Hey there you gorgeous, gorgeous brides. Did you know that the little items you put so much time and thought into, are often the items that are forgotten about when your photographer is capturing your special day? These items help tell you are story, and are just as important to you as the fresh new dress you are about to put on. I know you also might be thinking "Who cares about these items?" Well you did when you picked them out, so let's make sure we capture them and you will be glad we did, because some of those small items make all the difference in you photos.


So what are some of these items? Well let's talk about them. I will also provide you with a checklist so that, you can gather these items for your special day. I also build this into the timeline to make sure I have enough time to spend on the details too.


First let's talk about that beautiful dress, the one you spent so much time picking out. When you pick it up from the Bridal Shop, it comes on a plastic hanger, you know, the boring white hanger. Most brides forget about this simple little detail, but simply changing that plastic hanger to a wooden can make a world of difference. You can pick up a pack of the wooden hangers off of Amazon or even from your local Homegoods store, this way, all your bridesmaids will have one for their dresses too. You can either customize these on your own or you can order customized ones, like the bride and groom ones below from Etsy. The ones I have pictured are from Etched Grace. I will also be using my Groom one for the Groom's Suit this year when I capture details.

Let's talk about your flowers for the day. You can ask your florist to leave extra stems of flowers and greenery, just send them an email and they will be glad to include them. If you are making your own, save a few for your photographer. Adding these extra little touches when capturing the wedding invitation suit, or that cute little bottle of perfume makes a world of difference.

One of my all time favorite items to capture the rings. This is where the last 9-16 months of planning all started. It started with one simple little ring and of course a question that usually goes with it. Rings are great to capture alone, but I love to add a little variety to my photos with ring boxes. There are so many options out there like wooden customized ring boxes, like the one below (Also purchased from Eched Grace) to velvet boxes. If you want a customized ring box, this is something I recommend purchasing, if not no worries, I have a few options for velvet boxes of my own.

One of the most forgotten about details is the invitation suite. I recommend to all my brides that they keep 2 of their invitations suites, and 2 of their save the dates. Why? Because most of the time, the invitations are printed front and back. So having two of them available so that we can show the front and the back in one photo is ideal. If none of your items are printed front and back then only one invitation suite is needed. Don't forget to include the wax seal if you used them.

Special jewelry is also a favorite of mine, I think because most of the time, these items include grandma's ring. A necklace that every bride in the family has worn, or even mama's bracelet from her wedding day and grandpa's tie clip. These tell the best stories, especially when your little girl is asking your about your wedding day and you pull out your wedding album. The discussion you have when she sees Great Grandma's ring in a photo from your wedding day will be the best conversation she has with you.

I recommend putting these items all together is a shoebox or even a small tote, this way when your photographer arrives at the location you have them readily available and they can get started with the details right away. The box pictured below is something my grandmother put together for me, and I like to keep some of my items that I use for details in this box. My grandma is no longer with us, so I love the extra sentimental meaning behind this box.

Other items we will use in the detail shots are your shoes, perfume bottle, your clutch, dress, and wedding veil. I also bring along coordinating ribbon, vintage stamps, little vintage scissors and a vintage letter opener. I keep jewelry dishes, and trays in my box also. I am always hitting up the dollar spot at Target, Hobby Lobby, and even Antique Stores to find hidden treasures that I can add to my detail box.

What about the groom's details? I like to include his favorite cologne, tie, sunglasses, tie clip, cufflinks, watch, shoes and I even have a special hanger for his suit.

This is the list I give to my brides so that they have it and can make sure they gather their items.