I'm so excited to be continuing my 'stress-free wedding series' today! This is a topic I am super passionate about, and I truly spend extra time with each of my couples in the planning period of their big day to ensure they feel confident and at ease on their wedding day! When a bride is stressed out, it truly can affect her entire day, which always shows up in the photos. I never want a bride to look back at her wedding photos and just see how stressed out she was! This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life- don't you want to remember that joy and happiness forever?!
Today, I want to talk about the getting ready portion of the day! This part can really make or break how a bride feels for the rest of the day, so in my opinion, this is the most important part of the day to truly get right!
1- Do a trial run of your hair and make-up, and take special note of how long each took during your trial run! If you only budget for 30 minutes to do your make-up, but it your makeup artist really needs 45 minutes, you are going to be starting out the day feeling rushed and behind. Allow for extra time during this time of day, so you can truly relax and enjoy the moments with your bridesmaids!
2- Have your Mom and Bridesmaids come over and get you fully dressed into your wedding dress. Once again, I've seen brides allow for 5 minutes to step into their dress, but it ended up taking 15 minutes to get everything on and secured. Along these same lines, make sure that your girls practice your dress bustle as well! These are little things that really can take up too much time if not planned accordingly.
3- As your packing up the week before your wedding make sure to create a box/bag for your wedding day details that your wedding photographer is going to need. Things that are included in this are your invitations, jewelry, shoes, garter, all sets of rings, and anything else your photographer mentions or you think is special, like your Grandfathers Bible.
4- Set expectations on who YOU want in the bridal room and what their duties are going to be. When everyone feels like they can pop in and say hi, you will feel constantly interrupted and not really able to enjoy getting ready and the morning with your closest friends and family members. If you have envisioned your Mom zipping you up in your dress, make sure that you communicate to her that you want her there so she doesn't disappear to check on something just before you're stepping into your dress!
5- Remember, sometimes things don't happen exactly as we planned and you may be running a little late. Your photographer and planner should help you with creating buffer times and being able to make necessary adjustments. Trust the vendors that you hand-picked to know what they are doing! You're going to be getting married in just a few hours- so enjoy this time!
Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographerbased in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017. Available for travel world-wide.
Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments. Contact me today for additional information!
