09/28/2026
Are you a bridal girl? If you’d like to get really nice portraits of yourself but don’t know when these should happen, there’s a few options. So depending on your personality or what you have envisioned here are a few:
1. You can have them done on the same day you scheduled your hair and make up trial. For this, you would have already gotten your wedding dress back, altered and all. I highly recommend you have your bouquet for this session as well. This is a low stress experience, more fun, lots of time to work with for your session, hair and make up, no one is waiting for you, there’s no social pressure or timelines.
2. During the wedding day. It happens once your hair and make up is done, most coordinators or me as a photographer will tell you once you are ready, that’s when your mom and bridesmaids should also be ready because your bridal portraits happen before or after some photos with your bridesmaids and mom. So there is a level of social expectation and rush, it’s still doable for most brides, but that day for sure it will feel more rushed and it will be less bridal portraits that come out if it, especially if your wedding coverage is not an 8 or 10 hour coverage. So if you know you’d like to feel less rushed to greet people than maybe this is not the best option and may want to schedule a separate day for your bridal session. You could even schedule a day after and have just a session for you and your husband.
3. Have a one person or no bridal party. When you do not have a bridal party, the focus shifts to you and the groom. Because there’s no bridal party, the getting ready room immediately becomes bigger, quieter, and the time even if on your wedding day, feels relaxed—combine this with a first look and your wedding focus shifts to having more photos of you and your groom throughout more areas of the venue you chose. Add your parents at the end of this portrait session. I’ve had couples even have their ceremony at a church offsite, making their venue feel like it was just for the two of them and immediate family for half the day. It quiets the day, it shifts the focus to the two of you, there’s no one to meet or greet, until later.
