The Importance of a Bay Area Bridal Portrait Session and Tips for an Unforgettable Session
Bridal portraits are one of our favorite types of sessions to shoot but most of our Willa Wedding Brides havnt’t heard of them so we wanted to help create a quick resource guide on what they are and why you should absolutely consider a Bay Area bridal portrait session of your own.
So you ask, “What exactly are bridal portraits”?
Bridal portrait sessions first began in Europe and have quickly become popular in the mid west and east coast regions of the US but still fairly unknown in the western regions including California. But we at Willa Weddings are determined to help Bay Area brides learn more and utilize bridal portraits. Bridal portrait sessions focus on, you guessed it, the bride to be. This is an opportunity for the future bride to wear her wedding dress, get her hair and makeup professionally done, have a bouquet in hand, and have the full bridal look and experience for the first time. Then its time for your bridal portrait session with the Willa Weddings Team in studio or at a fun outdoor location of your choice. Once your bridal session is complete, we will professionally edited your favorites and keep them a secret until you unveil them during your reception as a large canvas or framed print for all of your guests to see.
Why you should consider having your Bay Area Bridal Session with Willa Weddings?
During your actual wedding day, there tends to be a lot of pressure to keep up with the timeline so having a bridal portrait session before your big day allows you to “practice” your complete bridal look without the stress and pressure. This is also a wonderful opportunity to get comfortable with your Willa Weddings Photographer and to practice some posing in front of the camera. After you review your full online gallery you then have the added benefit of making any last minute changes to your final wedding day look before your wedding day.
What should you bring for your bridal portrait session?
A few of the obvious inclusions are: dress, veil, shoes, and jewelry including your engagement ring. Some other things to consider bringing are: undergarments, hair accessories, hair spray, makeup retouch kit, a sweater or jacket incase it gets cold, and some cozy shoes or slippers to wear incase we need to walk to various locations.
You may want to bring a bouquet as well. Make sure to keep the flowers hydrated before your session and don’t be shy of experimenting with different colors in your bouquet.
Finally, try to bring someone along with you, maybe your mother, a bridesmaid, or friend. They are incredibly valuable to have along as they can keep your dress fluffed, manage any fly away hair strands, and helping with your veil.
How to get yourself mentally prepared for your bridal portrait session?
The day has finally arrived, nope not your wedding day but your bridal portrait session day! We promise that this session is meant to be stress free and lots of fun! Its your time to enjoy being in your wedding dress and all glamoured up. Now its the Willa Weddings team turn to help guide you with natural poses that will make you feel confident and gorgeous! Its time for you to relax and enjoy your bridal session.
When should you schedule your Bay Area Bridal Portrait Session and other things to consider?
Willa Weddings recommends that you schedule your bridal session between 5-6 weeks before your wedding date. This ensures enough time to make sure your dress alterations have been completed, photography edits have been finished, and finally we have allowed plenty of time to have a large mounted print or canvas print ordered and delivered before your wedding day.
Other considerations are to confirm with your hair & makeup artists availability along with your florist and your bridal session bouquet.
Many of our Willa Wedding brides choose to have their bridal session done in studio space and if so we utilized the quaint Will Sundquist Photography Studio located in downtown Morgan Hill, California. Another option would be to use your venue space for your bridal session but make-sure to reach out ahead of time to ensure availability.
If you are still in search of a dress or for a florist we have many recommendations to offer depending on your location but if you are a local to Morgan Hill, we highly recommend Luxe Bride and Stems Floral.
We hope this Bridal Portrait Session guide has helped answer any questions you may have and if you would like to learn more or book your bridal session please click below.