You’ve seen the beautiful getting ready photos with the soft morning light filling the room, photos in those beautiful, silky bathrobes sipping on mimosas & laughing with each other over inside jokes. You’ve seen it, and that’s what you want in your wedding day gallery.

But what happens when you book your venue & they don’t have that. What if instead you find yourself looking at a dark hole, or masculine looking animal heads on the wall, or the room has only one window & fluorescent lighting?

Let me put your mind at ease & show you some examples of how I navigate this, creatively, as a wedding photographer, to achieve the look you want for those getting ready photos. For this getting ready photo we had to move out to the covered porch. The inside getting ready space was so dark, & heavy. There were animal heads mounted over the fireplace, & the light was directly above us moving forward so the inside light would not have been flattering at all, so I simply moved the girls out here.

You’d never know it by looking at this photo of this beautiful bride, but this getting ready room was so cramped. It was in the back of a country club. So we moved tables, moved all the bridesmaids things into the adjoining locker room, and my second photograper was crouched in the corner so you couldn’t see her in the mirror above.

This wedding was at a church, so the getting ready room was very tiny, & only had flourescent lighting, so we just moved out side to grab these images.

Not sure what you would need or even want to see in your getting ready photos?

Here are some suggestions that you can take to your photographer:

• The bathrobe shot with/without the mimosas.
• A few last minute touch-ups of hair styling & make-up for the bride.
• Have the bride already in her dress & have the brides mom finish “helping” her into her dress. (Helping meaning just pretending that she’s zipping or buttoning her dress)
• The bridesmaids fluffing the brides dress; all around her.
• First look with bridesmaids. (They may have seen you in your dress already but not with the full wedding day hair/make-up, etc.)
• Cute candid moments between the bride, bridesmaids, & mom. (While they are talking, laughing, & prepping for the day ahead.)

How To Fit This Into Your Wedding Day Timeline

For me personally, I send out a full wedding day questionnaire for my brides & I already have this question worked in. However, if you are working with a different photographer, I would simply let them know this is what you envision for your getting ready photos, &  just be as communicative as you can with them.

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