We often get asked by the bride and groom, “What should I bring to the bridal suite for our getting ready photos?”

The answers are all in the details.

Brides spend hours and months planning their wedding. They make dozens of choices with great love and care to make their vision for the wedding day come to life. We think it is important to preserve all of that hard work and intention by photographing each detail with same care. It gets us giddy just thinking about the next generation of children, nieces, and nephews who will look back on your wedding images in the same way that we all looked back on our own parents. There is so much fun in seeing styles of rings, shoes, and wedding dresses change through the years.

To help us capture all of these beautiful details together, we recommend bringing all of the following items to the suite where you are getting ready and placing all of the small items (jewelry, shoes, etc.) in a box beside the hanging wedding dress.

#1. Bouquets

In addition to the individual photo of those stunning blooms, a lot of our brides L-O-V-E the iconic ring shot within their bouquet. If you are able to coordinate with your florist to deliver the bouquet to YOU while you are getting ready in the bridal suite, then we will be able to incorporate the bouquets into these images. Plus, delivering the flowers directly to you means that you will be ready with them in hand for the first look and the portraits that follow.

Also, ask your florist if they are able to include a few loose flowers or greenery that is separate from your bouquet to be used when styling all of the items together.

#2. All 3 Wedding Rings

We want your rings to stay on your fingers once you are officially husband and wife. Bringing all of the rings to the getting ready suite allows us to shine the spotlight on the symbol of your vows before the day begins. This may take some extra coordination with the best man to make sure that ALL THREE rings are with the bride in the morning, but we think it is important to have them all together at the start.

A personal attendant or the maid of honor is then designated to deliver the wedding bands back to the best man so he can hold them in safe keeping once we’ve finished capturing them beside the other details.

#3. Ring Box

When our brides invest in a monogrammed ring dish or ring box, it becomes a treasured keepsake for decades. Some of our all time favorite ring boxes are the beautiful velvet and vintage styles from the MRS. Box website.

#4. Invitation Suite

We recommend bringing TWO copies of your save the date, invitation and RSVP cards with you to the bridal suite, especially if you created a hired a calligrapher or created a custom design.

These designs pair beautifully next to all of the other details of the day and place your wedding theme and colors at the forefront of the day. We also love including these at the start of wedding albums we design to as an invitation into the story just as they were an invitation to the day.

#5. Accessories and Heirlooms

This is a broad category but it encapsulates everything from your shoes, earrings, bracelets, necklace, rosary, letters, clutch… you name it! A lot of our bride and grooms write letters and give gifts to one another the morning of the wedding and this is the perfect opportunity to capture these. Including heirloom pieces in your jewelry or extra accessories is a lovely tribute to the legacy of love being passed along with all of your something old, something new, and something blue details.

#6. Personalized Hanger

Although you spent hundreds of dollars on this gorgeous gown, the majority of wedding dresses come on simple plastic hangers.  This is a great time to transfer your dress over to a white, wooden, or a cute personalized hanger from Etsy that has your new last name on it. Your wedding dress deserves to air out from the garment bag in preparation for the wedding day.  All those Pinterest hours paid off pinning favorite wedding dress styles and there you are with YOUR wedding dress hanging in your closet.

Having this hanger helps photograph your dress in its best light. We’ve also seen brides gift a personalized hanger to each of their bridesmaids as a gift – either when asking them or later on! So sweet. Just be sure that the hook can rotate so that there are more options for where to hang it.

#7. New Bottle of Perfume

Did you know that even the brief hint of a familiar scent can recall our deepest memories? It’s one of the reasons we encourage brides to wear a new perfume on their wedding day so that each time they get even the faintest smell of their bridal scent, they are transported back to their wedding day to relive all of the emotion and joy again and again.