Get The Most Out Of Your Wedding Detail Photos
Detail photos could either be sub-par and just okay, OR they could be stunning heirloom photos from your wedding day to share with future generations. They have the ability to either look thrown together, or beautifully crafted, with everything in the photo having a purpose.
In this blog post, we’re going to give you 5 suggestions of things to do to help your photographer get the most epic detail photos! We’ll be giving you a list of things for you to have ready for your photo/video team, some helpful tips to keep in mind, and a bonus money saving tip at the end!
Schedule Time Specifically For Wedding Detail shots
Scheduling time specifically for wedding details photography makes sure that we’re not leaving anything to chance. At a bare minimum, we like to have 15-30 minutes, and more comfortably, 30-45 minutes so we can really take our time styling all of the beautiful details you spend months (or even years!) meticulously planning and picking out! The more time we have to style the detail photos, the more variety we have to deliver to you.
Choose Your Items
There’s lots of items that you could include in your detail photos, some are probably obvious, and some may be new ideas to you. Here’s our checklist of things to include in your detail photos:
For The Bride:
Wedding Dress
Nice Hanger
Wedding Day Purse/Clutch
Veil
Shoes
Garter
All Rings
Ring Box
Earrings
Necklace
Bracelet
Full Invitation Suite x2
Hair Piece
Place Cards/Name Cards
Wedding Bouquet
Perfume Bottle
Mini Bottle of Your Alcoholic Drink of Choice, If Applicable
Vow Books
Handful of Extra Stems/Clippings of Florals from your Florist
Extra Snip of Ribbon from your Bouquet
For The Groom:
Suit
Tie
Shoes
Socks
Pocket Square
Watch
Alcohol of Choice
Cologne
Any Other Jewelry
Cufflinks
Have Everything Together In The Same Place
A day or two before your wedding, take the time (no more than 20 minutes) to put all of your details together in one bag or box. Not only will this keep you from forgetting any important detail items, but it’ll also keep you or one of your bridesmaids from running around trying to find what your photo/video team need to take detail photos. Even better, assign one of your bridesmaids, or a family member to be in charge of your details box/bag on the wedding day. It’s their job to know where it is at all times so that as soon as we need it for photo/video, or you need it to start getting ready, they’ll have it available.
Remember The Flowers!
Make sure you coordinate the time of delivery with your florist so that your flowers have arrived by the time your photo/video team start detail photos. Also, make sure to ask your florist if they could provide a handful of extra stems or clippings of florals that your photo/video team can use to style the photos. This is going to allow your photo/video team to tie in the floral elements of your day into the detail photos, and bring elements from every part of your day together into one beautiful image. Most florists don’t have an issue providing you with this, but make sure to ask more than a few days before just in case. You can also ask your florist to provide you with an extra piece of ribbon that they used to wrap your wedding bouquet, this can be used for styling purposes, and adds a really cool element to the photos.
Don’t Forget The Groom
While the groom probably doesn’t have as many details as the bride does, we don’t want to forget about him! Making sure that he packs all of his detail items in one place ahead of time ensures that ties or suits don’t get left at someones house (believe me, it’s happened more than once), and allows for a less stressful getting ready experience overall.
Bonus Tip: Invitation Suites
Alright, so, invitation suites, custom calligraphy, high quality paper, wax seal times 40 or 100 is a lot of money. Maybe that’s not where you want to invest a big portion of your wedding budget. But those detail photos that have a full invitation suite are Just. So. Beautiful! Here’s where our money saving tip comes in. Find a stationary designer whose work you love, and see have them create just 2 invitation suites for you! They can be keepsakes for your memory, and will be absolutely stunning in detail photos! Why two? 1. If one gets messed up or stained or torn for any reason, you’ll have a back up! 2. Having two copies allows us to show off both the front and backs of the envelope and any included papers at the same time. Also, make sure that a dummy address is used so that when the photos are shared either by you, family/friends, and your photo/video team, no one is giving away your personal information.
