Bridal Sessions

A Guide to Getting Your Best Bridal Portraits

What are Bridals and why are they important?

Bridal Portraits are often considered non-essential add-ons to your wedding photography package, this is unfortunate, because the history and tradition of bridal portraits is pretty neat and has a lot of modern-day benefits.

Bridal portraits are a time-honored tradition that began in Europe, and have been happening centuries before we had cameras. In royal and wealthy circles, a Bride's family would commission a painting of the bride, often as a way to honor the moment that their daughter would be married. The point of the painting was to showcase the Bride's beauty and announce that a marriage would be taking place. Over time, this tradition has continued in what we now call Bridal portraits, a moment where your photographer is able to capture you in all of your bridal splendor. So, what's the big deal? Not only is it cool to keep such traditions alive, but it also gives the bride an opportunity to see their hair, makeup, poses, and facial expressions before wedding day. If there are any changes to be made to hair, makeup, jewelry choices, etc., then those changes can be occur BEFORE the wedding day!

Ethereal bridal portraits with delicate veil details in soft natural light.

So, how can you get the best Bridal portraits?


Lucky for you, I've put together a list of some of the most important things you can do to ensure you have the best Bridal session EVER. While this list isn't comprehensive (yet), these are things that I've found have elevated and made better my own clients bridal portrait sessions!


  • SLEEP. Okay, we know what you're thinking. You've been reading this everywhere. We know. But, it's because it's true. You can't stay up all night and show up to your session with bags under your eyes. But, if you do have pre-session jitters or aren't able to get a good night sleep, this trick should help fix up your under eye area: take metal spoons OR a chilled eye mask, and hold it under your eye area. Applying coolness this area will tighten and brighten it up!


  • DO NOT WEAR SPF. There's a chance you haven't heard this one yet. We (and your makeup artist) will want your skin to be moisturized, no doubt. However, because of the way that SPF is designed to reflect light, we suggest you not wear any SPF on the day of your bridals on your face or any other part of your skin that will be exposed in the photographs (neck, chest, arms, etc.). If you happen to wear SPF moisturizer the day before, take extra care when washing your face the night before and morning of your bridals to ensure all SPF has been removed from your skin.


  • PRACTICE IN THE MIRROR. You'll definitely feel ridiculous when doing it, but sit in front of the mirror and practice your facial expressions. Your photographer might direct you to do things like: smile, tilt your head up or down while smiling or making a serious face, to stare off in the distance, or to gently run your fingers through your hair. Practice in the mirror and identify how you feel most beautiful when making those kind of facial expressions. Clients of Forever October will often do their traditional-style portraits first and then move on to more emotive and artistic photographs. For this reason, we recommend all F|O clients getting familiar with their own facial expressions.


  • BRING PROPS. This is entirely up to the Bride, but for F|O clients, we highly suggest bringing sentimental or meaningful props to be used in and during your bridal session. Items like heirloom jewelry, dainty perfume bottles, their wedding veil, and bouquet, have the ability to elevate your entire bridal gallery by making it more unique. Bonus: all of these items can be reused on your wedding day! For our F|O clients, we put intentional focus into planning, preparing, and creating a very personalized gallery. We will not capture strictly traditional images or cookie-cutter Bridal portraits, which is why we suggest bringing those personal touches to your session.


  • BRING AN ENTOURAGE. Whether it's your hair/makeup artist being on-site, your mom, best friend, or entire bridal squad, we believe the best bridals happen when you feel supported and surrounded by those who love you and encourage you. In other words, we believe that you should bring along those who make you feel most "gassed up". Bring along people who won't mind fluffing up your dress, untangling the chiffon from your heels, and running over to give you a sip of water or champagne.


  • PRE-GLAM AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE. If you're planning on doing any self-tanners, lip fillers, lash lifts or permanent extensions, do not do those things same-day. Especially avoid any same-day fillers or self-tanners. We think this is pretty self-explanatory, but we really don't want you looking like Snookie from Jersey Shore in your bridals. All your pre-glam needs to have time to settle into your skin. So, aside from your mani-pedi, time all your glam to happen at least 3-4 days ahead of your session.


  • BRING EXTRA SUPPLIES. To keep you looking like the flawless queen you are, we suggest always bringing extra supplies to keep on-hand during your session. Some things that should be readily available include: lipstick/gloss, bobby pins, safety pins, and blush. For whatever reason, blush seems to be the first thing to go. We trust your makeup artist's ability to create a long-lasting look, but just in case, ask your MU if they have a touch-up kit you can use. Don't forget an extra pair of shoes to walk in, especially for Brides whose sessions will take place outdoors.


  • EAT & DRINK. Listen up, gals. Your Bridal session day is not the day you should begin your fasting diet. Having your photo taken can be a lot of work. Don't show up to your session hungry, dehydrated, and feeling light-headed. It's best to eat a light meal or snack, and have water on hand to sip during your session.


  • HAVE A GOOD TIME. Your Bridals are a mark in time for you! This signifies that fact that you are getting married and it's cause for celebration! Read this guide and check off any of your pre-session to do's, get a good night sleep, and show up ready to showcase your best and most fabulous self! Your joy will show through the photographs, so we thinks it's best if you commit yourself to having a good time! You can add our Bridal Spotify playlist here to listen to while you're getting ready for your session!



Romantic bridal portraits featuring an intricate lace wedding gown and flowing veil.

All in all,


And, maybe we're a little biased, we believe that your bridals are not an unessential add-on, we think they're pretty important. They can be a little intimidating if you've never had a solo-session before, but this moment is really about YOU, who YOU are, your unique beauty, and celebrating that you've found the love of your life! Whether you're an F|O client or not, we certainly hope that our Bridal Session Guide has helped you & that you have the most amazing bridal experience! Cheers to you!