5 Easy Ways to Take Your Wedding Day Details to the Next Level!

There are SO many things to think about when planning a wedding. Guest lists, vendors, decorations, menus…all the things. It’s easy to see how your wedding day details can take a back seat when your consumed with planning! But wedding day details are a super important part of your wedding photos! They help to set the tone of your day, both in stylistic ways and meaningful ways. As a photographer, I always love to see all the details that my brides have picked out for their big day, and it helps me get in the creative zone when I style and photograph all these details when I first arrive on your wedding day! You don’t need to have a million different elements to have great wedding day details! You just want everything to fit together in a big picture kind of way to help tell the story of your day! To help make this detail planning less overwhelming, here are five simple ways you can take your wedding day details to the next level, even if you have super simple details!

1. Include some extras! Bringing some extra styling elements is a great way to highlight the style of your day! These extra elements could be anything from fabric or ribbons in the colors of your day, a pretty tray you found at the thrift store, some vintage stamps or a wax seal that you used on your invitation suite, a ring box, or even a piece of wood that can be used for a backdrop! Think about the style of your wedding day, and little ways you can showcase that by adding to your details! 🙂
2. Request loose florals! Ask your florist to send some loose floral stems for detail styling! Of course photographing the bouquet with your details is super important, but in addition to the bouquet, having some loose floral stems allows your photographer to play and style using these loose florals to add creativity and variety to your images. And because the loose florals are for the purpose of styling details, your photographer can trim them, pull off petals, or break them into smaller pieces! For obvious reasons, that cannot be done with your bouquet, so having the extra freedom to use smaller floral accents really adds an elegant touch to your detail photos!
3. It’s all about the senses. I love when my brides (and grooms) choose a new perfume or cologne scent for their wedding day. Scent is one of the strongest senses linked to memory, so I think it’s extra special when you have a specific scent you can connect back to your wedding day. I have this perfume (Lucky Number 6) that I wore all through high school and college. When I wear that perfume now, Ryan always tells me that it smells like when we first met. 🙂 Of course perfume bottles can also be super pretty, but I love that it’ll have a significant meaning and memory for you on the big day, and the years to come whenever you wear that scent! (Bonus Pro Tip: Be sure to bring a new/full bottle of your scent! Full bottles photograph best!)
4. The little things matter! When you look at photos of your gorgeous dream wedding dress, that last thing you want is to be distracted by the chunky plastic hanger that’s holding your dress up! Having a nice hanger is a minor detail, but can make a world of a difference in your photos! It doesn’t even have to be anything super fancy or customized, but having a simple wooden hanger, or something a little more fancy in silver or gold, makes a big difference! On a wedding day, I always carry some extra pretty hangers in my styling kit, just in case my bride forgets her hanger, but choosing something that matches the style of your day is always a good idea! 🙂 Keep the little things like that in mind when planning out your wedding day details!
5. Help your photographer out! Your photographer wants to make sure they capture your details and tell the story of your day the best they possibly can, and having your help is key! If there are special heirlooms you’ll be incorporating, a meaningful patch sewn on the inside of your dress, a personal engraving inside your wedding ring, or something cute on the bottom of your shoe, it’s always a good idea to give your photographer a heads up! As a wedding photographer, part of our job is to always be looking out for special moments and little details throughout the day! But it’s always helpful to know ahead of time when there are specific important things to keep an eye out for!

The most important thing to remember is that your wedding day details should reflect YOU and your story, and this incredibly special day. Whether your selecting details for meaningful reasons, or stylistic ones, keep that in mind! 🙂

Happy wedding planning!

xoxo
Jen