The wedding morning prep is one of my favourite parts of the day to photograph. You’re getting ready to marry the one you love, surrounded by all your favourite people. You’ll be bubbling over with adrenaline, nerves, and excitement.
From a photography point of view, it’s the beginning of your wedding ‘story’, and it’s always filled with emotion. That’s why I love it!
Here’s how to get the best wedding morning prep photos
And more importantly, have the best morning ever! Here are 8 practical things to consider!
1. Choose the perfect getting ready room
You’ll be spending a lot of time in your wedding morning prep room, so you want to be comfy. It’ll also be the setting for lots of moments with your besties and closest family. So if you do have a choice on where you do it, here are my top tips.
Ideally, you’re looking for somewhere with:
- Lots of natural light (i.e. as many big windows as possible!)
- Loads of space for you and your wedding party to sprawl out and get comfy
- A big cupboard/spare room next door to dump all your clothes/rubbish/clutter – never underestimate how much there’ll be. An overnight bag for each person, their toiletries and make up, snacks, breakfast plates, drinks, coat hangers, cards and gifts. It’s a LOT and usually arrives in lots of brightly coloured bags for life.
If you don’t love the designated prep room at your venue (or if they don’t have one, some don’t), you might want to consider hiring an Airbnb.
Search for one that will fit in with the overall vibe you want for your wedding. That way when you look through your wedding album, the story visually ‘flows’. And you can all stay there the night before as well, so you get to have a nice chilled evening with your people, and then start the day together the next day.
2. Give yourself plenty of time
This is going to be one of the best mornings of your life, so don’t rush it. You should be relaxed and happy, sipping on your favourite drink, and just enjoying the experience of it all. Start your day an hour earlier and give yourself time to really savour it.
If that means you’re ready earlier than you need to be, then that’s great! Take a seat and pour yourself another glass. (Just don’t overdo it too early on the fizz if you’re a lightweight like me – there’s plenty of time for that later!)
We also want to get some portraits of you before you leave, so ideally you want to be ready an hour before we’re due to head off. Then you can chill, chat, relax, and just have a few finishing touch ups before we leave.
3. Get the party started
There’s nothing worse than getting ready in silence! So bring a bluetooth speaker, put on some tunes and crank it up! I promise it’ll take your whole morning up a notch.
Make a wedding playlist full of songs you know your friends will love, or songs that remind you of your partner (or maybe just wall-to-wall bangers?!) Wedding playlists are always a good idea!
4. Set time aside for your loved ones
There are some wedding morning moments you’ll never forget.
A few minutes of calm with your wedding party, soaking it all in, chatting away and getting excited before you leave. Maybe you wanted to have a first look with a parent?
These moments really will be some of the best parts of the day. So have a think if there’s anything particular you’d like to do, and make sure you leave yourself enough time to enjoy it.
Ooh and handwritten notes, cards and gifts to each other are a lovely thing to include at this part of the day!
5. Ditch the clutter
Clutter does not look good in photos. And you probably don’t want to be looking through your photos in twenty years’ time, seeing shopping bags, crisp packets and dirty trainer socks in the background.
But there’s no avoiding it, you will have a lot of stuff! So designate a dumping room/cupboard/bath tub for all your clutter and ask one of your party to be on clutter patrol. Your photos will thank you for it.
6. Eat something!
I know, I sound like your Mum here and I’m not going to apologise for it, because I’m always looking out for you on your wedding day! Adrenaline will kick in, you won’t feel hungry and then it’ll be a busy day. You won’t get a chance to eat much for hours once it all starts.
So get some calories in you while you can. You don’t want to be hangry later. Or on the floor drunk because you didn’t line your stomach. I know, I really do sound like your parent now, but I’ve seen it all before!
Get some pastries, fruit, croissants, anything you can nibble on.
7. Have your details handy
This is the part of the day when I’d capture your wedding details (stationery, perfume, shoes, bow tie, etc). Or maybe there’s a part of your outfit, or a detail that’s particularly sentimental to you, like a family heirloom as your ‘something borrowed’, for example.
Whatever these things might be, have a think about what you’d like captured and have them handy for me.
8. Take a moment for yourself before you leave
As soon as you step out the door and head to the ceremony, the day will be a nonstop whirlwind.
So before you leave, take a moment to yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror, take a breath, give yourself a quiet moment and soak it all in.
All of these images were taken from Ellen & Tim’s beautiful Newton Hall Wedding.
