4 Tips for Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location

August 22, 2019

4 Tips for Choosing The Perfect Getting Ready Location | Calgary Wedding Photographer

You are planning your dream wedding day. You have picked the perfect ceremony and reception venue, you have thought about the ideal formal photography location but where are you planning on getting ready? On any given wedding day we spend anywhere from 1-2 hours with you photographing both of you getting ready. This means we document you dress, rings, makeup, hair, and all those candid moments that happen during this time. This also means about 20% of your days photos are going to take place in this location. It is super important to think through your getting ready spots and made sure they are not only a space you and your bridal party will fit but also one that will photograph beautiful. Today I am chatting all about 4 tips for choosing the perfect getting ready location. Ps. Lighting is HUGE!

Lighting! When decided on your location make sure you pick an area with good natural light. More windows, doors the better. A skilled wedding photographer can light any situation with flashes and off camera lighting, but a room drenched in natural light will always make for better photos. Believe me your photographer will thank you!

Size! The size of the space can also play a huge role in how efficient the whole morning goes. If you book a teeny tiny room and have 10+ bridesmaids then you are going to be tripping over each other the whole time. Make sure you book a spot where you all have room to breath. Chances are you will also have others beside just your party coming and going like you hair and makeup team and florist. We know its hard when you have a ton of people all in one space to keep the room looking pristine. We get that! Having clutter in you images can actually draw the attention from you and right to that day old pizza box or the hundreds of towels laying on the floor. It will helps us HUGE if before we get there both guys and girls rooms get a quick tidy. This means making the beds, hiding suit cases, recycling empty bottles and putting old room services tray outside. All of these small things will help ensure your photos are perfect.

Travel Time! When picking out your getting ready spot think about it in relation to your ceremony location. If it is a ways away you are going to have to factor in some travel time into your timeline. Also make sure you do a run thru before the big day and time out the route. There is nothing worse then thinking it is only 15 mins away but not realizing they started bridge construction and you 15min route is now 45! Yikes!

Think Outside The Box! Typically when couples are thinking about their locations your mind immediately goes to a friends house or hotel. There are actually so many different options you can choose from. Try looking for an AirBnB. There are usually a lot of them in all different areas of the city so finding a good one isn’t usually too hard and typically the same price as a hotel room for more space.

One last thought for your getting ready photos is making sure you have all you details in one place. This means the jewelry you are wearing the day of, your shoes, cufflinks, matching socks, wedding bands, garter, gifts and anything else sentiment you might bring with you on your wedding day. This way we don’t have to ask you a million times where all you pieces are. 🙂 We also love it when you hold off giving your wedding party their gifts or reading the love note your hubby gave you until we get there. These are all moments we want to capture and document for you to enjoy later.

I hope this helps you as you’re thinking through the details of your wedding day! We want to give you the BEST photos in the world, and these tips can create a gorgeous environment for your getting ready photos!