I'm a coffee loving, travel-obsessed, twenty-something based out of Central Illinois. I'm lucky enough to make a living doing what I love - photographing people! I specialize in weddings (destination + local), senior portraits, + boudoir.
It is literally in the heart of wedding season so why not give you upcoming brides some tips + tricks to make your wedding day flow smoothly! When you hire me….you hire all my wedding advice/experience – and trust me DO I HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU! These are small things, but they will inevitably make things easier for everyone. I’m going to start with three today, but I want your comments! Do you have any additional tips + tricks you like to give other brides-to-be?
It may seem silly to say this, but really, don’t put that garter on with your dress in the morning. Now, I’m not saying you can’t slip it on for a quick photo or two, but take it back off when those are done. Here’s why:
Let’s just assume that you’re getting married in the mid-west anywhere from April to November, where mother nature has severe bipolar disorder and you really never know what you’re going to get, temperature wise. Add that heat with stress sweat, Spanx, and multiple layers of dress on top of that… and well, you get the picture. Come reception time your legs are already a sweaty mess and the last thing you want is to be worrying about an irritating garter that will try to fall down every ten minutes (and remember that dress? I DARE you to try and get up under there every ten minutes to fix said garter). SO TRUST ME, put that garter in a reception bag and slip it on your leg minutes before the garter retrieval. Not only will you thank me, so will your groom and the man catching it!
Sounds crazy – because you are thinking, “my makeup will come off” or “I’ll cry too much” or whatnot. But after my fifth wedding season, I’ve picked up a few key pieces of advice from makeup and hair professionals, and the general consensus tells me that your makeup should be before hair. With a blank brush, we can recreate all your makeup photos in about two minutes (TOPS) so don’t you worry about me missing those moments! But if I arrive the morning of and your makeup isn’t done, do you really want me taking photos of you? Ha! Now, there are some of you who don’t wear much makeup, and you can rock the natural look with your amazing skin and look flawless. I say to you, “what is your secret?!” – but to those of you who (like me) resemble something of nightmares without makeup, let’s just start the photos after makeup is complete. Besides the photo part of it, there’s a practicality to having your hair done after makeup too. If you are having any part of your hair down over your face (think bangs, side swept layers, or loose curled pieces around your face) then by doing your makeup first, you’re ensuring that those pieces will be perfectly curled and not messed with. Switching the order means that your makeup artist will need to move all of those hairs out of the way to get full coverage of your face. Also, hairspray will help your makeup set! I mean, don’t skip on the makeup setting spray, but a little help from that hairspray couldn’t help, right?
3. Bugs are just Bugs
If you hate bugs with every inch of your soul, you have two choices when it comes to your wedding. You either need to plan a winter wedding, or stay inside ALL day – which as you know isn’t the ideal option. So let’s just face the facts. Bugs will be attracted to you! You’re wearing white, so not only will they be more attracted to you, but you’ll see them easier than you normally would. I once had a bride FREAK OUT because we were standing in a beautiful field of grass and a grasshopper jumped on her dress. Once that happened she was so freaked that photos came to a screeching halt. It cut their photo time way down and she was so panicked about bugs the rest of the day that she wasn’t having fun. I get fear, but I also get that you are not going to be hurt by most of the types of bugs we’ll see (I’m not going to say “see that beehive? go stand right next to it!”) and your stress levels will thank me for prepping you for them. Does your dress have multiple layers with sheer lace or netting on the outer layer? Expect to see something bug-like stuck up in that netting. It’s gonna happen girlfriend. Don’t worry, you won’t see them in your photos and you’ll spend more time digging them out every time you see one than just waiting until we’re done and grabbing them all when we’re done.
Now, mosquitos are another ballgame and I do hate those little assholes with every inch of my soul. There’s nothing worse that red-irritated blotches all over your skin for photos. So there are precautions to take if you’re getting married in the summer months. BUG SPRAY! Don’t skimp with one half-used can of it because you’ll inevitably be sharing with your entire bridal party (and possibly photographers/videographers if we forget ours at home) so opt for 3-4 cans to put in your survival kit AND to avoid shiny skin, get the kind that goes on “dry”. For the men with pockets, they also make these little fans with mosquito repellent built into them to keep cool and bite-free! I wear one on me for weddings but they only have a reach so far so it’s good to buddy up against them.
Ultimately, bugs happen, let’s not freak out about it, move past it, get some badass photos for your wedding day, and most of all, HAVE FUN.
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