Pre-Wedding Session: A Bride and Groom Session

These photos are from a pre-wedding session with the amazing Dorian and Lucy a few months before their wedding. Their wedding was at a venue that was a little more classic with a lot of beautiful architecture, but they really loved the idea of something more open. This pre-wedding session was about variety from the wedding day portraits and we decided to do this session in lieu of an engagement session before their wedding. Because their venue didn’t have fields nearby, we chose a field location and a small spot under a bridge for a rustic feel. Lucy loved the idea of wearing a pink flower in her hair instead of the white flower she had picked out for her wedding day, so we set up a shoot that happened a few months before their wedding date.

To take a page out of our Style Book: An Engagement Session Guide, pre-wedding sessions are… amazing. It’s a photo session where you put on your white dress and tux and go out as bride and groom for a photo session before the wedding. While it’s a little non-traditional, if you’re someone who likes to stray from tradition, this may be perfect for you and it can help take some of the stress off the photos on your wedding day.

As it becomes increasingly more common for couples to put on the wedding dress and suit and shoot a session as “bride and groom” before or even after the wedding, I jump for joy a little higher each time we have one of these amazing shoots. It’s not a substitution for wedding day portraits, but it’s a way for you to get in all of the locations or props you want to represent the both of you that might not be feasible on your wedding day. It’s the best way to ensure you have amazing weather, the perfect locations, and plenty of time for portraits.

In our Style Book, we talk about how important it is for client and photographer to get to know each other before the wedding day. The engagement session or pre-wedding session is a perfect way for us to get acquainted. Aside from having photos of the two of you, a session before the wedding is when we really get to know each other. Both you, me, and the camera.

Just as a note, if you go this route, please remember to bring your wedding rings and as a cautionary note – of course, while measures are taken during the bridal or pre-wedding session to keep all clothing clean and tidy, it’s still advised to plan to have the dress and tux cleaned after the session.