One of my favorite parts of being a wedding photographer is photographing the bridal portrait. I like to use a blend of fashion, photojournalism and portrait photography and to capture a variety of images.  The advantage of doing a bridal portrait before your wedding day is that we can focus on getting some really creative images with very little stress.

The bridal session is the perfect opportunity to do a hair and makeup trial run before the big wedding day. If you need recommendations for hair and makeup artists, feel free to ask. I’m also happy to help provide you with a bridal stylist as they are becoming more and more popular these days. They help you style your dress and accessories and sometimes provide props for the photo shoot.

What to bring:

• I always recommend bringing a pair of flip flops in case we find ourselves walking a little bit between locations. We don’t want to get those wedding shoes dirty!

• I try to keep in my car a white sheet that we can use to put under your dress to keep it off the ground. So I’ll have that with me.

• Mosquitoes love pretty brides. So you may want to give yourself a spritz before we head out.

• I highly recommend having a bouquet made for the portrait session. It could be trial version of the one you’ll have on your wedding day.

Where to do your bridal portrait:

• One option is to do the bridal portrait at the same location as your ceremony or reception. It gives us a great opportunity to photograph around the property at our own pace before the wedding day.

• Two venues where I love photographing bridal portraits are  Lowndes Grove and the William Aiken House. Both are owned by Patrick Properties and you are able to use their venues for your bridal portrait for a reasonable fee. (If you are using one of their venues for your wedding, they often will let you do your bridal portrait shoot without an extra charge.)

• Another spot I love to use for bridal portraits is Boone Hall. Their fee is simply the entrance fee, $19.50/person. There is a bathroom there where you may change into your dress. Highlights include the oak allee, a fantastic garden and the cotton dock. This is where Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were recently married!

• A new favorite is the Thomas Bennett House, which has a great veranda, architecture and well manicured grounds.

• Historic downtown Charleston has endless amazing locations for bridal portraits. I know of some great cobblestone streets, gardens and hidden locations for your bridal portrait.

• Lastly, for those of you with connections to Charleston, private residences are always an excellent choice especially if it has a veranda and garden.

For more information or if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at Leigh@LeighWebber.com or call me 843-697-0376.