Why You Should Consider Bridal Portraits — Even If You Aren’t Having Traditional Bridals

Let me make a case for bridal portraits.

And no, I don't necessarily mean the traditional kind where you spend two hours posing by yourself in a pretty location while someone tells you to turn your chin slightly to the left.

Although if that's your thing, absolutely do that. I'm not here to stop you.

But I think bridal portraits can be so much more than that.

When my husband and I got married, we chose to do portraits together before our wedding day. And honestly, it ended up being my favorite part of the whole wedding experience.

We got to step away from everything for a little while.

Just the two of us.

Just some quiet time together, dressed up, soaking in the fact that we were getting married.

It felt intimate in a way that I wasn't expecting.

And because we had intentionally set aside that time, we weren't rushing through portraits just to get back to the reception. We could actually enjoy them.

We also got to take our pictures somewhere we otherwise never would have.

In the mountains.

That wasn't exactly an option at our wedding venue, and I love that we have those photographs now. They remind me of how it felt to have that day completely to ourselves.

And that's really why I love the idea of bridal portraits.

They don't have to be traditional.

Maybe you want the classic bridal portraits of just you in your dress.

Maybe you want to bring your fiancé and make it more of a couples session.

Maybe you want to put your dress back on after the wedding and go somewhere completely different.

Maybe you want photos in the mountains, downtown, in a field, at your favorite place, or somewhere that has absolutely nothing to do with your wedding venue.

There isn't really a rule.

The point is giving yourself permission to make this part of the experience whatever you want it to be.

You get time together.

This is probably my favorite reason.

Wedding days are wonderful, but they are also busy.

You will have people to see, things happening around you, and a timeline that keeps moving whether you're ready for it or not.

Setting aside intentional time for portraits gives you a chance to actually be together in the middle of all of that.

And I'll take almost any excuse to give a newly married couple a few minutes alone.

You can make photographs that don't fit anywhere else in your wedding day.

Your wedding photographs should absolutely document your actual wedding day.

But that doesn't mean every photograph has to happen at your venue.

Your bridal session can be an opportunity to do something completely different.

Go somewhere meaningful.

Try something dramatic.

Wear your dress somewhere you never imagined wearing it.

Or just find a pretty spot and spend an hour together being married and ridiculously dressed up.

Because you only get to be newlyweds once.

You might as well have some fun with it.