Bridals are often looked at as a little old fashioned or the first thing to cut out of the wedding budget, but please, dear bride, give me your next five minutes to explain how bridals are next to maybe your wedding band in emotional significance. The explanation comes to me as easy as breathing when I look at the bridal portrait of my own mother sitting at my bedside table.
My dear bridal baby angel…It’s. An. Heirloom. One of the most luxurious pieces I will always decorate my home with is the black and white portrait I have of my mother in her lacy as all get out 80’s gown. In another room, my grandmother in her Grace Kelly-esque 50’s gown with a bee hive up-do I’ll always admire. Perhaps you feel it’s something old ladies would recommend to debutante granddaughter’s as they roll their eyes—perhaps! But remember! One day you will be the old lady, the matriarch of a an entire family, and many members will cherish their print of you in your prime looking like their very own Audrey Hepburn. The sentimental value of this image is priceless—it’s a symbol of you in love, in your power, starting something incredibly important. So go for it because hopefully it’s a heart-decision. We’re not all royalty, but that doesn’t mean that commemorative portraits in our wedding gowns should be reserved for Kate Middleton. Everyone deserves a photographically preserved moment of dignity, poise, and glamour for everyone to admire, for your children to touch-for-good-luck as they go out the door, for your nieces and nephews to marvel at when they wander your home, for your partner to keep framed in their office, for you to remind yourself of all the glory you hold as a woman in love.
Now, it has practicalities, too. You get to demo your make-up, hair, and dress so you know what to expect for your day. You fall in to rhythm with your photographer and find comfort in front of the camera. You know how to move in the gown, test a few dance moves. And did I mention it’s fun? Kind of a movie montage moment?
I recommend this as a professional wedding photographer but also as a former bride. In the moment, I felt a little silly and very southern for doing it, but as I posed and twirled with my photographer, I felt myself holding multitudes in my gown. I dreamed a little of my wedding day, my future family, my legacy. And it was damn fun to feel like a Queen.
I love this time spent with brides getting into their glam and their POWER. It’s a special, powerful secret my client and I hold onto until after the wedding—all that beauty about to reveal itself on an aisle in just a few months. It’s a fire that’s about to floor their partner and symbolize the start and heart of a family forever.
So, now that you’ve given me time to convince you of your main character energy, your royal wedding portrait worthiness…What are you thoughts on bridals? Would you consider booking a session with your wedding package? Let me know in the comments below. My next stop is convincing grooms they need a similar epic portrait for generations to admire, too.
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