For Brides: Where Should I Print My Wedding Pictures?

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?
4. Making a Wedding Day Photography Timeline
5. How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures
6. 6 Things Every Bride Should Get Ready for Her Photographer
7. Should We Do a First Look?
8. 5 Steps to Great Bride & Groom Portraits
9. How to Get Beautiful Ceremony Pictures
10. 6 Steps to Successful Family Formals
11. How to Get Beautiful Reception Pictures
12. Where Should I Print My Wedding Pictures?

I am ending this series with a post about printing wedding images because I think it's so important! In our day and age, everything has become so digital that people often loose sight of the significance of having tangible, printed things in front of them. There's just something about seeing your beautiful images in print and not just on a computer screen. And in my opinion, when you spend hundreds of dollars on wedding images, they deserve to be printed and displayed in your home! These are keepsakes you're going to treasure and pass on to the next generation.

What many people don't know is that you can tell a BIG difference between prints that come from a professional printing lab and prints that come from a consumer lab. Getting the color printed accurately on your images is very important and professional quality labs will give you drastically better results than other, cheaper options. Professional labs also offer higher quality photo paper, higher quality inks, and special coatings that ensure your images are resistant to things like finger prints, dust, and fading. In case you're still not convinced, here's a post by another photographer that shows you the difference between getting prints from a professional vs. a consumer lab.

I am happy to share with you that I offer professional prints directly through your PASS gallery. All you have to do is click "add to cart" on the image you want and then select the size and quantity. I also offer canvases and albums (I will do a post on this later but you can also tell a HUGE difference between canvases and albums from a professional lab versus a consumer lab).

If professional prints aren't quite in your budget, here's a few good consumer labs I would recommend:

1. MPix
2. Nations Photo Lab

If you found this post helpful or interesting please share it and/or leave your thoughts or feedback in the comments section below! I am sad to share that this is my last post in the "For Brides" series! However, I have some exciting blog posts and series coming up so please visit again soon!

For Brides: How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures | NC Wedding Photographer

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?
4. Making a Wedding Day Photography Timeline
5. How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures

Oftentimes, one of the most overlooked parts of the wedding day is where you get ready. It seems like a small thing, but it can actually make a significant difference in your pictures. Think about it, this is where you'll have pictures that you'll treasure forever of your mom putting you into your dress or your bridesmaids seeing you for the first time. 

Here's a few suggestions for how to get great "getting ready" pictures:

1. Choose a Location With a Lot of Natural Light
For most of the weddings I've shot the bride ends up getting into her dress in a bathroom or some other small, dimly lit room. This is not a good idea! Natural light makes ALL the difference and so you want to make sure you get ready in a room that has plenty of windows. Many venues have a bridal dressing room as part of their package so make sure you look at this room when you're considering your venue and try to get a spacious room with big windows. 

2. Keep Your Room Clutter Free
Communicate with your bridal party beforehand and make sure they know they need to pick up their things and keep them as hidden as possible once your photographer arrives. I recommend designating a bridesmaid or groomsmen to make sure this happens. Having an uncluttered room can make a big difference in your pictures! 

3. Wear Flattering Clothing
During your wedding planning, consider what you and your bridesmaids will be wearing while you get ready. Your "getting ready" outfit may seem like an insignificant detail but if you're going to have several professional pictures of yourself in an outfit, make it a flattering one! Some ideas I've seen are: a white robe or button down shirt for the bride, oversized monogrammed button down shirts for the bridal party, matching tanks, matching PJ's, and matching robes. 

4. Make Sure There's Enough Space
Make sure your room is large enough to fit you and your bridesmaids and to give you enough space to get good shots of you getting into your dress. If you're getting ready at a hotel I highly encourage you to upgrade to a a suite. The extra space is definitely worth it! 

5. Consider the Interior and Exterior Aesthetics 
Getting ready locations with pretty details like unique doors, textured walls, or antique furniture is always a nice, added bonus! Try to find a location to get ready in that matches the style of your wedding day. For example, if your wedding has vintage details try and find an antique or historic venue with vintage details.

I hope you found this post helpful! Check back next Wednesday for my next post in the "For Brides" series. I'll be giving you a bridal detail checklist with all the important things you need to think through in order to get beautiful wedding detail shots.

For Brides: Should I Do Bridal Portraits? | NC Wedding Photographer

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?

I'll start this post of by saying that I don't think Bridal Portraits are something you "must" have. When my brides choose not to do a Bridal Portrait before their wedding, I make sure I set aside 10-15 minutes to get shots of just them in their dress on their wedding day. However, I do think there are several good reasons for getting Bridal Portraits done:

1. Doing a Trial Run is Extremely Helpful!
Bridal portraits give you a trial run with your hair and makeup, your florist, your wedding dress, and your photographer. It's SO helpful to be able to look at your pictures and see things you want to tweak slightly with your hair/makeup, flowers, dress, etc. From my own experience, after looking at my portraits I was able to see a few minor alterations I wanted to make to my dress before my actual wedding day. I didn't notice the need for those alterations when I looked in the mirror but I noticed them in my pictures. Having bridal portraits also gives you a lot more confidence that everything is going to look just the way you want it to on the day of your wedding.

2. Get Comfortable with Your Photographer and With the Camera
Just like engagement pictures, bridal portraits are another great way to get comfortable with your photographer and in front of the camera. 

3. Wedding Days Are Rushed
While I always get a few shots of the bride alone in her wedding dress on her wedding day when she doesn't get bridal portraits done, wedding days are always rushed! It's nice to be able to cut one thing out of the schedule. You'll also several more pictures and a much larger variety in locations and poses from a Bridal Portrait session than from a wedding day because you have an hour or two to devote just to your bridal portraits. 

4. You'll Have Beautiful Images to Display at Your Wedding 
Displaying a bridal portrait at your wedding is a longstanding tradition. It's no longer necessary or expected at every wedding, but it still very prevalent and done frequently! Unlike traditional pictures from the past, brides typically aren't standing in front of portrait backdrops anymore and instead they're using their creativity and having pictures taken at unique and beautiful locations that fit their unique style and personality.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Check back next Wednesday for my next post. I'll be discussing how to come up with a wedding day photography timeline.

For Brides: What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session? | NC Wedding Photographer

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?

I get asked this question a lot and after planning my own engagement session last spring, I totally understand why! I spent days trying to decide on what to wear for my engagement session and I changed my mind several times. It's a difficult decision! Here's a few tips I hope will help in your decision making process:

Choose Different and Diverse Outfits
I always recommend choosing one "dressy" outfit and one "casual" outfit. You certainly don't have to do that but I think it gives you some good options and diversity in your pictures. I also recommend choosing two outfits that have different colors.

Complement Each Other
Consider complementing outfits for you and your fiancé instead of outfits that match. You could wear different shades of the same color (for example navy blue and light blue) or one could wear a solid and one could wear a pattern with some similar colors.

Wear Flattering Styles and Colors
This sounds obvious but it's really important to remember! Consider what clothing styles and colors flatter your body and your skin tone. You may be tempted to wear something really different than what you'd normally wear but just make sure it's something that's flattering!

Don't Be Afraid of (Some) Patterns
A lot of times people are afraid to wear any patterns for their pictures because they don't want to look too busy. I think patterns can look great and are a fun way to show off your personality! If you decide to wear a pattern, I would encourage you to have your fiancé wear a solid or vice versa. 

Be Yourself
Wear clothes that are true to your unique personality and style! I love creativity and I love people who have their own unique style! Don't be afraid to wear something that's a little "different" if it reflects your personality.

Make Sure You Feel Comfortable and Confident
Please make sure you feel comfortable and confident in your outfit! I don't mean you shouldn't wear something dressy, I just mean that you want to make sure that you're covered in the places you want to be covered and that you feel confident in what you're wearing! If you don't feel confident in your outfit or you feel uncomfortable, it will show in your pictures.

When In Doubt, Choose Something Timeless
If you're unsure of what to wear or you're torn between a few outfits, the safest choice is to choose something timeless. While I love fun, trendy, and unique outfits, just realize these will be the pictures you have for years to come and so you don't want to regret what you wore. Styles will inevitably change but if you choose something classy, timeless, and beautiful, you should love your outfit choice for years to come.

Accessorize!
Accessories can be a fun way to add a splash of color or a little uniqueness to your outfit. Especially if you're wearing fairly plain and neutral clothes, consider adding a little pop of color with your jewelry or shoes.

Utilize Pinterest
Pinterest is a wonderful tool for things like this! Make a board of the outfits and clothes that you love. Try and notice patterns and use your board to discern your taste. When you look through my "Fashion Inspiration" Pinterest board, you can quickly tell that I love clothes with a vintage, feminine, soft, romantic, classic style (and also that I just recently bought a black gingham shirt!). 

I even made a Pinterest board of engagement picture outfit ideas for you!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Check back next Wednesday for my next post. I'll be discussing whether or not I think you should do bridal portraits.

For Brides: Should I Do an Engagement Session? | NC Wedding Photographer

This is the first post in part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My hope is that this series will help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! 

Are engagement sessions really all that important?

Yes. I believe engagement sessions are very important! I always think it's best to do an engagement session with the photographer who will be shooting your wedding when possible. Here's a few reasons why:

1. Your engagement session helps you get comfortable in front of the camera with your photographer
Let's face it, being photographed is awkward! I had the experience of being in front of the camera for my own engagement session last spring and even though I am a photographer myself, I still felt awkward and uncertain of what I should do. An engagement session gives you a great chance to get to know your photographer a little better and to get more comfortable in front of the camera. I think most of my couples walk away pleasantly surprised at how comfortable they felt after they got to know me a little better and after I guided them in different poses. My hope is that this will lead you to feel more comfortable with me and behind my camera on the day of your wedding!

2. You will treasure the pictures from your engagement session for years to come
Engagement pictures give you great versatility because you'll have professional pictures of you and your finance in something other than your wedding dress. Engagement pictures really show off your unique personality and relationship through your clothes, location, and props (if you choose to use them).

3. You can use the pictures from your engagement session for many different purposes
You can use your engagement pictures for "Save the Dates" or for a picture guestbook at your wedding. You can have them printed and displayed at showers and at your wedding. You can also have a canvas of your engagement picture printed and display it at your wedding. I offer canvases and there's a lot of great companies you can order picture guestbooks and other great products from (more to come on that in a later blog post!).

Now that I've established a few reasons why I think engagement sessions are important, here's a few tips when planning your engagement session:

1. Choose a location that is meaningful to you as a couple or that reflects your personality
I love when couples choose to do their engagement session at a location that is meaningful to them! You may want to choose the spot where your fiancé first proposed or a spot where you have good memories of going on dates. My husband and I chose downtown Greenville for our engagement session because we spent a lot of time in Greenville while we were dating and we chose to have our wedding reception at the Certus Loft downtown Greenville. You can also consider choosing a location that reflects your personality and interests. If you and your fiancé really love being outdoors, a field or session in the woods may be a great fit for you. You may love the city and choose to do a more urban session. Or you may consider yourself more of a "country" person and opt for a southern farm session. Choose something that reflects who you are!

2. If you use props, choose them wisely
What do I mean by props? Props can be anything from your favorite blanket to a sign, a letter, old luggage, flowers, old books, mugs, balloons, etc. Props are anything used to "style" your shoot. Props can be really cute but you need to choose them wisely. Think about looking back on your pictures 5, 10, 15 years from now. Will you regret choosing a certain prop or thing for your pictures because it was "trendy" then? Be sure to choose things that are timeless and are meaningful to you and not just choose something because it's trendy or you saw it on Pinterest (although choose trendy or Pinteresty things aren't necessarily a bad idea, just be wise in what you choose!). 

3. Consider the style of your wedding
You can take or leave this suggestion. I don't think your engagement session has to reflect the style of your wedding but it's nice when it does! That way, when you send out save the dates they will reflect the style of your wedding and if you create an album with your engagement photos they will match your wedding photos. Consider if your wedding is rustic, woodsy, urban, vintage, etc. and then plan the location and style of your session accordingly. You can also go so far as to choose clothing and props that coordinate with the colors of your wedding if you want. I certainly don't think that's necessary or expected but it's a nice idea! 

4. Paint your nails!!
I know many girls don't think about painting their nails and then they regret it when they're looking at their pictures later! My typical style is to get a few shots of your ring and of you holding your fiancée's  hand so it's highly likely your nails will be in some of my pictures. I encourage you to paint them if you think you'll regret not doing it later!

I hope you enjoyed the first post in this series! Check back next Wednesday for my next post. I'll be discussing what to wear for your engagement session.