GETTING READY
CARE LESS ABOUT THE TRADITION OF NOT SEEING EACH OTHER UNTIL THE CEREMONY. INSTEAD, SPEND YOUR MORNING TOGETHER!
Cuddle with each other at your home or Airbnb, go on a walk and grab some coffee together at your local cafe, if you’re having a destination wedding go on a walk and explore the area around you, make pancakes and bacon together in your pjs, snuggle your pups and have breakfast in bed.
Do you boo boo
The morning of is an amazing part of the wedding day is often overlooked because couples feel stressed, overwhelmed with last minute details and getting ready. I mean you’re about to spend the rest of your lives together, why not spend intentional time together and create meaningful memories? I typically offer this to my couples if their morning allows it and each couple told me that their time spent together changed their entire mood going into their wedding day. How do you want to spend the morning of your wedding?
Another way you can spend intentional time together on your wedding day, is by getting ready together! If you two are already spending time together in the morning, you can also help each other get ready! If you feel overwhelmed with the idea of 10+ people getting ready in a room together, maybe you and your babe can talk about having your own space to just be with each other.
For my brides getting ready separately: if you have a few minutes before you put on your dress, we can do a quick boudoir moment. Your babe will have a nice surprise when y’all get your photos back!
Good Light
I swear I’ll have you a master of noticing light by the end of all this haha! Try and get ready near a window with natural light coming in, it’s much prettier for details and your skin than yellow-ish florescent lighting. Like I mentioned before, keep indoor lights off during getting ready photos so you don’t mix colors in your photos (don’t worry, I’ll switch them off if you forget).
Keep spaces clear of clutter as much as you can!
I will help with this, but if you can have a designated “clean area” near a window space where you do your getting ready photos, this will make a HUGE difference on the entire mood of the images. More focus on you and less on the bright pink Victoria Secret bags in the corner.
BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT GETTING READY SPACES, IT CAN DEFINE YOUR MOOD FOR THE REST OF THE DAY
For example, if you choose to get ready in some crappy hotel room surrounded by everyone’s luggage, bras laying all over the floor, unflattering furniture, and having to worry about packing up all your stuff last minute — you might feel stressed and overstimulated with so much clutter and stuff around you. Plus some hotel rooms and venue’s getting ready rooms might have really terrible lighting that can be distracting and restricting to the creative process (sometimes the groom’s room ends up being the lamest room with horrible lighting with little to no windows).
Compare what I just described to a room with soft natural light streaming into a cleaner space with your thoughtful wedding details (shoes, jewelry, hair pieces, rings, etc…) laid out and your pretty dress hung up in the window, or outside on a porch where you can get fresh air and not feel cramped. You’ll probably feel more at peace and in touch with your emotions rather than thinking about where the hell you left your nipple pasties.
Find your dream getting ready space
My favorite spaces that I’ve gotten to photograph in are unique, trendy Airbnbs. I have a list of my favorite airbnbs around the world and would be happy to share my lists with you! If we got a cute airbnb, you, your babe, and/or wedding party can definitely use it as a getting ready space. You can also look into VRBO and HomeAway both are ideal for larger groups of 4 or more people looking to stay. If you’re looking for a room, flat, or apartment also check out tripping.
Did I mention that hotels can be the worst for getting ready spaces?
However, there are some modern boutique hotels that are tastefully decorated and have proper lighting. Some of my favorite hotels in Texas are:
