Wedding Preparation Photography

Wedding preparation photography is the perfect place to start the story of wedding days. It introduces the brides and grooms and all the significant people in their wedding party. I love the life and energy of the wedding preparations. A melting pot of two families, at least three generations and blended family and friend groups all together excitedly getting ready for a long-anticipated day.

I never tire of the excitement and anticipation on the morning of my weddings. In recent years wedding preparation photography has become an increasingly important part of wedding photography and it’s easy to see why. All emotions are on display – love, excitement, nerves, laughter and joy.

Candid Moments

Before the wedding day I will of course have met with and spoken to the bride and groom. Wedding preparation photography introduces me to all the other significant members of the wedding party. This puts them at ease with me so that they are comfortable being photographed by me for the rest of the day.

It’s especially a great time to photograph the bride and groom’s mothers. Mothers are busy at weddings and hard to pin down once the day starts so I always like to get lovely mother-daughter and mother-son images in the morning. Even the shyest of mums is usually amenable to having her photograph taken in the morning, and the fact that they’ve just had their hair and make-up just done helps.

I also like ‘big reveal’ images like when a father see’s the bride for the first time, or emotional charged moments like the groom reading a heartfelt note from his bride.

Talking of grooms, wedding preparation photography is not just for the girls. I always enjoy capturing the groom and his wedding party on the morning of the wedding as well. Whether it’s getting an image of the groom opening a present from his bride, seeing him polishing his shoes, or him getting a bit of help from his best man to fasten his cufflinks or straighten his tie. And I often manage to capture the boys finding time for a cheeky beer before the ceremony.

Bridal Prep Portraits

Another thing I love about wedding preparation photography is that alongside the impromptu and unscripted moments that I capture it’s a chance to get some beautiful portrait images of my brides, my grooms and their wedding parties.

All the details

Now let’s talk about the details. Details are everything at weddings and each and every detail of a wedding has been carefully selected over a long period of time. Wedding preparation photography is the time when I get to photograph it all. The dress, the rings, the shoes, the bouquets, the cufflinks, the tiara and the buttonholes. All beautifully placed and photographed before they’re put on.