I like to think of the wedding day as a short story or a chapter in the larger book of your marriage. And just as all good stories have a beginning, middle and end, so does your wedding day. For me, that means the story begins with the quiet details of the day — your wedding dress hanging before you step into it, the pearls your grandmother wore on her wedding day and passed on to you, or the handkerchief your best friend lent you for your something borrowed. These details have meaning and should be recorded in the same manner that all of the other important moments of your wedding day are.
So how can you make sure these details are captured? Here are a few things you can do to assist your photographer in documenting everything from the dress to the rings.
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1. Choose one person — a family member or bridesmaid perhaps — to be in charge of collecting all of the items to be photographed and placing them in one area. Once you’re photographer arrives, he/she can go straight to work staging these items for photographs and won’t have to disrupt you while getting ready to locate anything.
2. In addition to your engagement ring, make sure you have both wedding rings with you. This will save time tracking down the location of the other ring if it’s in the best man’s possession. Sometimes it’s not possible to even get the ring beforehand if he’s at another location. You can assign someone to return them to the best man if needed once the photographs are complete.
3. Arrange for your bouquet, bridesmaids’ bouquets and corsages to be delivered to the location where you are getting ready. If the flowers are at the ceremony location and you’re somewhere else, the opportunity to photograph them may be missed. And, if you choose to do any formals at your getting ready location, the flowers won’t be included in these photographs either.
4. Ask one of your bridesmaids to remove the tags from your dress and other packaging from jewelry that you may have purchased. This ensures that not only are the items ready for photographs, but that you won’t be left searching for scissors when you’re ready to get dressed.
5. Set aside a copy of your invitation with the other details you would like to have photographed. If you’re worried you’ll forget this one, mail a copy of your invitation to your photographer when you send out all of the guests’ invitations and ask him/her to bring it on the wedding day.
6. And finally, here’s a list of all of the items you should gather for photographs during this time: the dress, special hanger if you have one, shoes, handkerchief, engagement ring, wedding rings, other jewelry, perfume, bouquets, corsages, invitation, garter and ring bearer’s pillow or box for rings. If you can think of any details that I’ve missed, please share in the comments below!
