~ Getting Ready~

"Must Haves"
For
The Bride & Groom

Your wedding day is finally here! You've been planning this day for years, and every detail has been revisited so many times that your head is spinning. All you want to be able to do is step into the "Getting Ready" room at your hotel or venue, chill out with your best friends, and enjoy celebrating this milestone day, surrounded by all the people you love. Believe me . . . you deserve it, and should feel blissfully stress-free during this phase of the wedding day!

To help make this happen, we have a few very important "must-haves" that can be done well in advance of your big day, so that you can have gorgeous "getting ready" images, without any annoying disruptions from your photographers. Keeping all of these items handy in one place will help immensely, and you can designate your Maid Of Honor or Best Man to be in charge.

~ Brides Items ~

The items to have all together, ready for your photographer

BOUQUET: If you haven't already, make sure your florist knows ahead of time to deliver the bridal/bridesmaids bouquet(s) to your getting ready hotel room or venue. These will be used in photographs during this time.

RINGS: Even though the Best Man is in charge of the wedding rings for the ceremony, it is important to have all the rings with the Bride in her getting ready suite, so your photographers can photograph them while with her. No worries, we will take great care of them, and make sure to give them to your Maid of Honor or Attendant when we are finished.

WEDDING DRESS/BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: This may be a no-brainer, since the dress goes where the bride goes, but sometimes the dress is brought much later to the bride, by Mom or an Aunt, and we want to make sure you know to have your dress, and bridesmaids dresses right there when the photographers arrive, already unpackaged or taken out of dress bags, and placed on hangers. If you want an extra special touch to your photos, you can purchase monogrammed hangers online. Also, If the room in which you are getting ready does not have a sufficient amount of natural light, then we will take the dresses to a better suitable room within the same location.

SHOES: As far as your photographers are concerned, your wedding shoes are just as important as the dress. Even though they may not be seen (if you have a long dress) by the guests, they will be a very important part of the details of your day. Make sure to have them handy with your dress, for easy photographer access. Want a few fabulous shoe ideas, check out ZAPPOS.

PERFUME/BODY LOTIONS: Nothing says YOU, like your favorite perfume and body lotion. This is your signature scent that your groom LOVES! When you look back on your wedding images, you can also look back on the particular scent you wore, and remember your wedding day with great nostalgia every time you pick up that bottle of perfume. Simply place that bottle in the "getting ready" box so your photographers wont forget to capture it.

ACCESSORIES: Your accessories are the timeless, defining pieces that will beautifully bring your whole wedding day look together. Some items that fit in this category are: floral crown, veil, garter, hair jewelry, earrings, bracelets, necklaces . . . pretty much all the bling can be placed within a box that sits close to the wedding dress & shoes, so we can quickly grab it, go to the room that has great natural light, photograph them, and bring them right back.

KEEPSAKE/HEIRLOOM PIECES: You may have a handkerchief that your grandmother had for her wedding day, or an item sewn into your dress. Maybe your earrings were the same ones your Mom wore when she said "I Do." As your photographers it is important that we capture every detail that has significant meaning to your family lineage, so please let us know ahead of time, and have those keepsake and heirloom items located with the other items we will be photographing.

MONOGRAMMED ROBES: If you and your bridesmaids would like to add extra special photos after you are done with hair/makeup, this would be a great time to model those monogrammed robes you purchased for them as a wedding gift. You can gather together on the hotel bed, break open that champagne or bubbly, and start the celebrations. Here are some great places you may want to consider for your getting ready robes: ETSY, BLOSSOM & SYRUP, PLUM PRETTY SUGAR. If you want something really different, then check out some of the other options over at THE KNOT ROBE ALTERNATIVES.

~ Grooms Items ~

The items to have all together, ready for your photographer

For the guys it is much less complex, but if you want your getting ready images to be Bro-tastic, and full of masculinity, here are a few things your Best Man can gather together for you, so that you can enjoy your beer and guy-time without being bothered by the cameras:

Ties, cufflinks, socks, shoes, cologne, watches, and any other accessories.

The latest craze right now with Groomsmen is the socks! For a little fun, groom you can buy your guys extra special socks that showcase their personalities: BOLD SOCKS, LONDON SOCK COMPANY, & ETSY.

And there you have it! You are fully ready for your photographers to give you GORGEOUS getting ready wedding images. Believe me . . . you will thank us later ;-)