One of my favorite parts of the day is spending time with the bride and taking her portraits on the morning of her wedding. It can be a little chaotic, but having those 10-15 minutes creating her heirloom images is priceless to me. It gives the woman in front of my camera a few moments to feel gorgeous in her wedding dress, and embrace the fact that her wedding day has arrived. This experience only happens once in a lifetime, but what if there was another opportunity to feel that way again?

Let me introduce you to a bridal portrait session.

Including a bridal portrait session is the perfect way to celebrate this moment in your life! I know how excited you are to wear your beautiful gown, look gorgeous, soak up compliments, and feel like a bride. Why not do that twice?!

So here are some reasons to consider booking a bridal session:

1. Create your Bridal Style

   Booking a session is the perfect excuse to test out your bridal look. Your hair, makeup, and jewelry all need to be planned out and tested before your wedding day. You’ll be able to see how it photographs ensuring you’ll love your wedding pictures, and you’ll see how long your beauty choices last. It gives you a chance to tweak and perfect your bridal look for your wedding day, giving you a stress free morning before you walk down the aisle.

2. Preserve your “Iconic” Look

   Whenever you think of the names Grace Kelly or Kate Middleton what do you picture? Most people remember them in their iconic wedding dresses. They stepped out on their wedding day, and for the rest of their lives people will remember how gorgeous these women looked in their gowns. Every bride needs to have that moment for herself. Images of you in your bridal gown are going to become a treasured heirloom that you can pass down to your family for generations to come. So, what will your Iconic photo look like?

3. Invest in yourself

   Ultimately this is a time in your life that you don’t have to make excuses up for wanting gorgeous images of yourself. You’ve spent money on purchasing a dress that makes you feel like the best version of “you”, and spending time with a photographer who will capture this is incredibly important. I invite all brides to have a moment to get glammed up, embrace this time in your life, and feel absolutely stunning in front of the camera!

4. Time Crunch Relief!

Lastly, one of the reasons I encourage brides to have a bridal portrait session is to take some pressure off of your wedding day timeline. Having a time dedicated to being creative and capturing the essence of your bridal look will provide so much relief on your big day. Sometimes time can be tight and changes have to be made in the wedding day schedule. We never want to take any of that time away from your portraits! Imagine having 2-3 hours worth of time spent into creating a gorgeous collection of images vs. only having a maximum of 30 minutes before you head down the aisle. Plus you’ll receive pampering time before your shoot with a professional makeup artist!

Every bride has different sides of her personality, and capturing that in a series of photographs is always my goal. We used a light and airy backdrop to begin with, but then opted for a black backdrop to create a more elegant, demure look. Later we switched it to pink to capture a playful vibe. Which one is your favorite?

Mallory was a stunning bride, and so willing to try new ideas and setups. She also had an amazing makeup artist Olivia Green that did a phenomenal job creating her bridal look.

What will your Iconic Bridal Portrait look like?

I called these two images Mallory’s “Bride off Duty” shots. We were going for effortlessly glam, and she completely nailed it!

Mallory, I had an absolute blast creating these timeless portraits for you. Thank you for allowing me to photograph you, and for stopping by my photography studio in Charleston, West Virginia. You were such an iconic bride, and your beauty radiates from the inside out! For anyone interested in booking experiencing a bridal portrait session, engagement photoshoot, or if you need a wedding photographer that you trust click the button below to start planning it now!

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