Your Complete Guide to Getting Ready

I’ve also tried to make sure the wording here is inclusive – some weddings I photograph have two brides, others don’t have a bride at all; and as Jules Von Hep (of Isle of Paradise) attests, you don’t need to be female to be a bride.

Similarly, consider ‘bridal party’ a synonym for whoever your best people are – bridesmates, groomswomen and everything in between. I’ve heard some other photographers refer to them as your ‘i do crew’ but I’m not sure if that leans a bit far towards ‘hun’ and babe for my liking, so there you are!

Do I need this part of the day covered?

Whilst my main offering is all day coverage, usually starting 1.5-2 hrs before the ceremony start time, about 30% of the couples I work with choose not to have any coverage of the getting ready part of the day at all and have me start at the ceremony – there’s usually a few reasons for this, maybe they think that they might find having a photographer around just adds to any anxiety in the morning; or that getting ready will be super low key and not worth photographing.

In my opinion, any part of the day is worth photographing. You don’t need to feel that it has to be a ‘big’ moment to be worthy, with a big group of people getting their hair done in matching PJs. I’ve photographed weddings where the couple have gotten ready together, just the two of them; or it’s been a couple of friends at home and it’s always lovely. 

There’s a third way too, if you’re on the the fence about whether to include coverage of the morning and that’s having me, or your chosen photographer, arrive around 30-45 minutes before you’re due to depart. That captures all the final preparations, the flurry of excitement, any big reveals or moments with a parent and then maybe some quick portraits of you before you leave. if you had thought that maybe you’d skip photos of the getting ready stage altogether, I definitely think you should give this some thought.

Who should be photographed?

There’s no hard and fast rule here as all of my weddings are different – I can cover either of you getting ready, or if it’s logistically possible both of you, or if you’re not getting ready close to each other then I can look into arranging a second photographer (there are a few other times I’d recommend having one but this is a biggie).

On my photography plan form, I ask you to tell me the person I’ll be covering primarily and we refer to that person as person A.

Here’s some examples – obviously these gender roles are totally interchangeable…..

Bride A is getting ready in a hotel room with her Mum and bridesmaids. Groom B is getting ready at his parent’s house 20 minutes away. Groom B doesn’t want coverage so I’ll join him at the ceremony to grab some shots before hand.

Bride A and Groom B are both getting ready in different rooms at the same venue. I’ll primarily be with Bride A, but can visit Groom B for some key moments and a few photos.

Bride A and Bride B are getting ready at different locations – one at the venue and one at her parent’s home. Because they’ll both be getting ready at the same time; a second photographer is needed.

Groom A and Groom B are getting ready at different hotels about 15 minutes apart. They are happy to split coverage so that I spend the first 50 mins with Groom A, then travel to Groom B and spend 50 mins with him before travelling onto the ceremony.

In terms of who to have with you – that’s entirely up to you, though I recommend that it’s your favourite people, and anyone else who might be difficult is barred. (more on this here) If you want everyone matching in the morning, that’s cool, but not necessary though I do recommend you swerve those polyester robes with ‘bridesmaid’ on the back and maybe instead give everyone cool printed cotton pyjamas, or something a little more environmentally friendly, and that can be worn again.

Where to get ready

This can be a decision that’s guided by a number of things – proximity to the venues, whether there’s a space included with your venue, making sure you’ve got enough room for everyone and sometimes there’s sentimental stuff involved too – like wanting to get ready in the house that you grew up in.

So these tips sort of exist in a kind of perfect world scenario really – all the things you can do to make your getting ready space bigger, tidier, with the right kinds of colours and textures will result in better photos BUT I can guarantee you that I will have worked in a smaller, messier, darker space at some point and still tried to make it look epic. 

• When choosing a hotel look for cool design and features that compliment the feel and look of your wedding. I.e. for a colourful, creative vibe the Kit Kemp designed rooms at the Soho Hotel are perfect. Or upmarket traditional, The Zetter Townhouses are great. Or if you like something a bit more mid century minimal, the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green is an excellent choice.

• Getting ready at your home is a nice option if plausible logistically – we got ready at our flat in Bethnal Green when we got married, and though we have since moved on, the photos bring back all the memories of living there. 

• Consider Airbnbs – there are some incredible ones and they can give you a better home from home feel. They often have better ‘props’ we can style your stuff with and things like a kitchen and a fridge which work well for you.

• If you are able to choose I’d avoid dated rooms or rooms with really business-y decor – they basically give photographers less to play with in terms of making the photos look pretty.

• Try to keep the main room you’ll be in tidy-ish. It feels like a bit of an impossible ask but if there aren’t random pairs of underpants in the space behind you, or bright orange Sainsburys bags, it just makes it a bit easier and allows for cleaner composition.

• But do make sure, whatever you do, that you choose somewhere that’s not too far away from the venue. I’d say less than 30 minutes. Especially if there’s just one route and it’s prone to traffic, involves the M25, the North or South Circular or yours is a late wedding. 

Onward travel

If you’re moving from getting ready venue to ceremony venue, here’s how I’m going to travel…

If you’re having a wedding in the country i.e. rural getting ready location and rural ceremony venue – then I can leave just before you, once you’ve gotten in to your outfit and I’ve taken a few photos. That way I can get ahead to wherever your ceremony will take place and perhaps grab some shots of guests arriving or your partner waiting.

If you’re having a city wedding – chiefly a London wedding – then ideally I’d travel with you and/or the bridal party. So say if you have a few cabs going from hotel to venue, or a minibus type thing, I’ll jump in. That way I’m not going to go a different route and get stuck in traffic – I’m with key people and I’m not going to miss anything. I am also trying to embrace using trains more often to get to London and other urban weddings – climate change and all that…

If there’s a bit of a blend, it depends. Here’s some examples, these situations are all things that have happened in the past, but they’re a bit niche. Most of the weddings I cover fit into the two above categories. But if your wedding fits these, you’ll need to factor this into your timeline.

You’re getting ready in a market town that’s famously bad for parking on a Saturday, but your wedding is taking place in a field in the country. 

I might need to park my car about 10 mins walk away (to find a car park where I can stay for 2 hours or more). So I will need to leave your getting ready location at least 15 mins ahead of your scheduled departure, which means you need to be dressed, ready and have allowed some time for photos before I go. So you ideally need to be ready 40 mins before your scheduled departure. 

You’re getting ready at your parent’s house in the country but getting married at a church in a nearby market town – the church is on a high street and doesn’t have a car park (catholic churches, I’m looking at you here). The street outside is permit only.

In this case I would a) prefer to travel with you or someone leaving your location to the church, so that i can jump out and get stuck in doing my job. But if this isn’t possible then please let me know, so I can plan places I can park and you’ll need to allow enough time for me to get there, find a space and walk to the ceremony location. At this point I’m going to need to leave at least 25 mins before you to ensure I’m there on time, and you would need to be dressed for final photos around 50 mins before your scheduled departure.

My biggest fear is always driving round in traffic or being unable to find a parking space when we’re in the final moments before your ceremony is about to begin; and I don’t want to approach documenting that important part of the day while flustered.

How I photograph this portion of the day

As with the rest of the day, I am to photograph this portion as unobtrusively as possible.

When I arrive, I’ll usually come and say hello to you and everyone else, and will usually start by taking some scene setting shots of the location (oh so evocative when you put them in an album or watch your slideshow back) and then some detail shots – outfit, accessories, shoes, flowers, stationary – so that your peeps get used to me being there and I’m not pointing a camera at anyone straight off the bat (of course, if there’s something lovely happening, I’ll be right there).

It’s impossible to completely blend into the background on a wedding morning, so my aim is more to provide a reassuring presence – to be helpful when necessary, and just be quiet and observe when necessary too.

Though I am generally fairly hands off, there might be times when I suggest things like ‘if you put your veil on here, the light is just gorgeous’, or ‘you could stand by the window do you your tie.’ These little suggestions are usually to help make stronger photos, but please be assured they’ll only be at certain times and when it feels right to ask.

On first looks and big reveals

The concept of a First Look* is really popular over in the States and has been gradually making it’s way over here. They can be really wonderful moments, meaning you get to drink each other in properly before you get married, rather than taking everything in during the nerves of meeting at the top of the aisle. 

They’re not traditional, and they’re not for everyone, but if you have a bit of an unusual timeline, or you just want to hang out with all your favourite people uninterrupted after the ceremony, they can work perfectly.

I have some couples do a brief first look and then go get married, and others for whom we do a first look then the couples photos; and others still where we do all of the family photos before the ceremony too. This makes for a really relaxed cocktail hour.

Depending on what you want to do before the ceremony (e.g. just a first look, or first look and all of the photos) then we’ll need to factor that into your timeline for the day and for a more bespoke recommendation – don’t hesitate to get in touch and tell me what you’re planning and I can give you some advice.

For the first look, we’ll usually plan a photographically pleasing location, and it sometimes takes a little bit of work to make sure the right people are in the right place at the right time, but it’s all well worth it.

For big reveals – maybe your Dad or another parent seeing you in your outfit for the first time, or a reveal to friends and bridal party etc – allow 5-10 mins and I recommend doing it like this:

If it’s just one person, then get them to come to the room you’re in.

If it’s multiple people, then go to where they are. We can get everyone into a specific location ready to receive you!!

• If you’ve never heard of one before, it’s where the couple see each other before the ceremony, usually just the two of them, and have a moment to react.