5 tips to make the most out of your bridal session!

Let’s talk about bridals!! I love getting with my brides before wedding day, plus bridals are the perfect excuse to get all done up & wear your wedding dress! Let’s be honest, how many times will you wear your wedding dress? When you pick it out at the store, at alternations, & then wedding day. If you want to have an entire afternoon devoted to you getting all pretty & wearing your wedding dress then bridals are for you! This gives you time to rehearse what you will look like before the wedding. I’m here sharing a few tips on how to make the most of your bridal session & maybe convince some of the brides that weren’t planning on doing a bridal session.

Tip 1.

The first tip to making the most out of your bridal session is to plan out where it will be! You can go a few places, but I love when brides go to their wedding venue. Another great place to go for your bridals is a natural light studio! If you’re a more simple bride, then a studio is the best thing for you! 

Tip 2.

When you’re planning your bridal session this is the time to use your vendors! If you’re questioning your hair & makeup day of your wedding, then try it out for your bridals & see if you like it before the wedding! This is great to work with your florist & photographer! You are able to have a mock up of what your bouquet will look like. Building a relationship with your photographer especially is great, because when wedding day comes around we already know your angles & what you like! Plus, as a photographer myself, I’m already your bestie before the wedding day!

Tip 3.

Bring everything!! Here’s a quick list for what to pack for your bridal session.

• Engagement Ring.
  

• Extra lipstick/gloss.
  

• Mock Bouquet.
  

• Veil, Jewelry, & any accessories you plan on wearing wedding day!
  

• Wedding Shoes.

  
  Tip 4.

  
  Consider planning to have your session on a weekday! Most wedding vendors will have more openings to schedule you in for the weekdays, which is a great time to take the day for yourself!

  
  Tip 5.

  
  Don’t Stress! Booking a bridal session will help you as a bride to not stress of your wedding day. Sometimes the day goes by too fast & often taking a few portraits by yourself in your dress can easily be missed. When it comes to wedding day I’m chill & relax, so I don’t stress my brides out.
  

5 Simple Steps to Planning a Styled Shoot.

So you want to plan a styled shoot I’m gonna share the 5 simple steps to planning your dream styled shoot.

First off, what is a styled shoot? A styled shoot is a staged wedding where vendors of the wedding industry come together & collaborate on a vision for a wedding. A styled shoot is a way for wedding vendors to have creative freedom & create something they normally wouldn’t have at a traditional wedding.

Step 1.

Create a vision/inspiration board. My go to is Pinterest! Finding the vibe of the styled shoot. There are so many rabbit holes you can fall into when planning a styled shoot. There are so many pretty things you can be inspired by, but try to do something you can’t find too much of or try to be realistic for your business! It’s hard to not plan something beautiful, but you need to have a goal for the styled shoot. Most of the time styled shoots are great for beginner photographers to build their portfolio at a styled shoot to start marketing their business as a wedding photographer. I definitely did this in my early days & this helped me gain wedding clients! But now as a seasoned wedding photographer my goal in styled shoots now is to get creative & go somewhere I want my couples to take me.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to find your vibe; Who are you trying to reach? Who is your target audience? What is your goal after the styled shoot? What will these photos be used for?

Creating a vision board is fun & great for finding a vibe, but don’t copy someone else’s work. Take inspiration from what you see on Pinterest & Instagram, but straight up copying someone else’s hard work isn’t the way to go about it.

Step 2.

Create a time frame. At this point you should already have the vibe for the shoot & now you gotta find a venue/location. When reaching out to venues give them a timeframe in your initial email to them, they won’t want to be the wedding planner for your styled shoot. You will want to have a time frame of when the styled shoot will be. When I plan styled shoots I plan the styled shoot about 2-3 months ahead of time. This will give you enough time to reach out to vendors & find a couple.

Step 3.

Finding Vendors to work with for your styled shoot. This is when you research & find like minded vendors for the actual styled shoot. This is a great way to create vendorships, did I make up this word I’m not sure, but let’s go with it. Having vendorships is great, because if you like working with them they will refer you to their clients! This works both ways.

I look for vendors to work with through Instagram, Facebook groups (you can find styled shoots groups in your area), Websites, Google, literally any way a bride would find their vendors. When I find vendors I look at their Instagram as a photographer I ask myself would they post my images to their feed. I’m not asking myself this, so I can get promotion, but because what’s the point for them to work with me if I don’t fit their niche & vibe. So, I try to find vendors with similar styles, someone I can actually get along with, & a vendor that I genuinely love their work.

Vendors to consider when planning a styled shoot; Venue, Florist, Hair & Makeup, Dress, Stationary, Cake, Tablescape (Rentals), Wedding Planner, Photo booth, etc the options are endless!!

Step 4.

Create a timeline for your styled shoot. If you’re working with a wedding planner, then they will most likely help with this. If you have all the vendors, then set up your styled shoot timeline how a actual wedding day would go. This timeline is what you should email all vendors apart of the day, so everyone knows what’s happening when!

Example Timeline; Stationary (Details), Getting ready shots, Bride & Groom Portraits, Tablescape, Cake, & Exit.

Step 5.

Day of the styled shoot!! Don’t forget anything & make sure to take it all in! This is another great way to get all the extra content for your social media! Take all the videos for reels & tik toks, this is a great way to reach brides across all platforms.

I hope this blog helps all y’all create a bomb ass styled shoot! I’m in need to do this myself!

-Emily O’Neil

How to know whether or not an Elopement is for you.

Let’s talk about elopements & if it’s for you & your partner!

When I talk to couples the main reason they elope is because when they were planning a traditional wedding the focus wasn’t on them. The focus of their wedding shifted to making everyone else happy on their special day, meanwhile the couple is the one running around like a chicken with their head cut off.

As a photographer who does traditional weddings, intimate weddings, & elopements, eloping isn’t for everyone! Most of my couples who elope have a number of reasons on why they decided to go that route.

1. It’s not as expensive as a traditional wedding.

Let’s say you & your partner are calculating the numbers for a traditional wedding & you didn’t realize how expensive everything is. The caterers, the venue, the photographer & videographer, the florals, the day of coordinator, the dress, the hair & makeup, the tux, the DJ, the alcohol, the cake, the officiant, the photo booth, the list could go on! All of those vendors may be overwhelming to you & not in your budget, that’s okay! Remember why you’re getting married, it’s because you want to spend forever with the love of your life.

2. You don’t mind if it’s just the two of you.

At your elopement it’s basically you & your partner & then the vendors who are apart of your day. I had the opportunity to photograph a sweet couple at their elopement & it was truly magical. I was one of the only people to hear their vows, share their first kiss as a married couple, & see them cut their wedding cake. If you’re someone who wouldn’t want to be without your family & friends, then an elopement isn’t for you. But if you want to runaway from the world & go somewhere beautiful & marry your best friend, then elope!

3. Wedding Planning in 2022.

Let’s be honest planning a wedding in 2022 is just overwhelming & stressful, PERIOD. Let’s say you just got engaged, you’re looking at venues & other vendors, but everything is almost completely booked until 2023. But, you & your partner don’t want to wait until next year or the year after that to actually get married. Ever since Covid being in our lives it’s made having a wedding more & more difficult. Plus, we are in a wedding boom everyone & their mama is getting married! So, if you can’t wait for another year to get married, then go get your boo & elope! But, if you’re someone who still wants a full wedding day, then you can plan that for a later time. It’s super common for couples to have a reception with everyone later on when it’s safe & when they can have all their vendors there.

4. You live for adventure & want a reason to go somewhere on your bucket list!

If you decide to elope & have a bigger budget then make it somewhere you have been wanting to go! Some couples who elope make their elopement location also their honeymoon location. But, going somewhere you have always dreamed of going & making it special by getting married there will make it so much more special for you & your partner.

If you are looking for an elopement photographer, then feel free to look over our packages & fill out a contact form. I’d love to be apart of your special day!

-Emily.