The 3 Secrets to Pinterest-Worthy Getting Ready Photos

Just like last week – I’m going to let you in on another little secret…

Most of the adorable “getting ready” shots you see on Pinterest are not as candid as you think!

While we love the candid stuff (and about 50% of our days are totally candid!) some of the best photos we take can often need a little bit of coaching.

It’s super important that we’re maximizing our time in the morning during all of our “getting ready” moments. The moments with your bridesmaids (and bridesmen, the whole gang!) are important memories. With all the crazy that happens during and after the ceremony, these moments are often forgotten! So we like to make sure these are picture perfect in every way.

Essentially the secrets to getting those perfectly candid, fun, Pinterest-worthy getting ready photos are these:

1. Embrace the awkward

2. Be open to heading outside the bridal suite for the best light

3. Laugh through the silly-ness of it all.

Before we start: I am jumping ahead a little bit! Before this getting ready part of the day comes the details. This is such an important part of the day and apart of your story! I’ll go into what the details entail (see what I did there?) in a later post. But for now, just imagine that the very first portion of the day is already finished. And now it’s time to get those pinterest-worthy getting ready photos you’ve been seeing for months!

Keep in mind that all of this takes place after everyone is done actually getting their hair and make-up done. We absolutely get those photos as well. Those authentic moments of you just hanging with your girls are so important, and they won’t be missed. You’ll just have even more to remember from that time!

The first step is to make sure everyone is finished with hair and make-up. This is for two reasons.

Obviously, most of us girls prefer to have make up done for photos. But, it also makes the most sense timing-wise.

We’ll start out with everyone in their matching getting ready garbs! Grab those glasses/tumblers/just the bottle and we’ll head to the best light to get these cute getting-the-party-started photos!

This is where all three of those secrets come into play. This will be the first time I’m telling everyone to do something a little silly that might feel strange (feels weird, looks great is our motto around here). But as long as everyone rolls with it, we’ll have fun! And get the cutest candid moments along the way!

Once we start these getting ready photos, the ball has officially started rolling and everyone will need to be ready!

The bridesmaids will go ahead and get dressed in their dresses, it’s time for step two!

I’ve found that more often than not, the getting ready rooms have little-to-no natural light. I understand that bridal suites have to be farther away, big enough to fit all the bridesmaids, but they are not always lit well.

This is not always good. We need windows, people! Windows and space for all of your bridesmaids! If we can find a space that has enough room for everyone and at least one natural light source (aka, a window), we can make it work! 

If you can imagine that pinterest-worthy photo, it’s got bright, beautiful light and lots of space!

Sometimes that means standing in a foyer across the venue from your bridal suite. Sometimes we even have to stand outside to make sure we get that light! That natural light is the key, so we follow it wherever it goes!

Once we’ve found our perfect lighting, it’s time for stage two.

So…wedding dresses are no joke. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to fall into it casually, as little birds gracefully slip it over your shoulder.

A girl can dream, right?

Personally, I haven’t wrestled my way into a wedding dress (…yet!). But – I have put on a sports bra right out of the shower. And the thought alone just gave me a shoulder cramp. So I can sympathize right now.

There will definitely be at least ten minutes of you and your very very close friends in the bathroom swearing and knocking things over while you get into your dress. I haven’t met a bride yet who wanted me in there with you documenting that kind of moment!

So after you are relatively decent, I’ll head on in and get the final moments of you getting into your dress !

Once we’re halfway up, this could go a few different ways depending on the closure of your dress. Your maid of honor, your mother, grandmother – whoever is in the room has a few ways of finishing up the job.

If we had to move across the venue to find that perfect light I was talking about, we want to make sure the dress won’t fall off halfway there!

Now if you’ve got buttons all the way up, usually it saves time to only save 2-3 buttons at the top for the pictures. If you’ve got a corset lace up, I’ll do some pretend photos of the bow being tightened.

Zippers are the easiest – usually they just go up in one smooth motion! If your dress is only zipped, we’ll go ahead and zip it all the way up.

Once we’ve found the perfect light, your dress is most of the way on, and it’s time to get all the way in – it’s go time! Your mom, maid of honor, or whoever you want to be in the photos will finish getting you in your dress. The light will be perfect and dreamy and the moment will be just as you want to remember it!

Here’s where your bridesmaids come in! They should be already dressed and ready for action. This is one of the most fun parts of the day.

Luckily All of our #hmbrides have the best groups of friends, and they really make this next part easy!

So here’s your princess moment (also my favorite part):

Your bridesmaids will all horse-shoe around you with that beautiful light around them. Each friend gets a role in what I call “fluffing and fussing” over you!

Some friends will be kneeling fixing your train, some will be fluffing your veil around your shoulders, some will be pretending to finish buttoning the dress. But all of them will be fawning over how beautiful you look !

I literally will describe this scene as the moment in Cinderella when the birds fly in through the window, tie Cinderella’s big, beautiful bow, and sing to her!

I.e. – here is your princess moment!

They’ll help put on your shoes, fluff your veil out,  and fix all the layers of your dress. This will make for the cutest photos and more importantly, you’ll get your princess moment!

It will feel silly, but this signature shot of ours is one of my favorite moments of this portion of the day!

After that, it’s super easy to have your ladies step out and I’ll grab a handful of portraits of just you! This is your little moment to highlight just you in that dreamy light! I’ll have you put on your earrings, smooth out your dress, and have your extra time to be a princess!

Now you know the simple ways to get those pinterest-worthy getting ready photos! Head on over to our Timeline Tip series to see logistically how this part of the day works!

P.S. You can also find our freebie on how to maximize your photography coverage there too!