Wedding getting ready photos create the foundation for your pre-ceremony coverage set the tone for your entire collection of images. These intimate moments before the ceremony showcase genuine emotions, meaningful wedding details, and the excitement building throughout the morning. As wedding photographers who have documented hundreds of wedding mornings, we’re sharing our tested approaches for capturing these precious pre-ceremony moments.
If you’re planning to improve your getting ready coverage, you’ll need a solid wedding day timeline and our getting ready shot list (included in our guide on how to get a wedding photgraphy business off the ground!) to maximize your morning efficiency. When you’re photographing in tight hotel rooms and dark spaces, check out our recommendations for the best wedding photography equipment. Lastly, if you are just starting out, we have wedding photography tips for beginners to help you nail those early morning getting ready moments and every other moment on a wedding day.
Table of Contents
Setting Up Your Getting Ready Timeline
How Long Do Bride Getting Ready Photos Take?
For bride getting ready photos, we recommend blocking out at least 1.5 – 2 hours of coverage time. This breaks down into 30 minutes for detail shots, 30-45 minutes for hair and makeup, and 30-45 minutes for getting dressed and final touches. Having this buffer is crucial because hair and makeup often runs behind schedule, and you don’t want to rush these meaningful getting ready moments.
Where to Take Getting Ready Photos for a Wedding?
Location can make or break your getting ready coverage. The ideal getting ready space has plenty of natural window light, clean walls, and enough room for the wedding party to move around comfortably. We often recommend:
- Hotel bridal suites with large windows (book a corner room if possible)
- Private homes with updated interiors
- Bridal suites at the venue
- Rented Airbnbs (check their photo policy first)
- Church bride’s rooms (scout these in advance – they’re often small)
If the getting ready location isn’t ideal, arrive early to rearrange furniture and create a dedicated photo space near the best light source.
Do Grooms Take Getting Ready Photos?
Absolutely! Groom prep coverage is just as important as bridal coverage, though it typically requires less time – we usually allocate 30-45 minutes for groomsmen getting ready photos. Groom prep photos include:
- Detail shots of suit, shoes, watch, and accessories
- Candid moments with groomsmen
- Putting on jacket and adjusting tie
- Gift exchanges or letter reading
- Final touch-ups and group shots
(Pro tip: If you’re the only photographer, plan your timeline so you can capture both parties getting ready. If the groom and bride are getting ready at different locations, factor in travel time.)
Capturing the Getting Ready Story
Successful getting ready photos require knowing when to direct and when to step back. We’ve learned that the best photos come from subtle guidance rather than heavy-handed posing.
Start with the details while everyone’s still getting settled. When photographing the wedding dress, work methodically through your compositions. Start with a dramatic wide shot – look for archways, doorways, or windows that create natural framing. For hanging shots, remove any distracting hangers or tags, and bring your own wooden hanger. Position the dress where natural light hits it from the side to highlight texture.
Detail shots deserve special attention. Focus on intricate lace patterns, beading, custom embroidery, and button details. The back of the dress often features the most elaborate design elements – capture these both as artistic close-ups and pulled-back shots showing the full train spread out.
During makeup time, control the scene without being obvious about it. We’ll often quietly ask the makeup artist to position their chair at a 45-degree angle to the window. This simple adjustment dramatically improves the natural lighting without making anyone feel “posed.” While they’re working, move around the scene looking for those natural moments – the mother of the bride watching from across the room, bridesmaids sharing stories, or quiet moments of reflection in the mirror.
Key moments to watch for:
- Final lipstick application (shoot this over the makeup artist’s shoulder)
- Hair stylist making last adjustments
- Bridesmaids seeing each other’s finished looks
- Mother or grandmother watching from across the room
- Quick phone checks to send excited texts to the partner
- Those quiet moments when someone tears up watching it all happen
When it comes to group shots with the wedding party, forget about traditional posing. Give them something to do instead. We’ll often say “Let’s get a few photos of everyone helping with the final touches” or “Why don’t you all gather around while she puts on her jewelry?” This creates natural interaction and genuine expressions that beat forced smiles every time.
Camera Settings for Indoor Getting Ready Spaces
Getting ready spaces throw every lighting challenge imaginable at wedding photographers. From luxurious hotel suites to windowless church basements, we’ve shot in them all. Here’s what we’ve learned about handling these tricky situations.
First things first – ditch your flash for detail shots whenever possible. Natural light creates a softer, more authentic feel that matches the mood of the morning. If the lighting is terrible (and sometimes it really is), don’t be afraid to move items closer to windows. We’ve literally set up entire detail shots on a chair next to a window, and nobody has ever questioned it because the photos turned out beautifully.
Dark rooms used to stress us out, but here’s a mindset shift that helped: modern cameras are incredibly capable in low light. When we first started shooting weddings, we were terrified of pushing our ISO above 800. Now? We’ll shoot at 3200 without thinking twice if it means capturing genuine moments. A bit of grain is way better than missing the shot of a mother tearing up while helping with her daughter’s dress. (If you are looking for cameras that have great low light ability, check out our top recommendations!)
Speaking of dresses – they’re usually white, and white can be tricky. We learned this lesson the hard way after overexposing some detail shots of a bride’s custom lace gown. Now we always slightly underexpose shots of the dress. Why? Because you can bring back shadow detail in post-processing, but if you blow out those whites, that detail is gone forever.
For action shots (like makeup application or people helping with the dress), you’ll want to keep your shutter speed up. Nothing ruins a great moment like motion blur. We had a bride once whose makeup artist was particularly animated – taught us real quick to keep that shutter speed higher than we thought we needed.
Common Getting Ready Challenges (and How to Handle Them)
Wedding morning challenges are inevitable. Here’s how we handle the most common ones – and trust us, you’ll run into these sooner or later.
- Tiny, dark hotel rooms? Move furniture if you need to (just put it back!). Create a dedicated photo space near the best light source. If the room’s really cramped, shoot in shifts – not everyone needs to be in there at once.
- Running behind schedule? Keep calm and prioritize. Must-have shots first, creative extras if time allows. Always grab your dress shots early – you don’t want to be rushing those if things get tight.
- Too many helpers in the space? Build rapport early and be confident in asking for what you need. A simple “I’d love to get a few quick shots with just mom” usually does the trick.
Remember, most getting ready “disasters” are only disasters if you let them be. Stay flexible, keep your sense of humor, and remember that problem-solving is part of the job. Some of our favorite photos have come from challenging situations that forced us to get creative.
