Details are some of my favorite things to photograph on wedding day (besides the gorgeous couple of course)! It gives me a few moments to be really creative and try my best to capture all the small things that helped make the wedding day come to life. Often people won’t pay much attention to the invites, the rings, or even the flowers…but the bride has spent months worrying about them and talking to her vendors to get every tiny detail perfect. When I’m capturing details, I try to really make all the small things stand out in a big way for the bride to remember all her hard work for a lifetime.

My wedding packages include time for me to capture the bride getting into her gown. This is such a surreal moment for the bride and her mother as they are dressing her in her wedding gown and things are becoming real. She’s spent hours on her hair and makeup and now she is putting on the final touch. I love being with my brides during this moment so I can capture the raw emotions the bride and her mother are feeling during this time. It is tradition for a mother to gown her daughter, so to keep with this tradition I typically ask all the bridesmaids to step out of the room to allow the mother and daughter a moment alone. Alyssa and her sweet mother wanted to share this moment with Alyssa’s bridesmaids and I really loved it! The ladies were so supportive and their words of encouragement made Alyssa glow even brighter.

Often times the groom getting ready goes to the way-side. They don’t get a big fancy room and they typically don’t get any pictures taken during this time. People don’t think it’s as big of a deal for a man to wear a tux and dress up for his lady, but for some a tux is a huge deal! I like to make sure that I dedicate a few moments to the groom to capture him getting ready as well. This wedding is as much his special day as it is the bride’s.

I highly, highly recommend doing a first look on the wedding day!! It gives you extra time after the ceremony to spend with your friends and family rather than behind a camera. First look moments are truly so sweet and special and they typically have amazing, real, raw emotion. Some men and women struggle to show real emotion when they are surrounded by a crowd. This does not change on the wedding day suddenly. So, giving yourselves a special moment alone to see each other for the first time and take in the magnitude of the day is really important. I’ve been to a lot of weddings the past couple of years and I cannot recommend doing a first look enough!!

Alyssa and Heath were so adorable!! I am so thrilled that they allowed me to spend their special day with them. Being a photographer means I am with the bride and groom all day long! I am there when they step into their gorgeous wedding gown and tux to when they exit their wedding under the stars. I typically am up close and in person the whole day because I have to get the best shots possible. It is so important to me that my couples trust me and I cannot thank these two enough for letting me capture their big day!

Making sure you surround yourself with your closest friends is SO important on your wedding day! Weddings are stressful and your friends can calm you down and hype you up for your big day. Alyssa and Heath’s bridal party was full of the sweetest friends and family. I could tell the moment I stepping into the room that they were surrounded by love!