You are probably at the point where you have seen some disastrous mishaps to brides during their wedding and you definitely are trying to plan accordingly.  Out of all the things you plan please be sure to plan food for you and your partner. There has been many times where I as the photographer noticed the bride is feeling weak, had food brought to her so we can avoid any mishaps. 

 Ask your cater  to pack away food for you (the cocktail hour food) because likely you’ll have absolutely no time to eat any of it. And trust me: You’ll be starving when you get back to the hotel at the end of the night.

There are many people involved in that day and all you have to think of is yourself because the day is completely yours. From my experience I see most brides care about everyone else and they forget about themselves. I promise you’ll have many other days to worry about everyone else so do yourself a favor, think “This is my day and I am the one that needs to be happy and confortable today”. 

When at a wedding and taking group pictures, it’s more than likely that you’ve been asked  to switch places with someone because “that’s not their good side” or “I dont like myself on that side”. 

That happens often and as a photographer I understand the psychology behind it.  All brides to be should figure it out what side they like themselves the most on, looking at each side of my face in the mirror (and, of course, take numerous selfies) this way you are more likely to be happy with your images. With that said some people will feel that they look the same on both sides, and that is very common to people that have symmetry to their face.

Now, no one has complete symmetry to them but once you know the good side you’ll always “put your best side forward”. Everyone has one eye a bit smaller or a cheek a bit thinner. In most people the differences are barely noticeable, so why do we care about our “good” side anyway? Unconsciously we always want to show our best side to the world because as researchers and scientists believe that facial characteristics can reveal personality traits to observers, a study published in Psychological Science discovered that humans make lasting judgements about a person’s character after being exposed to a face for only 100 milliseconds. Yes, we all want to be fair and not judge a book by its cover by nature our brains are wired to do so.  The most important thing is that at the very end when the proofs come in you want to have 

amazing images you are proud to show and remember how beautiful you are on the most important day of your life. 

                                               Your beauty is already there!

       Is true emotion better than posed? YES, I believe that faking a smile will result in a photo you hate. A photographer can only enhance your beauty by positioning you for better light but during your photo session, make sure you don’t focus on the camera, but rather, your new husband! Being able to truly feel and show the love it must be genuine. Emotion at that moment will create the love in the image that will be captured.  

                                               Stress is a good way not to look awesome!

      Staying relaxed guarantees you showing less wrinkles you want to show on pictures. On your wedding day you will be stressed for time, yourself look good, trying not to forget anything, etc… . People always look the most photogenic when they’re relaxed my remedy the craziness of the day you must delegate and trust it will be done. Doing something as small as making sure to take a few deep breaths when you feel the pressure can help you relax and give you a natural glow in your photos.

                                      Trying new look or skin product?   

     Don’t get a spray or self-tan the day of the wedding. You will sweat more than normal  and sometimes it will show way more orange and uneven than you realize. Seems intuitive, but you’d be surprised how many brides, grooms, and their bridal party tan the same day. On your wedding day I have to say I am probably the one that spends most of the time with the bride and groom since I am creating the content for their wedding album and don’t want to miss any good images, I have seen brides try new product on their skin and even though it makes them look good I can see they weren’t confortable in their skin. On that day you have to remember it is once you will get married so make yourself as confortable as you can be because it all comes out on your pictures. 

     Wedding day is as fun as you want it to be, remember it is your day and no one can mess it up. I hope these points will give you some insight of what a photographer sees when making your wedding a story of love in images.

Dariusz Terepka

Photographer