Wedding days, despite your greatest efforts to be over prepared and have everything planned out in your wedding binder….color coated by time and location, nothing goes according to plan. Now, that statement isn’t meant to scare or upset you, its meant to prepare you. That is a professionals job in this industry….it is our job to make sure you plan for the worst, hope for the best.

As far as planning goes, the MORE you have done ahead of time, the better. Scrambling to do things the morning of can be a bit chaotic…especially as your mind is racing a mile a minute. Now, I know this post is TRIVIAL in the grand scheme of the day and overall timeline….but its the LITTLE DETAILS that make the big picture of the day go off without a hitch.

One SMALL part of planning to PLAN/PREPARE ahead of time is your details!!! When your photographer arrives on weddings day, chances are you will be in a chair having your hair and make up done. If not, you should be sitting down sipping on a mimosa RELAXING! The last thing you want is to be running around, stressing out, on what is supposed to be the happiest day of your life!

So, here are the top 10 things to have LAYING OUT, IN ONE LOCATION, READY for your photographer to shoot while you are in the prep stages:

1. Dress/Veil on custom hanger

Investing in a nice hanger for your wedding gown and your maids makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE! Dump those cheap plastic hangers and grab a custom made hanger from Etsy or a pack of felt wrapped hangers from Target or Walmart. Trust me, you don’t want your dress you spent a great deal on, on a cheap hanger!!

2. Shoes/Clutch

Shoes are one of my favorite details. Whether they are bridal white high heels dripping in diamonds, a cute pair of sandals or TOMS, make sure they are clean and ready to shoot.

 

3. Perfume

Go ahead and splurge. Get a brand new bottle of perfume. One that isn’t almost empty, covered in finger sprints, sticky or dirty. This is the perfume that you will wear on your wedding day and the bottles are often beautiful. So, go ahead and have a new bottle of perfume ready to shoot!!

 

4. All the rings

There is not much downtime pre or post ceremony while I am busy shooting formals to stop and shoot the rings. All three are finally together and the best time to shoot them is in the morning. So, please make sure you have all rings in the suite!!!

5. Garter

Whether you are doing a garter toss or not, if you have a garter, set it aside and I will be sure to grab a photo of it.

 

6.  Invitation

Have all pieces ready to go. Envelope, rsvp card, meal card, directions, stamped envelope. This is a great way to remember the invitation suite you created for your wedding day!

7. All jewelry

Whether your jewelry is new, on loan, or very minimalistic, have all the tags OFF the jewelry and have it laid out ready to shoot. Its much easier to shoot when its all in one place : )

 

8. Florals

Having the florals delivered to the bridal suite in the morning gives me extra time to shoot them before they wilt and take on the day. Its also a great time for me to take pictures of the stems if you plan to have a photo charm or memorial charm pinned on.

 

 

9. Sixpence for your Shoe

This is absolutely not necessary, but if you are a fan of tradition, you can easily find these for 6.00 on Etsy and they make for a sweet photo as it is placed in the left shoe.

10. Something borrowed, blue and new

Brides sometimes choose to wear blue shoes, borrow a piece of their grandmothers jewelry with a blue sapphire in it, and all in one piece of jewelry or item, they have their something borrowed, blue or new! Feel free to use your perfume bottle as your something blue too!

 

I promise you, this may seem like a small task or feat in the grand scheme of things…but the 10 minutes you are saving me from trying to track it all down means an extra 10 minutes we have for more pictures of you and your husband or an extra 10 minutes you have to just STOP and enjoy your day without constantly rushing off to the next “to do list” item.

Xoxo, Kaitlin Noel