There are so many reasons why I recommend every bride to have a bridal portrait session. It is advantageous for both you and me (the photographer). So where do I begin. First lets look at some things that might not have come to mind.


See Yourself First - A sorta sneak peek
Bridal Portrait sessions are a great way to see a sneak peek of how you will look on your wedding day. You have put so much time into your decisions of your wedding dress, hair style, jewelry, make-up (choosing a makeup artist), but do you know how it will all look together. Bridal sessions are a great way to see how you are going to look when all the details that you have been hard a planning all come together. I have had brides make some changes after they had seen their pictures in make-up, hair, and even some accessories. In some ways it is fine-tuning the moment of your big entrance where everyone will stand and watch you walk down the isle. While this is not one of my top reasons, it is certainly one that not too many people think about for having a bridal session.

Time- It’s on our side
Any wedding photographer will tell you that your wedding day will fly by fast and there is a lot of unpredictability in the schedule. There are times where I might get two or three minutes to photograph the bride alone on her wedding day due to the reality of a schedule. This may seem crazy, but it often is more the norm than not. This also can limit the type and style of pictures of the bride alone.

Also, getting ready for your bridal session will give you a good idea of how long it will take you to get ready. From my viewpoint of time, the biggest perk is we get to choose the time for the bridal session. Meaning, we have more creative control over the type of light we will shoot in, whereas on your wedding day there is less control as your wedding is a live event that is on a timeline. Depending on the style you are looking for we can photograph in the day with lots of bright natural light, or photograph in the golden hour, that is sunset and twilight photography, or even photograph in the evening or night for a very unique look for you bridal portfolio.

Bridal Sessions are not your wedding day.
The other great thing about doing a bridal session is that it is not your wedding day. What I mean by this is that there are a hundred things happening on your wedding that can keep many brides a bit preoccupied making it a bit more of a challenge to be thinking about relaxing for portraits. While this certainly can be done on the wedding day, I find that most people are pretty anxious, excited, and thinking about “TIME” and about the events that are about to unfold. Having a bridal Portrait session outside the wedding day makes for a fun and relaxed process. No schedule, no time constraints, No rush rush rush.

Getting to know you, your likes and your style.
This is a win/win for both bride and photographer. This allows you to better know me and how I work. Break the ice in some ways so there is a level of comfort you gain to be in front of the camera. Bridal session also help me learn your personality and style. This naturally carries over into the wedding day. I also get direct feedback from you about photography styles and picture styles prior to the wedding. I get to know what you like and even on occasion the what you do not like about certain poses, angles and expressions of yourself. I get to learn your favorite looks, poses, and expressions going into your wedding day.

Location, Location, Location.
The great thing about bridal portraits is that we can choose any location we want. This makes it great for getting different looks/themes, and styles into your bridal portfolio. We do not have to photograph at your wedding venue. We can choose something totally different and even do a themed bridal session with some props or a even a stylized shoot where there is set design. It really is limitless of what we can do.

We have you and your dress covered.
The best thing about bridal sessions are that we have you and your dress covered before the wedding day. There are no worries if the schedule gets a little behind and in many aspects it opens up the photography schedule because we often do not have to photograph you alone again on the wedding day as we already created an awesome bridal portfolio.

My number one reason…
it really incorporates all of the above but for me it is that I get to take my time to create some awesome bridal pictures by using my creativity without the constraint of a wedding day schedule. This make Brides relaxed as we have only on thing going on and that is having some fun making beautiful bridal photography of you. It also allows me to be creative by using light and different lighting techniques. Bridal session allow me to take my time and see things unfold, giving me some latitude to let creativity take its own course with you looking amazing in your wedding dress.

While Bridal sessions may not be everyone or even mandatory to get great pictures of you in your wedding dress, it does allow for fun process that is relaxed, not rushed, and makes for a creative opportunity to photograph you in probably the most iconic part of any wedding… your wedding dress. Bridal photography are my favorites sessions to photograph for sure.