Wedding Wednesday is a weekly feature discussing all things wedding-related! To suggest a topic or question, contact Gwen at info@gwendolyntundermann.com.

Spending time with the bride in the hours leading up to the ceremony is my absolute favorite part of the wedding day! Some people love the party aspect of the reception, but I love that quiet, intimate time and all of the excitement and anticipation of the morning of the big day. The “this is it” feeling that brides have after months and months of planning and dreaming. The ritual of getting pampered and primped and looking like a princess. The shoes, the bling… and the dress! I love it all!

My favorite images of the day often come from the getting ready part, but I think brides sometimes overlook the importance of the setting for their getting ready photos. They think about the location for the ceremony, the perfect setting for the reception, and also where the group and B&G photos will be taken, but where the bride gets ready is also very important. First, it sets the tone for the bride. Getting ready is a ceremony in itself. It’s a special time spent with her closest girlfriends, mother, and other important women in her life, so it’s essential to make sure you have enough room for them all to be there:

The gorgeous image above is a shot from one of our weddings last weekend. Doesn’t it intrigue you and make you want to see the rest of the wedding photos? Every great story has to grab the audience from the beginning, and that goes for your wedding story as well!

In addition to lots of space (the more, the better), it’s important to make sure that space is tidy. If the girls all had a slumber party in the hotel suite and there are piles of clothes on the floor, they will be in the pictures! Other common distractions include open closets/doors, suitcases, and a messy bed. I’ll usually tidy up the room if it needs it, but I’d rather get straight to creating!

Usually I will position the bride in the most open space in the room and try to use a plain background behind her. However, in this image below the church had a room for the bride and it had the most charming wallpaper. I fell in love with it and positioned the bride in front of it. The result was a series of shots that were my favorite shots of the day. These were captured just moments before she walked down the aisle:

It’s also very important to have good light. I don’t mean a lamp or overhead lights, either. I bet I just made a bunch of photogs cringe at the thought of icky yellow light! That’s because it’s not flattering or pretty. The best light is natural light, so a room with large windows is perfect!

Before we head to the ceremony, I love getting a beautiful portrait of the bride. She just saw herself in the mirror after hours of getting hair and makeup done and putting on the dress and jewelry, and she KNOWS she looks amazing! She’s confident and glowing and it’s the last photos I’ll take before she marries the love of her life!

Ahhhhhh! I love it! I just love seeing these lovely ladies that I’ve been getting to know for the past year see their dream day come to life. It’s such an incredible thing to observe, and often by the time the ceremony arrives I’m just ready to cry. And often times I DO cry! Hey, if I wasn’t a sappy romantic I would probably be doing something else! Instead, I get to document the most important day in a couple’s life!

Next week, I’ll have Matt share the guy’s perspective. He and I can’t wait to see each other and share our images from the getting ready part. He gets some pretty killer guy shots, so make sure to come back next Wednesday to check it out!