Whether you’ve been dreaming about your wedding dress all your life or you recently found your gown and cannot believe how perfect it is, I want you to think about something.
You will only wear and have photos taken in your wedding dress one time.
After years of imagining what your gown will look like and after trying on countless dresses, isn’t the fact that you only get to wear your wedding dress once such a shame?
That said, you can give yourself another chance to wear and have photos taken in your wedding dress when you book a bridal session.
But, what is a bridal session and why should you book one? My dear, this is exactly what we’re going to discuss today!
What is a bridal session?
First of all, what is a “bridal session”? A bridal session is a photoshoot that includes just the bride (without her fiancé) wearing her wedding dress a few months before their wedding.
Today, bridal shoots are very popular down South and have slowly but surely been making their way to the Midwest and other parts of the United States.
While many Southern brides opt for bridal portraits today, this tradition actually began in Europe. It was once tradition—especially in wealthy families—for a portrait to be painted of a bride in her full wedding attire before her wedding. This would allow the portrait to be displayed at the wedding and then later hung prominently in the bride’s home and passed down to her children as a family heirloom.
After the invention of cameras, many European brides began having their bridal portraits photographed in studios rather than painted for the sake of ease and cost.
As cameras progressed, single bridal portraits gradually became full bridal sessions to give brides and their loved ones more images of the bride in her dress, veil, and full wedding attire.
There isn’t a commonly known reason as to why this European tradition became a Southern tradition. However, as I mentioned before, these photo sessions are becoming more and more popular all over the country, and regardless of where you live, you can book a bridal session.
Why should you book a bridal session?
Now, you might be thinking, “That’s nice, but a bridal session seems very ‘extra.’ I don’t think I need that.”
And, love, I understand. However, booking a bridal session comes with several benefits for you, your fiancé, and your loved ones.
1. You’ll receive more photos of your lovely self in your wedding dress.
First of all, as we discussed before, unless you schedule a bridal session, your wedding day will be the only time you ever have photos taken in your dress, veil, and other wedding attire.
And, while your photographer should certainly take bridal portraits of just you on your wedding day, there will likely only be a few minutes to take these photos, meaning you’ll only have a handful of images of just you in your wedding dress.
A bridal session allows you to have more photos in the gown you love and ensures these special photos are taken—even if your wedding day timeline gets behind for whatever reason.
2. You’ll have an opportunity to make sure you love the way your hair, makeup, dress, & bouquet photograph.
When you schedule your bridal session, I highly recommend scheduling your wedding hair and makeup trial for the same day and purchasing a practice bouquet from your florist.
This is going to allow your bridal portraits to stay consistent with your wedding photos and help ensure that you love (1) the way you look on your wedding day and (2) how your hair, makeup, dress, and bouquet photograph.
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Basically, a bridal session is going to make sure you have no regrets about these little details and help you feel more confident and gorgeous as a bride!
3. You’ll likely feel more comfortable having bridal portraits taken with fewer people present.
Another benefit of doing a bridal session before your wedding is the fact that you’ll be able to take your bridal portraits with less of an audience.
While some bridal portraits can certainly be taken during the “getting ready” portion of your wedding day, depending on your venue, there’s a good chance that any additional or outdoor bridal portraits will be taken with an audience (e.g. your bridal party waiting their turn for photos or your guests mingling during cocktail hour.)
However, when you book a bridal session, your audience will be limited to your photographer and anyone you decide to bring with you, giving you a more relaxed opportunity to take photos in your wedding dress.
4. You can make your bridal session into a girls’ day.
Speaking of bringing people to your bridal session, this shoot is a great reason to have a girls’ day!
Whether you want to bring your mom, maid of honor, all of your bridesmaids, or whomever else (Heck, maybe your dad wants to come!), your bridal session is the perfect reason to have a little extra quality time with the people you love most.
For example, you could start the morning with brunch and by getting your nails done. Then, your loved ones can keep you company while you have your loved ones keep you company. Then, that evening, your girls could help you get in your dress before your shoot and cheer you on as you flaunt your wedding dress during your bridal session.
5. You can take your bridal portraits wherever you like.
Another great reason to schedule a bridal session is the fact that this shoot can take place wherever you want! For instance, maybe your wedding is at a downtown venue, but you’d love to have photos taken in your dress with rolling fields in the background. That can certainly happen!
The location choice for your bridal session is totally up to you.
If you do want to get a little adventurous in your wedding dress before the big day, know that your dress can always be dry cleaned. Don’t let fear of a little dirt—which pros can certainly get out—prevent you from having bridal portraits you love!
6. Your spouse, parents, grandparents, & children will love these photos.
Last but not least and arguably the most important reason to have bridal portraits taken is the fact that your loved ones will treasure these photos.
You may not ever print large bridal portraits in your home, but do you know who will want these photos displayed in theirs? Your parents and grandparents. Your parents and grandparents will love the photos you have taken with your spouse on your wedding day, but at the end of the day, you’re the baby girl. Your parents and grandparents have likely been dreaming about you in a wedding dress longer than you have, and photos from your bridal session will be so special to them.
In addition to your parents and grandparents, your spouse will also want these photos. Whether they frame one on their desk, keep one on their dashboard, or make one their screensaver, your spouse is certainly going to want as many bridal portraits of you as possible. (Side Note: You’d receive your bridal portraits before your wedding, but you wouldn’t want to share them with your partner until after the wedding!)
And, someday, if you choose to have children and when they’re old enough to appreciate the legacy of their family, your bridal portraits will mean so much to your kids. They’ll love seeing photos of their mama in her wedding dress, and as a result, scheduling a bridal session is going to give your family an invaluable heirloom.
Bridal sessions are gradually becoming more popular in the Midwest, and considering the six reasons we just discussed, I think it’s obvious as to why these shoots are growing in popularity.
Right now, these shoots might seem “extra,” but I can guarantee that both you and your loved ones will be thankful you decided to book a bridal session.
You might notice that in the images below, the bride is wearing multiple dresses. These photos are from a bridal session styled shoot. You likely wouldn’t change dresses during your shoot, but these photos will give you an idea of how much location variety you can expect during your bridal shoot!
Creative Team
Venue: The Fowler House Mansion
Dress, Veil, & Jewelry: Sage Bridal Studio
Hair & Makeup: Rachel Rayburn Hair
Bouquet: Rubia Flower Market
Photography: Victoria Rayburn Photography
