Getting beautiful dressing gowns for your bridesmaids is such a lovely way of making them feel part of the day and bringing them together.

It also adds consistency to your images and will actually make your wedding party less self-conscious about being photographed.

Get Supported

Enjoy this time – you are only going to do it once! I have seen so many brides become stressed trying to make sure things have arrived on time.

Top Tip 8: Hire a wedding Planner to oversee things – you can hire them specifically just for the morning which will take a huge amount of pressure of everyone.

 I hope this has helped a little. If you have any questions then do leave them below in the comments section.