10 Tips for Beautiful, Stress-Free Wedding Photos
Your wedding day goes by in a flash. There are the big moments you’ve been planning for months—and then there are all the little moments in between that you may not even notice until you see them in your wedding gallery.
After photographing 300+ weddings, I’ve learned that the best wedding photographs aren’t just about beautiful locations, perfect details, or knowing how to pose. They’re about creating enough time and space for the real moments to happen naturally.
Here are my top 10 tips for getting beautiful, meaningful wedding photos while actually enjoying your wedding day.
1. Bring Your Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitations are the first glimpse your guests have of your wedding, and they often contain some of the most beautiful design details of the day.
Your invitation suite can include your names, wedding date, venue, custom artwork, colors, fonts, stamps, RSVP cards, menus, and other personal details that tell the story of your wedding.
My tip: Bring two complete invitations, including the envelopes. If possible, bring one of each piece of your invitation suite so I can photograph both the front and back.
I love styling invitations with meaningful details from your wedding day—flowers, ribbons, jewelry, ring boxes, stamps, or other little elements that coordinate with your wedding.
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2. Don't Forget the Rings!
Before the wedding, have your engagement ring cleaned.
A sparkling ring makes all the difference in those beautiful close-up photographs!
I love photographing the engagement ring and wedding bands together before the ceremony, when there is plenty of time to create a beautiful, detailed ring shot.
A macro lens allows me to capture all those tiny details you chose so carefully.
Pro tip: Bring all three rings together in the morning and let your wedding party or coordinator know where they are. That way, we aren't searching for them later!
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3. Get Your Details Wedding-Ready
Your wedding dress is one of the most important details of your day—and it deserves its own moment in the spotlight. Before I arrive, have your dress steamed and ready to photograph. Remove tags, extra padding, and anything else you don't want appearing in the photos.
A beautiful custom hanger is another simple way to personalize your dress photos. Etsy has tons of options, from your new last name to a simple personalized wooden hanger.
Don't forget the other details:
Bride: Jewelry • Shoes • Veil • Perfume • Handbag • Hair accessories • Vows • Something old/new/borrowed/blue
Groom: Suit • Shoes • Belt • Tie or bow tie • Cufflinks • Watch • Cologne • Boutonniere • Socks • Vows
Gathering everything together in one place before I arrive makes photographing your details much easier and keeps you from having to hunt for things throughout the morning.
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4. Give Your Flowers a Head Start
Your flowers are one of the most beautiful details of your wedding day, so let's make sure we photograph them!
Ask your florist to deliver the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets to your getting-ready location rather than directly to the ceremony. Keep them somewhere cool and shaded until they're needed.
If your flowers arrive in water, have a few small towels nearby so the stems can be dried before they're photographed or carried.
And don't forget about the boutonnieres, floral crowns, corsages, ceremony arrangements, and reception flowers.
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5. Keep Hair & Makeup on Schedule
One of the biggest causes of wedding-day delays is hair and makeup running longer than expected.
When the getting-ready timeline falls behind, it can create a domino effect that cuts into your portraits, first look, family photos, and even cocktail hour.
Here are a few things you can do to help:
- Make sure your hair and makeup artists know exactly how many people they are working with.
- Tell them ahead of time if anyone has an intricate hairstyle or extensive makeup.
- Have bridesmaids completely finished with hair, makeup, and dressing before the bride is ready.
- Wear a robe or button-up shirt while getting ready so you don't have to pull clothing over your finished hair and makeup.
- Schedule a hair and makeup trial before the wedding.
- If you're wearing false lashes, ask your makeup artist about individual lashes for a more natural photographic look.
- Keep a small emergency beauty kit nearby with things like lipstick, powder, tissues, and other touch-up essentials.
Most importantly, build some breathing room into your timeline. A wedding day with a little extra cushion is much more enjoyable than one where everyone is rushing.
6. Plan for the Best Light
Beautiful photographs aren't only about posing—they're also about light.
Whenever possible, I love having time to photograph couples in beautiful natural light. This might be a shaded garden, a bright room with large windows, a beautiful architectural location, or the beach at sunset.
If you're dreaming of those romantic golden-hour photographs, plan for them!
Sunset portraits usually only take 10–15 minutes, but they can produce some of the most beautiful and romantic images of the entire day.
Your wedding planner and photographer can work together to build these moments into your timeline so you don't feel like you're missing your reception.
Remember: You don't need an elaborate location for beautiful photographs. Good light + genuine connection + a little direction can create magic almost anywhere.
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7. Relax & Let Me Tell Your Story
The more relaxed you are, the more your photographs will feel like you.
When you're not focused on posing or performing, your body softens, your expressions become genuine, and your relationship naturally comes through in the photographs.
That's where the magic happens—the laughter, quiet glances, nervous excitement, hugs, happy tears, and all those little moments you didn't even realize were happening.
I will always give you direction when we're creating your portraits. You don't need to know what to do with your hands or how to pose!
But I'm equally focused on stepping back and documenting the story happening around you.
The goal is a gallery that doesn't just look beautiful—it feels like your wedding day.
8. Prepare Your Family Formal List
Family photographs are important, but they can also be one of the most time-consuming parts of the wedding day.
The one list I absolutely recommend preparing ahead of time is your family formal list.
Examples might include:
- Bride & Groom with Bride's Parents
- Bride & Groom with Groom's Parents
- Bride & Groom with Both Sets of Parents
- Bride & Groom with Siblings
- Bride & Groom with Immediate Family
- Bride & Groom with Grandparents
- Bride & Groom with Extended Family
The ideal time for family formals is usually immediately following the ceremony and before cocktail hour.
Keep your list organized and designate someone who knows both families to help gather people. This keeps things moving quickly and gets everyone back to celebrating!
And remember—family formals don't have to be boring. We can absolutely have some fun with them!
9. Trust Your Photographer & Skip the Shot List
I want to make sure we photograph everything that's important to you.
But one thing I recommend avoiding is a long Pinterest "shot list."
There's nothing more disruptive to documenting the natural flow of a wedding day than trying to recreate dozens of specific images from Pinterest.
Instead, tell me what matters to you.
Do you want lots of photographs of your guests?
Are the details especially important to you?
Do you have a huge extended family?
Are romantic portraits your priority?
Do you want lots of candid moments?
Is there a special tradition or person you absolutely don't want missed?
Tell me what you want to remember, and I'll take it from there.
My job isn't to simply check boxes on a list. It's to watch what is happening, anticipate moments before they happen, and create photographs that are authentic to your wedding.
10. ENJOY YOUR WEDDING DAY!
And finally, my most important tip:
ENJOY YOUR DAY!
Seriously.
Your wedding day will go by so much faster than you think.
Don't spend the entire day worrying about whether everything is going perfectly. Your flowers may not look exactly like the inspiration photo. Your timeline may run a little behind. Someone may forget their boutonniere. Your veil might blow around in the wind.
And that's okay.
Some of the best photographs I've taken have happened when something unexpected happened.
Laugh. Dance. Hug your people. Kiss your new spouse. Eat the cake. Enjoy the champagne. Take a deep breath and look around the room.
Your wedding photographs aren't just about what everything looked like.
They're about how it felt.
Years from now, I want you to look through your wedding album and remember the feeling of being surrounded by the people you love, marrying your best friend, and celebrating the beginning of this next chapter together.
Let me worry about the photographs.
You just enjoy the day. ❤️
Ready to Plan Your Wedding Photography?
I'm all about creating wedding photographs that are beautiful, authentic, and true to you—with enough direction to make you look amazing and enough space for the real moments to unfold naturally.
If you're planning a wedding in Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Barbara, or beyond, I'd love to hear all about your day!
Let's create something beautiful together.