Wedding Preparations

A Wedding Day normally has 3 parts

1. Preparations 2. Ceremony and 3. Reception

But in this article we will only discuss about Preparations.

The preparations is where we get to see the bride and groom getting ready before their official wedding ceremony. A lot of emotions and memorable happy moment are already happening at this early part of their day. The excitement , the joy and other mixed emotions with family and friends can already be witnessed here as the bride and groom prepare and get ready.

A Photo&Video team actually gets to see everything that unfolds in a wedding day, so heres a quick glimpse from a photo&video team's perspective on what usually happens during the wedding preparations. Please note that the flow of wedding preparations may also vary depending on the tradition, culture , religion or preference of the couple getting married, so other things listed in here might not be applicable to other non traditional weddings.

1. Bride Preparations / Bride Getting Ready

This is the part where we can see the bride still doing makeup, at the same time her bridesmaid and other female companions are also focused getting ready. Through the photos we can actually see how busy they are preparing themselves. The Bride's makeup session usually takes 2hours in average.

2. Details

As the bride and everyone continue to get ready, the photo&video team uses this time to take shots and videos of the couples wedding items & essentials such as their wedding ring, wedding invitations, wedding gown, the groom's formal apparel, shoes, perfume, wedding souvenirs and other significant items. The purpose of doing this is so that after 10 or more years the couple gets to remember every details and item they wore , used and gave away on their special day. They even get to remember what they smell like or what souvenir they gave away on their wedding day because of this.

3. Groom Getting Ready shots

Shots made as the groom gets ready by himself or with his bestman or other companions.

4. Groom's Solo Portrait Shots

5. Groom's Group shot with his male entourage

6. Groom's Family Pictorial

7. Bride's Pre-gown shoot

After Bride's makeup a pre-gown shoot is usually done , hairdown, wearing robe , pajama or any relaxing outfit , this portrait session with the bride focuses on solo beauty shots before she wears her formal bridal gown. This part however is optional as some brides opt to wear their bridal gown straight after their makeup so it really depends on the bride's preference wether she prefers to have a pre-gown shoot or not.

8. Bride's Group shot with her entourage

The Bride's group shot with her entourage can also be done with pre-gown outfits , wedding gown outfits or both.

9. Gift Giving or Wine Toasting / Beer Toasting

This part is completely optional as some couples prefer to give each other special wedding gifts with personal messages attached in the gift before their big ceremony. While some couples also prefer to enjoy a wine toasting or beer toasting with their entourage during the preparations, again this part is optional and depends on the couple's preference.

10. Bride's Solo Gown Shots

The Bride's solo gown shots to show the bride in her beautiful wedding gown before she goes to the ceremony.

11. Bride's Family Portrait

a bride's family portrait session can also be done during pre-gown but i think its better if its done when the bride is already wearing her bridal gown.

Aside from the candid shots , group shots and other getting ready moments of other people during the preparations, this is basically what happens during the preparation. I hope this somehow helps you to have an idea on what to expect during your own future wedding preparations.