What is a Bridal Session?

– how it can fulfill all of your wildest dreams and why you should go for it –

I’m going to be honest. I’ve been a wedding photographer for 10 years now and even I didn’t fully understand what a bridal session was for at least half of that time!! I always thought it was just what Texan brides do a few weeks before their wedding –a heavily posed, traditional photoshoot in their wedding dress.

As it turns out, a bridal session is so much more than what I had come to imagine. I’ll share with you what a bridal session is (with me 💃), why you should consider one for yourself, and how it really is the best of both worlds!!

What is a bridal session?

So here it is. A bridal session is simply a photo shoot where the bride and groom (or just the bride) are in their wedding attire. It is completely separate from the wedding day but always still full of excitement!

With me, a bridal session is a fun adventure post-wedding. You’ve got these snazzy new clothes that you only got to wear once, so why not give them a second purpose at your adventure session. This can be scheduled the day after your wedding, in the following weeks, or even months out! No matter when this happens, be prepared to fulfill your wildest photo dreams in the most amazing landscapes 😍

Why should I consider a bridal session?

LOCATION

It can be amazing gathering all your closest friends and family together, but with the sheer number of people involved (and the diversity in their hiking capabilities 😉), you likely aren’t going to have your wedding on the edge of a cliff in the middle of Yosemite like you maybe originally dreamed up. At some point, you decided having an accessible wedding so everyone can come was more important than the epic scenery… but now I’m here to tell you: you can have your cake and eat it too. See, with a bridal session, you can have both experiences. The big wedding with all your friends and family at the (still beautiful) accessible venue AND have the pictures of you and your partner in a scene straight out of your dreams!

Beach or Mountain? Your pick!!

PRESSURE

This is the one that I soooo feel. There’s a ton of pressure on your wedding day. Pressure over the weather being perfect, pressure to get back to guests while disappearing to take photos for an hour, pressure to make just this one day represent so much of your life!!!! (ahhh I could go on and on). I’d suggest avoiding a little bit of it by scheduling a bridal session. Spreading out the celebration can take the pressure off your big day so that you can enjoy it more and spend more time, fully present, with those closest to you 🤗

PHOTOJOURNALISM

Some of my brides like to focus on the natural moments that occur during the day so that they can be more present with everyone around them. If you want your wedding day to feel more organic and limit as many posed photos as you can, you can make up for that with a stunning bridal session in a magical location of your choice! You can feel relaxed and in-the-moment all day knowing there isn’t a huge “shot-list” to take care of and just experience life as it happens!

STRESS

Hosting an event is stressful. Some people have less trouble with it than others, but ultimately, you can’t skate through a big day like that without SOMETHING pestering you in the back of your mind. Whether it’s your dress getting dirty too soon, weather issues, or just a pile of things that still need to get done before guests arrive, it’s easy to get stressed out on your wedding day. This often leads to photo time being cut in half or trouble focusing during portrait time! Lose a bit of that stress and schedule yourself a bridal session (and you’ll be able to get that dress dirty frolicking at your bridal session with no frets!)

TIME

Life’s biggest struggle — there is just never enough time in the day. There is so much going on on a wedding day. So many people to hug, so many mimosas to down, SO much to experience, With all of that, sometimes photos can fall by the wayside. I don’t want running out of time to force you to skimp on the images you will be sharing with your grandkids!!

VARIETY

Not only is a bridal session adding variety to your location list and wedding experience together, but this could also add variety to your look! Feel free to pull out all the stops for your bridal session! Change up your hair, add extras you didn’t feel comfortable wearing at the wedding (like that flower crown, headpiece, or cape😉), or add an entirely different wedding gown to the mix! With a bridal session, you can fulfill all of those wild, boho dreams of yours 🙌🏼

ADVENTURE

I don’t call them Adventure Sessions for no reason! It’s fun to get dressed up, experience nature together, and create memories! My Adventure Sessions always add to the experience because we focus on things a little deeper than just a photoshoot. We enjoy each other and nature. We play silly games and we have heart-to-hearts. We connect (and disconnect 📲). So yes, a bridal session will enhance your wedding day, but it will also enrich your life with another celebration of your love 💗

Ok, I’m down! What happens next?

I’m way excited to hear that!! From here, we will look at your desires + availability.

Do you want your session the day after? During your crazy cool honeymoon? The following season for a little variety?

What kind of scenery is drawing your attention? In California, we’ve got it all! Ocean views, mountain ranges, desert sands, and enchanting forests are aplenty. Do you want to go out of state? Out of the country? I can always share my travel schedule with you to see if anything catches your eye!

Tell me your vision and we can make it a reality!!

Let’s make this happen.

Fill out the pink contact form below and we can get to it!!