Want Beautiful Getting Ready Photos on Your Wedding Day? Here are 5 Tips

Picture this. It’s the morning of your wedding day, your family and wedding party starts to arrive, hugs are being exchanged, bags everywhere with shoes, dresses, and makeup on the tables, water bottles, and car keys on the counters. The photographer shows up and starts taking getting ready pictures.

The day is perfect, and your photographer delivers your gallery a few weeks later. The excitement fills up your body, and you are reliving your entire day. You get to the part where you are getting ready and… “wait, who had that neon pink bag? Why are there shoes everywhere? Is that plastic bags in the background?” The answer is probably yes. Want beautiful, non-distracting, getting-ready pictures instead? Here are my

5 Tips for Beautiful Getting Ready Pictures

1. Choose a space with lots of windows

If you can choose a space with a lot of beautiful light coming in, your photos will look stunning, especially if you choose a natural light photographer – like yours truly! So first, I open all the windows, turn off the lights, and photograph this part of the day with the natural light coming in. Not only will your photographer love it, but so will your makeup artist, videographer, and, more importantly, future you!

2. Keep the clutter at a minimum

As your photographer, I will already be looking out for and clearing bags and water bottles, but remind your wedding party before the big day to try to keep the space as tidy as possible! Of course, it’s not a big deal if things get a little messy, but it’s always great to have other people aware that we need a nice clean space and to have some extra helping hands when it comes time to clean up a little.

3. Bigger is Better

Choose a room where you have plenty of room to spread out. Ideally, you’ll want space to have your mom and wedding party “helping” you into your dress for those fun and meaningful photos. The more room, the better! If you have options, always go for the bigger space (as long as natural light is available! Natural light always trumps space). If you can book the bigger hotel room so you can spread out (or two right next to each other to connect them), then go for that option!

4. Ask whoever is helping you get into your dress to be ready before you

This is a big one! Nothing is more embarrassing for them than coming out without makeup and comfy clothes in the pictures helping you get into your dress. Send them the timeline so they know when to be ready. Give them some buffer time and tell them to be ready a little sooner than they need to be so they’re ready to go.

5. Give yourself extra time

This will give you time to relax, not rush, and give your photographer a chance to take more creative photos of you getting ready. I recommend allowing 45 minutes to put on your dress – this also gives you plenty of buffer time in case you fall behind.

Bonus Tip!

Eat and stay hydrated!

This is NOT the day to skip meals and water. Wedding days are long and tiring, and you have many opportunities to eat. Technically you only planned for dinner, but if you can have a good and filling breakfast, DO IT!

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While I’m no longer photographing weddings, I’m still here to capture beautiful moments for families and business owners! Whether you’re looking for heartfelt family photos or branding images that truly reflect you, I’d love to help. Let’s create a session that feels natural, fun, and uniquely you—get in touch today to start planning!

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