Wedding Day Details Checklist

It’s All In The Deets | How To Ensure You Get Great Detail Photos From Your Photographer

Resources For Brides

Details are super fun to shoot.  It’s one of my favorite times during wedding day, actually.  It’s quiet, the excitement is building and usually everything is just starting to happen.  I shoot details while the bride is getting ready, that way I can keep an eye on her and shoot what I need to in the bridal room and also have some creative time to style all the important details, but it’s easy for things to get lost in the mix.  Details can be thrown to the wayside if more important things are happening so while it’s important to have that creative time, it’s also important to get them done quickly.  Here are a few tips for making sure your photographer gets great detail shots for your wedding day.

1. Gather Them Up: For my brides, I recommend that when I arrive, they have all their details gathered up.  Most have them assembled for me in a bag or box of some kind.  Here’s just a quick starter list of what most of my clients include in their bag, shoes, garters, 2 full invitation suites (along with envelopes), programs, napkins, rings (bride’s, groom’s), headpieces, jewelry, special sentiments.  

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2. Styling Material: I’ve started bringing styling material to each wedding.  I even have a whole box dedicated to ring shots.  When brides provide things/materials that match their wedding decor, it makes my job a breeze!  For example: one bride just last month provided me with a wooden slab and extra flowers from their florist.  It made styling the details super fun and easy and expertly matched up with the rest of their wedding day.

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3. Pretty Hangers: While they’re not a necessity, a pretty wooden hanger can make a dress shot — and an ordinary plastic one can totally kill it.  I typically have a blank wooden hanger in my car just in case, but these personalized hangers from Etsy are gorgeous, affordable and are something to keep.

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4. Time:  I’m usually always early to a wedding.  I don’t like to be rushed during the details and finding neat places to shoot.  It’s a great idea, though to make sure your photographer has plenty of time to shoot details.  A good 30 – 45 minutes to style and shoot everything is fantastic.  Typically, I’m going back and forth between details and shooting the bride getting ready in between them to make sure I’m still capturing what’s happening in the bridal room.  Because hair takes a long time to do, I can usually shoot details and the hair being done at the same time.

Time is also highly important to shooting reception details.  A good 20-25 minutes alone for photographers in the reception area pre-ceremony is fantastic to be able to shoot the reception while it’s empty.  Reserving some time for reception images for your photographer is a HUGE help — but if you can’t, no worries. Reception details are easily shot while everyone is just arriving.

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5. Communication: If there’s a detail you for sure want shot, it’s great to include it in your bag — but if it’s something that can’t be included in there, make sure and let your photographer know — Like if you’re going to have your mom pin a special locket on your bouquet — it’s great to know ahead of time that something special to you will need to be photographed.

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