Selecting the best place to get ready for your wedding.
You have your venue, you’ve selected your wedding photographer, and florist, the details are all starting to come together, and then you ask ‘where are we getting ready?’ Sometimes the answer is really simple. Your wedding ceremony and reception are at one venue and they offer wedding suites where you can get ready. Or you’ve always known you wanted to get ready at your parents home, with all the memories of love surrounding you. Sometimes though, you have options, or you just aren’t sure what will work out best. Given awesome vendors, it will all work out perfectly, but I have some advice to help you in your decision process that will make your day flow even more smoothly.
Location, Location, Location
Yes, in the end, it’s all about that location. I’ve photographed weddings where the venue was over an hour from where the wedding party got ready (think 5am start time), and then the reception venue was another hour away from the ceremony site. The couple for this particular wedding had two locations in mind that they absolutely wanted for their wedding, and the hotel where they got ready was only 10 minutes from their reception venue, so for them, it was worth it. They scheduled their time wisely, and despite the amount of time spent in the limo, were able to create gorgeous photographs along the way.
Now you have to decide if spending 2 hours in a limo is something you want to do on your wedding day. Not only is there the added expense of a limo, but that’s a good amount of downtime for everyone involved. Generally my couples prefer to keep travel time to a minimum. They want to have fun with their wedding party, get awesome photographs and party their arses off!
Getting Ready at a Hotel
You can select a hotel that reflects your style, as well as being in a convenient location. Often, one of the rooms my couple uses will then be their hotel room after the reception. You can find anything from historic hotels, to modern hotels. each will give you a slightly different look. Make sure that the room(s) you rent are large enough for the size of your wedding party, you want to be able to move around, have room for your hair and makeup people, and space to relax in.
Bonus points go to spaces that have ample window light for your hair and makeup people, not to mention they make for gorgeous window light portaits!
Getting Ready at Home
Whether getting ready at home means the home you and your love have created or your family home, it’s always a favorite simply due to the comfort level of having everything you need close by, as well as the nostalgia of memories of times past and the memories your creating in your own home. I have to admit, these are some of my favorites simply because of the nostalgia. My absolute favorite is when my couples get ready together! There are so many moments that I want to photograph when everyone is together the morning of. It’s the choice my husband and I made, separating ourselves only for those last minute details, I got into my dress, he into his jacket and tie, just prior to our first look. It was absolutely perfect being able to spend the morning together, surrounded by the people we love.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
So when you’re coming up with your day of timeline, and looking at where you should get ready take these things into consideration:
- How far do you want to be from your venue for your getting ready location? How much time will you spend in a vehicle as opposed to getting photographs taken or enjoying your party? Add 15 minutes in addition to your travel time simply for getting everyone in and out of their vehicles.
- How many people are getting ready with you? You want enough space for everyone to get ready comfortably, in addition to space for your hair and makeup people to work.
- How much natural light does the space get? Your hair and makeup people will thank you for ample natural light!
One you’ve decided those things, now you can decide if you want to get ready together or separate, and what style you want the space to be, whether or not you want to get ready together, and if you want it to be a space that’s familiar to you or a hotel that you won’t have to clean. 😉
At the end of the day your photographer should always be able to help you with your timeline which will go a long way in the decision of where is best for YOU to get ready.
If you need a photographer that can help you find the serenity in your wedding day, reach out to me! I’ve love to work with you. Send me a message at teri@ciaobella-studios.com, or take a moment to fill out my contact page and answer a few questions (I love getting to know my potential couples!) here: http://ciaobella-studios.com/contact/
Added bonus…rooftop access 😉
A few local favorites
The Strathallan for a modern sleek look
The Inn on Broadway for a classic look
The Woodcliff Hotel & Spa for classic look and spa
And don’t forget to check Airbnb and VRBO for unique locations near your venue!
