I’m a photographer who wants to tell the whole narrative of your wedding day, from start to finish. This begins with arriving extra early on the wedding day to ensure that all of your wedding day details are captured beautifully. These are the little things that represent you, your partner, and your special day.
A bride and groom’s “details” can vary but they typically include your invitation suite, save the dates, a ceremony program, rings, cufflinks, jewelry, veil, perfume, shoes, or any sentimental items that are meaningful to you. Photographers often call the photography of these type of details “Flat Lay” photography, which refers to when it is shot from directly above the details. Most photographers, including myself, even have a styling kit that they bring with them to really make your details photos extra special. This may include silk ribbons, vintage stamps, and ring boxes and plates, among other things.
As you finish up your hair and makeup, these type of shots really allow the photographer to flex their creative skills, producing some amazing angles and compositions of your details, taking inspiration from the room, the materials, and the natural light that is perhaps streaming in from the windows.
It can be helpful if you let your photographer know your wedding colors before the big day.This is something that I'll probably ask you at our first meeting since I love hearing about your vision and theme for the wedding from the get-go. It’s also a nice idea to ask your florist to provide some extra blooms and greenery for your photographer to use for styling your details. This really helps to tie in your details with the whole theme and look of your wedding day.
One important tip I can give is to have your items set aside, ready to go for when your photographer arrives. Gather your items the night before or designate a bridesmaid to organize this for you the morning of. Make sure that you have both wedding bands in your room so that they don’t have to be hunted down at the last minute. This will allow your photographer to get started capturing the details without causing any interruption to the hair and makeup which might be in progress!
Maybe the fact that a photographer would spend time and care photographing your details is unimportant, or even silly, to you. That's fine! But first just remember to think about 20 years from now; when you look back on your wedding photos, wouldn't it be valuable to see a beautiful composition including the invitations that you spent time on designing and wording in order to be sent to your loved ones, the sparkling jewelry that you wore when you said 'I do,' the shoes in which you walked down the aisle, the perfume that will forever be linked in your memory to that day. Whether this is something that you would cherish and like to immortalize, or whether it’s something that you could care less about, be sure to let your photographer know!
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