Have you ever felt happy looking at a wedding photo where the couple looked genuinely overjoyed, and the photographer captured it perfectly? Such photos make us wish we were able to look as great, in front of the camera.
Some brides were born to be photographed. Their wedding photos are really fun, and these couples enjoy the wedding photo shoot immensely. It’s too bad that not all of us are as photogenic.
Here are some tips to help those brides who find it difficult to relax in front of the camera, and look as perfect as they can be.
Have a pre-wedding photography session
Many brides feel uncomfortable posing in front of the camera, because they are unfamiliar with the photographer. If this could affect you, the best way to avoid it is to familiarize with the photographer’s style by having a pre-wedding photography session. Consider it as a worthwhile investment, and have an engagement shoot. This will introduce you to the way the photographer works, and it will prepare you better to pose on your wedding day.
Relax, breathe and be yourself
Don’t you hate it when you see a picture where the subject is unnecessarily grinning! Unfortunately, many people have this tendency to put on a fake Cheshire cat grin, the minute the camera is on them. It really takes away their natural charm. Since you will be in many photos during your wedding day, try to be yourself and not force a smile.
Forget about the photographer clicking, and just live the moment
The best photos are taken when you are yourself, and the best way to do that is to enjoy yourself without worrying about how you will look on camera. This article on the Boho Weddings website, tells us that it is important to hire a professional photographer, as they are trained in identifying and capturing a couple’s best moments, without being obtrusive. If you want to enjoy your photo shoot and not begin to hate the experience, do two things: find a good photographer, and just enjoy your wedding day!
Make sure your makeup and dressing is good on camera
All you have to do is to do a trial makeup and hairstyling session before the wedding, and click a few pictures to see if you like what you see. Remember that you may look different from what you anticipated. So, checking it out before hand is the best way to make sure. This is even more important if your makeup will feature glitter or spray-on tan, so you can get it right on the day, rather than be disappointed afterwards with how you look in the pictures.
Don’t be too worried about how the pictures will turn out
If you see a beautiful bride in the mirror, why worry that you will not look as good on camera? Discuss your concerns with your photographer before your wedding day, and as a professional he will be able to advise you on how you can pose to look great. Why not get his suggestions on which profile view or angle is right, as well as the extra effect s that will help you look your best. Be optimistic, and just pay attention to your photographer’s cues. Your pictures will be perfect.
Isn’t it interesting how your wedding day—one you looked forward to for months, and planned to the minutest detail—gets over in no time? Wedding days can seem so busy, that you later feel it passed too soon. Once it’s over, your photos and wedding video will help you recollect all that happened to a certain extent. Nevertheless, for the sentimentalists among you, a memory box is a treasure trove that will allow you to relive every special moment of your wedding.
After all, your wedding is not just about the day you got married. The excitement of the event is complete only when you consider all that went into the wedding planning, right from the very day you were engaged. Many of you reading this post will most probably will planning your wedding. So, start putting together your treasure box immediately, and you will save every detail that will help you remember your wedding day, once it’s over.
Here is a list of all that should go into your memory box; the various treasures you can hold on to and preserve your wedding memories for ever.
From your engagement
The minute you agreed to be together for ever—that magical moment has to be treasured forever. If you had an engagement shoot, add a picture of it into your treasure box. I like this idea on the Hitched website, of making a journal with the details of how you were proposed to, so you have a crystal clear reminder of how it was for the later years.
Did you host an engagement party? If so, save a sample invite and a few pictures highlighting the event. Another detail that will remind you of the beautiful moment is a picture of the place where the proposal took place. Make sure you get a snapshot of it as early as possible. You never know if it will change over time and you will lose the visual element of that special moment.
You can also hold on to any special love notes, cards or tags from the gifts your beloved gifted you during your engagement. These will bring back the wonderful memories of the time you spent as an engaged couple.
Reminders of the wedding venue
How did your search for the perfect wedding venue go? Did you settle on the first one that you saw, or did you search for days to find the appropriate one? Save a venue brochure and all those memories of finding the place you were wed at, will stay with you. Save a picture of what stands out at the venue, the unique altar design or the perfect view of the outdoors from the window, and it will be a precious keepsake. If you had an outdoor wedding; at the beach or in a garden, pick a few mementos from nature itself, and save them forever. This could be pretty pebbles, shells or pine cones, that can conjure up the images of the day.
Invitations and Save-the-date cards
This is something every bride normally does, even without any instruction. Every bride will save a copy of her wedding invitation for herself. While you do this, it will be a good idea to save any of the other stationery that you customized for your wedding day. Since you will be choosing the menu cards, wedding programs, table place cards and other details with so much effort, why not save a copy of each for your treasure trove.
Memories of your bachelorette party and bridal shower
Invites to both events, your bachelor party favors and any other physical items that will remind you of the big celebration you had. If your friends and family splurged on cake toppers, party buntings, customized napkins and more, you could borrow one of each to put into your treasure box. It will serve as wonderful reminders of the fun you had at these celebrations. Similarly, pick out a memento from your rehearsal dinner too. It could be anything like a menu card or a picture of the two of you on the day.
Food and drink
Think of the time you spent in choosing the perfect menu for your wedding reception? It certainly deserves special mention in your bridal box of memories. Drop in a copy of your wedding menu and beverage list, and also add a few pictures of the fare that was served on the day. I think it would be wonderful to add in few comments on why you chose certain dishes or small notes on what everyone especially loved. You can also save a wine bottle stopper or the champagne bottle corker to remind you of the toasts at your reception.
The special wedding dress moment
One of the most important decisions a bride makes for her wedding, is choosing her wedding dress. I’m sure it would have taken you hours of research, planning and shopping to finalize the one dress in which you were to get married. Plus, it is usually one of the most exciting and enjoyable parts of wedding shopping. Remind yourself of this over the years to come, by saving the tags from your gown into your treasure box, as well as a fabric scrap from the inside of the gown.
If you have a picture of yourself on the day you said “Yes” to the dress, this goes into your box too. Take a look at all the smiling brides who got their dress from Best for Bride. We make sure their shopping day is preserved forever with a wonderful photo keepsake from this special day. Make sure you get yours too.
Unlike the wedding dress, brides usually find use for their wedding accessories on another occasion, except perhaps the tiara and veil. If you have any accessories that you will not be using in the near future, save them into your treasure box. If you have customized your ensemble with interesting bridal accessories like shoe stickers, flowers or brooches, these can be saved as well. Another good item to store is your wedding perfume. If you chose a special new scent for your special day, how about putting it into your wedding box, and saving it for those special moments that are to come in the years.
Bouquets, boutonnieres and other floral creations
Imagine opening up a box, and the scent of potpourri wafting through your senses. Spellbinding, isn’t it? Make this possible by saving the flowers from your wedding in your treasure box. You can always have your wedding bouquet preserved professionally through freeze-drying and add it to your art work at home, and relish its beauty everyday. Read all about it on this article at Keepsake Floral.
However, if you do not want to opt for this expensive method, you can still hold on to your wedding flowers by drying them out and adding them to your memory box. Simply hang them in a dry ventilated place, till they dry completely, and then store them safely in a polythene bag. Or, you can make potpourri out of it, as detailed here.
Don’t forget to save pictures of your bouquet, the centerpieces and floral décor at the venue to remind you of the floral details that transformed your venue into a work of art. You can also press the larger blooms between the pages of a heavy book and add these to your collection.
Reminders of the ceremony
Capture the moment you got married by saving something used at the altar. Flowers used to decorate the altar, a candle that flickered beside you, the ring pillow or even your groom’s boutonniere would be a befitting addition to your wedding treasures.
Save your wedding favors
While you give your guests a keepsake from your wedding to take home and save, don’t forget to set one aside for yourself. If it is an edible favor, you cannot store it as such. In this case, save the packaging, and a picture of how the favors looked when they were given away. Non-edible favors like wine glasses, key chains, candles, photo frames or mirrors can be saved as such.
Wedding cake
The traditional practice of saving the top tier of the wedding cake, and savoring it on the first wedding anniversary is still popular. All you need to remember is to freeze it safely soon after the wedding, and make sure that the flavors you choose aren’t ones that spoil easily. However, you need your wedding cake memories to stay with you for much longer than your first anniversary. For this, save a copy of the drawing your baker created for your wedding cake. If there were non-edible items on it, like ribbons, figurines or flowers, box it.
Guest book and well-wishes
Your guest book is a valuable possession and deserves it’s rightful place in your treasure box. You can also make use of our beautiful petal wishes kit to save your well-wishers blessings for the future. This interesting novelty from Best for Bride, allows you to collect wishes from your favorite people on petals, and then snap them all together to form a beautiful flower. It makes a wonderful keepsake that you can frame or store for later, so try it out.
Wedding entertainment
The entire ambiance of your wedding reception is set by the music you chose for the evening. Create a CD of the songs that your DJ or band played at your wedding, and also save a written copy of the playlist. If you had a band playing at the wedding, don’t forget to include a picture of them performing at the event. Also, add in the details of all the important dances like your first dance, the mother-son dance and father-daughter dance.
Wedding cards, gift tags and notes
Your wedding gifts will arrive beautifully wrapped and with tags on them. Don’t just throw away them. You can create a mini-scrapbook with the tags and notes. If you used special stationery to write your thank you notes on, save a card for yourself too. Put the wedding cards you received into your memory box, and on a later day, you will have a delightful time looking through them and remembering the people who made your day so special.
From your honeymoon
The getaway after the wedding is not to be forgotten easily. This is the time you enjoy your newly wed status as husband and wife. Assuming that you go on a honeymoon to a destination away from home, make sure that you pick a few things to stuff into your wedding treasure box. Collect shells from the beach, toiletry bottles from the hotel you stayed at or a souvenir. Also add a stash of photos from the days you spent there, and it will make a beautiful finale to the great celebration that was your wedding.
Once your wedding is over, you will be surprised at how much time you seem to have, all of a sudden.. After all that hectic wedding planning, this may seem a welcome respite. Use this time to linger over the beautiful days that led up to your wedding. Pull out your wedding memory box, sit back and run through the various treasures you’ve so lovingly put inside. Sort through it, enjoy it and relive the precious moments associated with each keepsake, it will make you smile with all your heart.
Make sure you make a list of all that you intend to save from your wedding, so you do not miss collecting them when the time comes. Delegate the responsibility of taking charge of things at the venue to a trusted friend, so you get it all even if you are too occupied on the day to collect it yourself. Add it to your bridesmaids list of duties, so it isn’t forgotten.
For more wedding planning tips, advice and all your wedding related needs, continue visiting us on Best for Bride. We have every aspect of your wedding covered.
It is a fact that you look best in pictures where your personality shines through. When a photograph captures you just as you are, it is one that everyone will love.
Your wedding day photographs will serve as the memories of your big lifetime event in the years to come. Hence, you have to make sure that they show the real version of you, and you look as amazing as is possible.
Here we bring you three practical tips that will ensure you look great in your wedding photographs. Let us find out what they are.
1. Find the right photographer for the job
Remember that it is not just one orchestrated shoot that your photographer has to take on your wedding day. He has to capture moments as they occur, as well as group photos and posed ones which are timed. A talented photographer has good sense of lighting, position and knows the best angles for a picture. He will also be able to recognize which poses will highlight your best features. So, make sure that the photographer you select for the job is capable of all this. Check out his wedding portfolio and pay close attention to how the brides and grooms look in the pictures. Has he really brought out their best in his pictures? If yes, you may have found the right candidate.
2. Find the right profile for your shots
There is no single perfect pose that works for everyone. You will have to find the one that works for you. For some it may be a slight tilt of the head, for others it may be best when they look straight at the camera. Don’t just practice before the mirror to find this perfect angle. Instead, look at your existing pictures and find the ones where you look the best. What is common to them? If you look best in pictures taken at a certain angle, try to stick to this position for your planned shots.
3.Smile from within
Do you know how many photos lack the beauty that they ought to have, just because the couple fake their smile? In this article, Marianne Power of the Daily Mail reveals that there is nothing more irritating than a fake smile, and goes on to suggest how a fake smile makes you resemble an over-zealous salesman. So, don’t be a Cheshire cat who thinks it is necessary to grin throughout the session. Instead, smile from deep within. If you feel your jaws are frozen from the effort of smiling, let the happiness you feel reflect in your eyes. Such a photo would look genuine and much better than one in which you fake a smile.
Now you know what you need to look fabulous in your wedding pictures. On an additional note, don’t forget to touch up your hair and makeup ever so often, so you look fresh as a daisy, all through the day.
For all your wedding shopping needs, as well as valuable tips and advice on planning the perfect wedding, visit your one-stop bridal destination at Best for Bride.
We love every little thing that makes wedding planning easier, and wedding inspiration boards are right on the top of the list.
With so much going on in wedding dresses, accessories, bridesmaids dresses, color palettes, food, photographs, flowers and décor, it is easy to become overwhelmed and lose focus of what you want at your wedding. This is where wedding inspiration boards come to the rescue; they allow you to create a list of inspiring palettes and themes, compare them and find ones that you like, organize your thoughts and ideas and create a reference for implementing your plans.
Image Credit: Brittanymyers13 ,via DeviantArt, [CC BY 3.0]
Why you need wedding inspiration boards
Here are some of the main reasons why you should consider having wedding inspiration boards
It allows to collect your thoughts, and get an actual look at how the ideas in your mind will look
Inspiration boards allow you to compile tons of information, and organize it for ease of access. This allows you to compare different ideas and find the ones you like best.
It is easier to scan through so much information, and not miss any potential idea, when everything is available in a single location.
It helps you obtain a picture description of a theme, and gives you a clear idea of how it will look when it is finally done
Wedding inspiration boards are easy to create. In fact, even the most basic computer user can easily put one together and make their wedding planning much more fun.
It can be used to share your ideas to your partner or planner easily, as pictures say a lot more than words do.
An advantage of a wedding inspiration board is that it helps with staying focused and overcoming the confusion caused by all that information out there on the internet. You know how it is! You start searching for something, when you see an interesting link and click on it. Few more clicks and several hours later, you will have forgotten what you were originally looking at, though you would have bookmarked several new ideas.
With planning boards, you can pull down inspiring ideas and pictures even as you browse. So, it allows you to capture everything. You can later sort through the information, and find what you want.
What to include in wedding inspiration boards
Wedding planning involves hundreds of big and small details. So, it is only logical to assume that you will have an inspiration board for each of these aspects.
Most brides prefer to have inspiration boards for the following—wedding color palette, invitation card ideas, wedding theme, wedding dress, accessories, bridesmaids dresses, cake, venue and reception décor, table settings, photograph ideas, hair and makeup, groomsmen dress, bouquets and floral arrangements, party favors, centerpieces and table settings and rehearsal dinner planning.
From the most basic inspiration board, to more advanced options
Although the computerized versions are more popular, there are brides who still prefer paper and print. Remember the episode in the popular sitcom “Friends”, where Monica pulls out her neatly compiled wedding inspiration folder, that she had been working on forever? Take a cue from this episode. Whether you are engaged, are already planning a wedding, are in a relationship, or simply expect to be married someday, don’t hesitate to snag an idea that you would love at your wedding. Although you don’t have to be super-organized and perfect about creating a wedding portfolio, like Monica was, it doesn’t hurt to at least set such pictures aside for future reference.
As a bride who’s planning a wedding, you can create your inspiration board on a wall in your room. It can be a pinup board on which you stick ideas, pictures and notes. Glance at it every now and then, and you may find some ideas stick with you.
The simplest computer version you can create, is a folder on your desktop. Why not name it “My ideas” or “Wedding.” Within it, add sub-folders for each aspect—for color palettes, wedding dress and accessories, cakes, party favors, invitation card templates and designs, bridesmaids dresses, etc. Once this is done, save pictures you find into the respective folder and scan through your collection, whenever you want. Remember to continuously eliminate the pictures you no longer require, or you can quickly lose track of where you started and what you were looking for.
Online inspiration boards: Pinterest
Image Credit: Jessekoeckhoven (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
The more popular and practical option is to create an online inspiration board. The first tool for this is Pinterest, where you can gather hundreds of ideas from anywhere you want to create your colorful scrapbook of images. There are several existing wedding inspiration boards on Pinterest, from where you can pin pictures you like. Most websites also allow you to add the pictures you find in their blogs and galleries to the mood boards you created.
If you do not already have a Pinterest account, you can register for one in a matter of minutes. Once you have this set up, all you have to do is create as many boards as you want, and give each of them a relevant name. You can, for example, have one called Wedding Dresses, another called Wedding stationery, etc. Now, you are all set to begin pinning.
The good thing about Pinterest is that it allows you to share pictures. You can either share an entire Pinterest board or chosen pictures with a vendor or friend. This makes communication easy and efficient. Your bridesmaids can add pictures they like to your board, so you can all see the various options that appeal to everyone, before making a definite choice.
As you set out doing this, you will slowly see a pattern emerge, and this can guide you towards identifying a theme that works best for you. Pinterest can thus, help a bride who isn’t sure of what she wants for her wedding. By simply pinning all the pictures that you like on the internet, you can quickly identify your preferences and build a theme based on this.
Since Pinterest is available as a mobile app too, you can keep adding to your mood boards, wherever you are browsing from. It is a practical solution, with which you can avoid the hassle of printing pictures.
Apart from Pinterest, there are other sites, specifically directed towards weddings. Let us now take a look at them.
Websites that allow you to build you own Wedding inspiration board
1.Stylemepretty
One of the most popular sites is Stylemepretty. SMP allows you to set up your board, by choosing from various templates they provide.
You can then choose a layout that you like, name your board and begin dragging and dropping pictures onto it.
A good thing about this board builder is that you aren’t limited to pictures on the site. The board also allows you to credit the picture owners, and also share boards with your friends and obtain opinions on your choices.
2.Wedding Wire
Another great option is the Wedding Wire inspiration board builder. Visit this page to get started with your board. The website also allows you to drag and drop your pictures from your desktop or browse through those available in their gallery. You can resize, rotate and rearrange them to create a complete vision of a particular aspect. Create multiple boards for each of your planning criteria, and share it with your friends, wedding planner or bridegroom, who can then provide opinions on it.
3.Dessy Bridesmaids planning app tool
Bridesmaids are a huge part of your wedding, and there are many details you have to plan around them. One of the biggest challenges is choosing bridesmaids dresses. You cannot see all the possible colors that a particular dress is available in, and this can limit your idea of how a particular color looks in a certain design. The Dessy Group has an application that allows you to keep all your bridesmaids tasks, including the dress selection, on track. You can use this to create a single platform, through which you can communicate everything related to their dress selection, alterations, fittings and more, with your bridesmaids. This tool is very valuable, especially if your bridesmaids dresses are from the Dessy Collection.
Dessy Bridesmaids Dress collection
Things to remember when setting up and using inspiration boards
While these inspiration or mood boards are a great way to get your wedding planning on track, there are a few things you should remember when choosing this route. Let us look at what they are.
#The Inspiration board is just what it is called—Inspiration!
Remember that you needn’t necessarily have everything you see on your wedding inspiration board. The intent of creating such boards is only to help you build your ideas and carve your unique wedding plans. Do not see this as a shopping list, or be disappointed if some of the ideas you see here cannot be done at your wedding. Instead of despairing, keep looking around. There are many more ideas to explore and it is likely you will find an equally appealing one. Else, work with your vendors to find realistic and available solutions that recreate the same effect of what you see online.
# Remember that elimination is part of the picture
Those pictures can be so dreamy and perfect, you may not want to let go of it. However, the idea of having an inspiration board is to zero-in on what will make it to your wedding. So, you have to eliminate anything that doesn’t serve a purpose. They may be eye-candy, but that doesn’t mean they stay there, unless they are useful. So, be ruthless with eliminating anything that won’t be required or you will end up with more clutter than helpful information.
# You don’t have to get everything in
You can get the idea with as few as 6-9 images. So, don’t clutter up your boards with too many images, and get confused. Start with many, but narrow down choices to those that work, as you progress with your wedding plans. Be selective with options, once you know your preferences. Also, once you have made a choice, stick to it and avoid procrastinating over other attractive options you come across later. Otherwise, looking at pictures can go on forever, and can get you nowhere.
#Use verbal descriptions
Rather than simply saving an image, you should also use text to highlight what attracted you to an image. Otherwise, you may forget why you picked an image, when you look at it after a while. The text will remind you of what aspect specifically appealed to you.
#Have realistic expectations
Not all the pictures you see are from actual weddings. It can be from smaller events or even styled for a shoot. Keep that in mind when you make your wedding plans. Like we said earlier, this should be treated as an idea, and not as an end-all. It is more interesting, when you personalize a given picture with your own ideas, and make it unique. So, let that be your aim.
There are many ready-made wedding inspiration boards on sites like Stylemepretty, Wedding Wire and Martha Stewart. You can use these as a starting point and build on it. Similarly, there are plenty of boards on Pinterest, to draw inspiration from.
Nevertheless, remember that you and your vendors can create fantastic and novel ideas to personalize your wedding without too much inspiration, and this is what everyone at your wedding will actually look forward to. Your inspiration boards should only assist you in finding the various ideas that you can work with to create the final plan.
Now, that you know why a wedding inspiration board is a must-have, why don’t you set one up right away! Don’t forget to keep visiting Best for Bride, for all the ideas you need to plan your wedding right.
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Have you ever felt happy looking at a wedding photo where the couple looked genuinely overjoyed, and the photographer captured it perfectly? Such photos make us wish we were able to look as great, in front of the camera.
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