Why I Love Getting Ready Photos
When you think of getting ready photos you’re probably thinking of lots of images of the Bride getting her make up done. The Bride having her hair done. Everyone clinks glasses together. Job done. Is all that really essential?
To me the wedding is all a big story – the same relationships you see between people in the morning are put into new light and new shapes as the day progresses. Through the tears at the ceremony, the laughter at the speeches and the craziness on the dancefloor… all the different parts of the story are important and help build a complete picture of the day.
So to me the morning is a really important part of that. It’s a chance to capture the different relationships between people and the anticipation of the morning. To tell stories that are important to the day as a whole.
I believe the story is best served by covering both sides of the preparations wherever possible. I’ll try to do this logistically myself – but it’s often a good reason to think about hiring a second photographer (see the bells and whistles on the pricing page).
Getting Ready together
Of course, the simplest way to square that circle is by getting ready together -Gemma & Alaina both got ready at the same place at the same time – and made for some very different photos!
Annelies & Louis were also not following the ‘no seeing the bride’ rule as they prepared on the morning of their wedding and made for a wonderful collection of shots. We were all nervous due to the torrential rain, the roads were blocked, the wedding car was stuck in the mud…. on top of the little things that usually up the anticipation (last minute checking of speeches, working out how to do the packed squares via Youtube). Little moments like the thumbs up from the Father of the Bride upon seeing his daughter really make the morning something special.
The Chaos
Let’s be honest, the morning can be a time of quiet calm… but that is probably the exception to the rule. Everyone is getting ready together – and this isn’t anyones usual routine. It can lead to some quite chaotic and interesting pictures. The next two are both from the morning of the same wedding (Chris & Kate).
& The Calm
Yet even on the most chaotic mornings there are moments of absolute calm and simplicity. It’s maybe this crazy juxtaposition of the two states that makes the morning preparations so interesting.
Including the Guys
Covering both sides of the preparations also leads to a really interesting collection of photography. I think this aspect of the day should be covered regardless of sex or sexuality.
It’s not all about Hair & Make Up
Although sometimes that’s part of the bigger story -Andrea & George had a really DIY wedding. So it made perfect sense that Andrea would be doing her own hair (and her Bridesmaids, and her mums)
And again – the relationships really come through in the photos. You may have noticed that when I pick something to talk about I’ll give you a few photos from the same wedding – I think it really illustrates the points I’m making if you realise these aren’t just selected highlights – this is a really important part of the day!
The Other Why
Ultimately though, there are things here that I haven’t talked about and haven’t shown you. And that’s because they are emotional, and maybe in some cases a bit too freshly so – so they have been left out of this piece despite my mind being yanked back to them each time.
They are the stories of the people who couldn’t be there – or who were there but no longer are. I believe this is a big part of what we are documenting as photographers – The transient nature of things. And although I’m not sharing here right now… they are the most important.
And now for something completely different
I couldn’t just leave it like that, could I? So in the time honoured tradition of bringing on the dog that does maths at the end of the news…
You should get your prep covered. It’s when funny shit like this happens.
