If you are a Northern girl like me you may have no idea what a bridal session is. Not to be stereotypical but bridal sessions are most common in the South. A bridal session is said to have started in Europe, but instead of photographs it was an oil painting of royalty in their bridal wear.
Eventually this tradition came to the South. Before wedding photographers were a thing, photos were taken either before or after the wedding day. Traditionally the bride would be photographed before her wedding and the bridal portrait would be displayed at the reception next to the guest book.
Although wedding photographers are now present at almost every wedding and the idea of a bridal portrait looks a little differently, it is still a popular tradition that some Southerns have to do.
There are a few reasons to do a bridal session beyond the tradition that we love as well, and we are sharing those below.
- The same reason as tradition: Having a bridal portrait displayed at your reception is such a cool thing to do. It is such a great way to really personalize your reception. We especially love when the bridal session is taken at another location, often a meaningful one that didn’t fit your wedding timeline.
- Gives you a chance to see your hair, makeup and dress on. You try on your dress at the bridal boutique, you get your hair and makeup trial done, and you help design your bridal bouquet. But you never get to see everything put together at once. We all know that how you look and how you feel on your wedding day is so important. If your dress is moving around, your hair isn’t holding up or your makeup is coming off in the hour of your bridal session, you might want to consider changing something before the big day. Spending some time in your wedding wear before the day is a great test run.
- Allows us time to capture you as a bride. There are so many thing going on during your wedding day, we are lucky to get 5 minutes of portrait time just capturing you as a bride. Being your one time in your wedding dress, by having a bridal session you get to have fun and take your time playing in your dress while we capture this moment in your life.
