In every profession there is “lingo” that is used- but if you ever use it outside of the workplace no one knows what it means! haha Lately I’ve been getting asked what a bridal session or a first look is so I thought it would be a great topic for a blog post!

A bridal session + first look is when the bride and groom do a session on a different day than their wedding day. Whether it be before or after. I really encourage a session like this for many reasons.

Your wedding day is absolutely CRAZY. You’ve got family in town that you want to talk to, details that might need straightening out, and you just want to enjoy such a special day with your sweetie! With all this going on it hardly leaves time to get photos of the most important part of the day- you two!!

I’ve photographed several weddings that only gave me 10-15 minutes to snag pictures of just the bride and groom in their dress + tux. And they didn’t get TONS of photos of them by themselves on their day because there just wasn’t time.

If you get your photos done before your wedding there are SO many benefits:

• A special moment, documented well! Like I said above your wedding day is a blur- sometimes a sweet quiet moment before the big day can be even more special and we will capture it on camera. We can start the session off with your fiancee not seeing you that way we can capture their first reaction to you in your gown perfectly!
• “Test run” in your dress, makeup and hair! Something’s not comfortable or the right length. We can work with it for the session then you might have some time before the big day to have it altered!
• You can have beautiful photos up of yourselves at your reception. If you do it a few weeks before your wedding then I can edit them and help you get them printed that way you have a gorgeous display for your guests to enjoy!
• MORE photos of you two! Like I said it is hard to fit in some gorgeous portraits on your wedding day. If you do a session before your wedding you are guaranteed more beautiful photos!
• You can choose an amazing location for even more stunning photos! From the sand dunes to the mountains- you can choose something absolutely gorgeous!
• Better lighting! Often the portrait time lands right when it’s nice and bright outside- this can limit where we take some photos. If you do your session on a different day we can use golden hour (an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset) to get some beautiful dreamy light in your photos.