01. A few things to prepare before the wedding
Wear your wedding shoes at home before the wedding day. Pack a comfortable second pair if you’ll be walking or dancing a lot. Avoid experimenting with completely new skincare treatments immediately before the wedding.
And perhaps most importantly, use Pinterest and moodboards as inspiration rather than a set of rules. Your wedding doesn’t need to look like somebody else’s to be beautiful. The photographs that become most meaningful are usually the ones that feel like you.
02. Create a calm wedding morning
Choose a spacious room with plenty of natural light for getting ready. Apart from creating beautiful photographs, a calm, uncluttered space simply feels better to spend your morning in.
Have your details — rings, invitations, shoes, jewellery, perfume and anything sentimental — together in one place before your photographer arrives.
And give yourself more time than you think you need. Wedding dresses, particularly corseted gowns, often take longer to put on than expected. If both partners are being photographed getting ready, I usually recommend allowing at least an hour for this part of the story.
03. Take care of yourself during the day
This is something couples often forget.
Have water, a few light snacks, tissues or wet wipes and anything else you might need close by. Ask someone you trust to carry the little things for you so that you don't spend your wedding day thinking about your phone, lipstick or bag.
Most importantly, leave breathing room between different parts of the day. A wedding timeline shouldn't feel like running from one appointment to another.
04. Ceremony & photographs
Arriving 10–15 minutes early can completely change how the beginning of the ceremony feels. Instead of rushing in, you have a moment to settle and actually realise: this is happening.
During the ceremony, don't think too much about the camera. Look at each other. Hold hands. Laugh if something funny happens. Cry if you feel like crying.
And don't worry about knowing how to pose during your couple photographs. That is my job.
I will guide you when you need guidance, but I also want to give you space to simply be together. Some of my favourite photographs happen in those little moments in between.
05. Give yourself permission to experience the day
This would actually be my final section, and I think it could become the emotional point of the whole article.
You have spent months — sometimes more than a year — planning this day. When it finally arrives, try not to spend it worrying whether everything is happening exactly according to schedule.
Something may run late. The weather may change. Your veil may catch the wind. Someone may forget something.
That's okay.
Leave enough space in your timeline to breathe, talk to your guests, hug your parents, have a glass of champagne and disappear together for five quiet minutes.
Your wedding photographs shouldn't be the reason you miss your wedding. They should be the way you remember how it felt.
