Getting Ready on your Wedding Day: Advice for the Bride-to-Be

Top tips for ensuring a calm, stress-free morning when getting ready on your wedding day.

1. Choosing the best location for getting ready on your wedding day

When you are searching for a wedding venue, make sure to check the area you would be getting ready in! The location should have lots of natural light and should be spacious. While it’s probably not the most important aspect when choosing your venue, it is important for those insta-worthy getting ready photos!

Things to consider in location picking for getting ready on your wedding day: several windows to allow for natural light to come in, spacious area with simple backdrops that won’t be distracting in photographs, and light colored walls.

While your own home might hold sentiment on your wedding day, keep in mind that you will have to clean beforehand. Hotel suites are often a good option due to the clutter-free space and ease of access for sleeping in after the wedding!

Whatever you choose, don’t make the decision too lightly. You will spend the majority of your morning in this space so it should be a relaxed, peaceful environment to start your day!

2. Unplug and be present

Leave your phone alone! You know how everyone tells you how your wedding day is going to fly by in the blink of an eye? I promise you, it’s true. Take the time to be present. Soak in every single moment of your wedding from the second you wake up.

Getting ready on your wedding day will look different based on your preferences. For our elopement, I wanted a slow, intentional morning. I played folk/alternative music over a speaker and I wrote in my journal to embrace the moment I was living in. But you might prefer a more upbeat, party scene the morning of your wedding and that is okay! Pop the champagne and dance it out friend!

Bonus wedding tip: make a playlist on Spotify that makes you feel like your best self and put someone else in charge of it!

3. Gather all your details beforehand

You spend so much time and effort into the tiny details for you big day – they deserve to be captured! Capturing the details of a wedding day sets the tone for the gallery when it is delivered. As a wedding photographer the details are some of my favorite things to photograph.

Make sure all your details are in one secure place to be photographed the morning of your wedding day. Let a designated person know where these details are so the photographer can grab them first thing when they arrive.

Consider getting your rings cleaned before the day or clean them yourselves! It might not seem like a big deal but I promise it does make a huge difference in photos. Make sure your bouquets are delivered to your getting ready space and not the ceremony location. Florals add depth in flat lay photos and we love to style them, so ask your florist for extra blooms and greenery!

If you’re writing your own vows, check out these boho, vow books on Etsy that we bought for our own elopement!

Some important things to include:

• Bridal details: veil, garters, wedding day shoes, wedding dress, perfume, any jewelry you plan on wearing, bouquet
• Groom details: wedding day shoes, tie or bow-tie, boutonniere, cufflinks, socks (if they’re special)
• Wedding day details: invitations or any other stationary created (2 sets if they are front and back), wedding rings, vow books, ring box
• Other things you might want to look into getting for flat lay wedding day photos: antique ring tray, stamps, wax stamp, ribbons to match wedding day color palette, any heirloom or sentimental items

Bonus wedding tip: throw all your details in your wedding shoe box! When you have all your details together in one place it allows the photographer to grab them quickly so that we can get back to focusing on you!

Looking for a Virginia wedding photographer? You can book me here!

4. Hair and Makeup when getting ready on your wedding day

My biggest recommendation here is to figure out what time you would like to be ready by, then tell your vendors a time that is 45-60 minutes prior to that. If you want to be ready by 12:00, tell your hair and makeup vendors that you would like to be ready no later than 11:15 or so. This just ensures a little extra cushion if things run behind or allow you some time to relax if not! Wedding days are chaotic, even when everything goes perfectly. You can’t plan for every disaster but you can come prepared!

As the bride you should get ready either in the middle of the queue or second to last. Doing this will allow you to be ready as I take candid getting ready photos of your group. In the case that the wedding day is running behind, you will at least be ready if everyone else isn’t. We can make the most of that time and knock out some bridal portraits while the other gals finish up! Then if you need any touch-ups your awesome team will still be there to do so.

Bonus wedding tip: When choosing what to wear while getting ready on your wedding day, consider a button down or a robe so that you don’t mess up your curls or makeup! Also, it might be worth not wearing a bra to prevent any strap marks under your dress.

5. Getting into Your Wedding Dress

Whoever is going to help you into your wedding dress should be ready and dressed at least 30 minutes before you! When you go to your final dress fitting you should consider bringing this person with you as well. Depending on how complex the back of your dress is, it is helpful for your person to be familiar with how to button up your dress.

Bonus wedding tip: Consider putting a crochet hook in your wedding day kit! This will help with those pesky, small buttons on the back of your wedding dress.

Wedding day mornings can be so stressful sometimes if you’re not prepared! Part of booking me as your wedding photographer is having a friend in your corner through start to finish. Whatever it may be, I’ll go above and beyond to ensure smooth sailing no matter what chaos is going on. You can read more about the experience of booking me and what that entails here!

6. Keep it clean!

Getting ready spaces have a tendency to get cluttered quick on wedding days! Have your designated person be responsible for cleaning up the space prior to the photographers arrival. This person should go first when getting hair and makeup done allowing them to run errands as needed!

Keep all the belongings in a separate room that won’t be photographed or put everything in a corner. If you’re going to keep your belongings in a corner, it is preferred to choose a corner near the door! As a wedding photographer, near the windows where the natural light is shining in is where I will be for the best photos!

Need more help planning your wedding day? Check out this blog post to learn my top 5 wedding planning tips!

Virginia Wedding Photographer – Kristen Noel Photography

I hope these tips were helpful! If you’re planning your wedding I would love to chat. You can book me here by filling out the contact form. You can expect a reply within 24-48 hours 🙂