GP’s Top 10 Tips for the Best Getting Ready Photos

Hello GP Family!! We love the getting ready portion of the wedding day. The air is filled with an anxious energy and hairspray, and that combo just gets us amped!! We know stress levels can run high during this portion of the day and you don’t want that to rule your wedding day memories (or photos). Here is our top 10 list of tips (in no particular order) that can help you help us get the best photos of all your wedding day preparations.

1. Reduce The Clutter. Say you’re staying in a beautiful hotel suite and all your bridesmaids are coming over early for mimosas + breakfast and staying to get ready for the day. Sounds like a movie scene. Except you have all your belongings in a huge suitcase that, let’s face it, probably looks like a small bomb exploded. Your soon-to-be husband may also have a suitcase disaster lying about. And now all your girls are about to bring over a Vera Bradley bag busting at the seams with their makeup, jewelry, shoes, and who knows what else (is that a selfie stick?!). Pretty soon you have no clear floor space, the beds are in shambles, and there are half eaten plates of food on every surface. In walks your charming GP photographers. We know how to get creative in this scenario and we will bust out all our tricks to minimize the appearance of this clutter, but sometimes, there’s just no getting around it. One way of minimizing this clutter is to actually use those dressers that hotels have. As soon as you and your fiancé check into the hotel, unpack. Even if you are only staying in that hotel for a day or two. You will know where everything is and it will all be out of sight. Also, ask the hotel front desk for an extra trash can or two. The more people you have in the room, the more trash they are going to generate. One trash can is a whole lot easier to photograph around or hide altogether, than dirty plates and water bottles scattered about. While you’re talking to the hotel concierge, also ask them to send up housekeeping nice and early the day of your wedding. Once you’re up and decent,  have them come make the beds and wipe down the surfaces. I’m always amazed at the transformation a made bed makes. If at all possible have all your girls put their belongings in one area of the room, so at least the clutter is slightly contained. Once you add hair and makeup artists, everyone will be glad the space is organized and the floor isn’t a mine field of tripping hazards.
2. Get A Good Night’s Sleep. I mean really good. I know you’re going to be like an 8 year old kid the night before Christmas but do everything you can to relax and conk out early. I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice, but everyone looks and feels so much better after a full 8 so I recommend you treat yourself to 10 hours (but again, not a doctor). Take a hot relaxing bath, set the AC nice and low, spray your linens down with some soothing lavender pillow mist, black out your curtains, use whatever foolproof method you have for catching some serious Z’s. You have a LONG day ahead of you, and its going to be so fun but it’s also going to be exhausting. You don’t want to have to skip the after party because you fell asleep face down in your post wedding celebratory pizza. Don’t risk dark under eye bags, just get some sleep.
3. Plan Your Getting Ready Outfit. If matching robes aren’t your thing, we are totally OK with that! Just don’t show up to your hair appointment in baggy gym clothes if that’s not what you want in your photos. We’re not saying you have to “get ready” for your getting ready photos, but look put together. You have put so much thought and effort into your planning, don’t let your Spice Girls 1998 concert T shirt (aka your favorite pajamas) ruin your images.  Try stealing a favorite button up shirt from your man, it’s easy to take off without ruining your hair, it’s super comfy, and it’ll have more meaning to you both in the long run. That being said, this is your day and you can wear what you want, just think about how long these images are going to last, and how much they’re going to be seen in your sweet, sweet wedding album. No need to create anything that you could be blackmailed with later.

   

4. Big Windows. All photographers dream about big windows with soft beautiful daylight pouring in. That’s not an exaggeration and we are no exception. We know this is often outside your control, but if you have an option of getting ready in a room with beautiful big windows, please take it. One of the many things I never thought about before learning photography was light and its many colors. Lamps and overhead fluorescent lights seem perfect to brighten up a room, but if you have ever put makeup on in your home bathroom and then get to work and realize you either look like a jersey shore member or a ghost, you know the power of the color/intensity of light. Daylight is the most flattering color of light. Trust us, your makeup artists will be thrilled too.

   

5. Wide, Open Spaces. Lets build on what we’ve already gone over. The easiest way to reduce clutter and find great window light, is to have plenty of space! Some venues offer a “bridal suite” for getting ready. Don’t just blindly accept this as your getting ready location without seeing it first. Sometimes these are glorified closets with no windows at all. Before you try to stuff all 11 of your bridesmaids inside it, give it the ol’ “Gandee Gander” (what we like to call taking a peek). I know I can get overwhelmed and stressed out if I have too many people in my personal space. Reduce your stress and improve your photos by choosing a location that has plenty of room for everyone.
6. Pad Your Timeline. You have been getting dressed by yourself for two decades, and on your wedding day, you don’t even have to stress over what to wear. None the less, everything is going to take one and a half to two times longer than it would on a normal day. People are going to be late, hair and makeup is likely going to take longer than you expect, and without a doubt, the lunch delivery is going to be delayed. Plan for these things by padding your timeline. Plan for 30 minutes (at least) for putting on your wedding dress (more if it’s a corset back). We like to take pictures of your Mom and/or Maid of Honor painstakingly fastening every button on the back of your dress. We want to capture you putting on your Grandmother’s diamond earrings one at a time. Your wonderful fiancé sent you a surprise gift and handwritten letter you want to open and read in private. Make sure there is ample time for all of this. Lets pause and take a few deep breathes to make sure we are living in the moment and so you can remember this forever. Make it so there is no way you have to rush even a second on your wedding day.
7. Posture. I am the first to admit I have horrible posture, just ask Ryan to show you how I ride a bike. He’ll tell you I somehow end up with my shoulders above my ears. I don’t know how it happens or why I’m comfortable that way, but it happens.  It’s not pretty and it hurts like hell after the fact. Avoid any Quasimodo moments by being conscious of your posture. This is true whether you are sitting or standing. Head over heart, heart over pelvis is the best way to keep this in mind. I learned this matra from Adriene of Yoga with Adriene and it has helped me improve my posture in my daily life.
8. Have All The Details With You.  We like to photograph all of the details while the hair and makeup are getting done. This is because these things take a long time and are slow moving. We can easily dip out of the room for 10-15 minutes to photograph the wedding dress without missing a thing. Help us be as efficient as possible by having all of the things you want photographed together at the beginning of the day. Make sure you have all of the wedding rings also, even your Groom’s. Appoint one of your Bridesmaids to get them back to the best man if he’s supposed to have them later in the day.
9. Think Happy Thoughts. Do you suffer from RBF? Resting Bitch Face is a real ailment, and can severely compromise your getting ready photos. We know how it goes… you are perfectly fine and just taking a quiet moment to yourself, we snap a photo and later everyone asks why you were so upset while getting ready. Thinking happy thoughts can turn your RBF into general pleasantness. Try remembering your first date, or that adorable video of a puppy gently tumbling down the stairs, anything that will put that subtle, barely there smile on your face. Channel your inner Mona Lisa and banish your RBF for good. #ByeByeRBF
10. Be Yourself. Relax, have fun, laugh, cry. Do all the things you want to do, even if it goes against everything listed above. You’ll love your photos the most if they look and feel like you. The only way we can show your personality through photos is for you to show it to us on your wedding day. Get excited when friends show up to wish you congratulations. Run to the door and hug your dad when he drops off whatever it was that you forgot to get. Cry when your mom starts crying.  It’s ok to cry, don’t bury your face and hide. It’s a beautiful emotional moment and nothing to be embarrassed about. We will let you know when your beautiful moment has turned into ugly crying and we’ll be the first to pull out a tissue and send you to the bathroom. Trust us to capture everything and forget we are there.