5 Tips for Choosing the Best Getting Ready Room

We have photographed getting ready details and bridal prep in many different types of locations. Shooting details in a hallway or in a field can still get you good getting ready pictures, but if you want an amazing getting ready experience here are our favorite five tips to choosing the best getting ready room!

 

1. Big Window

When you are looking for and thinking about the place that you want to get ready for your wedding day, keep an eye out for a room with at least one big window. Having more than one window is even better, but at least one allows for a lot of great natural light to spill into your room. Not only does natural light set the mood and tone for a fantastic day, but it also allows us as photographers more light control and creativity. If you love light, bright, and beautiful photos and details, you’ll want a room with windows!

2. White or Neutral Colored Walls

This is a HUGE deal! We can use softboxes and artificial light if we need to create the look of a window, but we can’t recreate neutral or white colored walls. Having light colored walls and clean, uncluttered rooms and backgrounds is everything! Having vibrantly colored walls, really dark walls, or distracting objects on the walls will distract the viewer of your photos from what is the most important, you! We’re sure that you would rather have the attention on you, your bridesmaids, and the details of your day rather than have the color of the walls or objects on the walls be the attention grabbers.

Along with neutral colored walls, be aware of any clutter in the room. That means magazines, pizza boxes, dress bags, etc. Before we arrive, save time and get extra images by making sure that your rooms are picked up and clutter free!

3. Space to Move

We’ve done getting ready photos in a room the size of a closet before, and it was cramped! Imagine stuffing two photographers, a bride, a makeup artist, bridesmaids, and equipment into a small walk-in closet… sounds a bit claustrophobic doesn’t it? When you are searching for the best getting ready room, definitely keep the amount of people in mind and the space that will be comfortable. You’re bridesmaids and even your mom will love you for it!

4. Choose a Venue with These Features, or Rent a Hotel Suite

When it comes to finding the best getting ready room possible, one of our favorite options is a hotel suite. This is because they usually have a lot of open space and lots of windows. If the venue you are getting ready in is at a rustic barn or at a farm, or if the venue you love doesn’t offer an ideal getting ready room, you may want to consider renting a hotel suite. Getting ready in a cramped room, or outside in a field doesn’t compare to getting ready in a beautiful, clean hotel room. When you are looking at venues and at hotel suites, be sure to remember our other tips for choosing the best getting ready space.

5. Don’t Forget the Groom

During all the hustle and bustle of planning, don’t forget about your guy. When you are looking at venues and different spaces, find a location that you can each get ready at. Some venues will have two identical and gorgeous spaces for getting ready. One is for the groom, the other for the bride. If you’re looking at hotel suites be sure to find a room for each of you.

Finding rooms for each of you in the same location will save on transportation time for us as your photographers, as well as your guests. Your day will be a lot more relaxed, free-flowing, and fun! The extra traveling time means that you will get less pictures too, because one of your photographers will have to travel from one location to another which takes time away from taking awesome pictures!

Just remember WINDOWS, LIGHT-COLORED NEUTRAL WALLS, SPACE TO MOVE, and THE GROOM on your search for the best getting ready room. If you remember and utilize these tips, your getting ready photos will be completely gorgeous!