Bridal Sessions | Why We Recommend Them

First off, let’s take a moment to appreciate how stunning Griffin looks in her bridal portraits!

Okay now let’s get into all things bridal- why we do bridal sessions, the benefits, and why we love them!

It’s no secret that being in front of the camera can be intimidating. But, you want those dream wedding photos. Have you ever heard the saying ”practice makes perfect?” Well then here you go, we recommend a bridal session because it gets you comfortable with your photographer, the poses, and being in front of the camera before your wedding! It also helps you determine possible poses you absolutely love or the ones you feel like we can skip on wedding day.

A bridal portrait session allows a wedding photographer to focus solely on capturing the beauty and elegance of the bride. It's a chance to create stunning, timeless images without the distractions and time constraints of the wedding day. Plus, it provides an opportunity for the bride to feel like a model and showcase her gown and style in a more relaxed setting.

Bridal portrait sessions also allow wedding photographers to build a deeper connection with the bride, understanding her vision and preferences more intimately. It's a collaborative process that often results in breathtaking images that the bride cherishes for a lifetime.

I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times, but we’re going to include it just in case. Schedule your bridal hair and makeup trials for this day so you can really visualize and see how you’re going to look on your wedding day and in photos so you’re not stuck with something you end up not liking on your big day. Also, contact your florist, they can make you a bouquet as well that will look like your real one!

Another reason wedding photographers love bridal portrait sessions is the creative freedom they offer. Without the hustle and bustle of the wedding day, photographers can experiment with different poses, lighting setups, and locations to truly showcase the bride's beauty and personality in a unique way.

Having these photos of you already done takes some the stress away from the big day. Your timeline can move slower, and you can join the party faster with these already done!

Bridal portrait sessions also provide wedding photographers with the opportunity to capture the bride's anticipation and excitement leading up to her big day. It's a special time filled with anticipation and joy, and photographers love being able to document these emotions in a beautiful and meaningful way.

We also have seen lots of brides print out one of their portraits and reveal it at the wedding! This is also a really fun way to show off your beautiful portraits!

All in all, we feel that you really can’t go wrong with bridal portraits! Contact us today at kelli@yahphotography and let’s get started!

Son & Stanna- A Garden Estate Wedding

The Andrews Farm, Storme Blown Hair, Mint To Be Wedding, Florabella, Curated Events, Best Impressions Catering, Cease Fire Productions

April 20, 2024 was a beautiful day for Son & Stanna Hoang at The Andrews Farm! With a killer vendor team, a romantic estate on a farm, & perfect weather (that is until it was ceremony time, but we’ll get to that later!), Son & Stanna’s wedding day was absolute perfection.

After a full day of beautiful weather and bright blue skies, thirty minutes before the outdoor ceremony was supposed to begin it started pouring! Son & Stanna (and their guests) were such troupers about it and did their ceremony in a slight drizzle. I love the saying for when it rains on a wedding day “a wet knot is harder to untie”, and I thought that the Hoang’s were a perfect example of that! No matter the rain, the ceremony was still beautiful!

Just after the ceremony, the rain stopped and the sun popped back out in time for the party! Dinner was served, the cake was cut, and the dance floor was jam packed! It truly was such a great night celebrating these two beautiful people!

Also, can we talk about how amazing these traditional outfits were that they changed into?! Obsessed!

Being able to document and celebrate with my couples is such an amazing thing and I feel so blessed to be able to do this! Congratulations again to the Hoangs!

Lifetime Photography and Why It’s Important To Me

A couple weeks ago I had the honor of documenting some photos of Maraya for her fifth grade graduation yearbook! She is an avid soccer player, so she wanted to add some photos for that in there as well!

After our session, I was transported to a trip down memory lane that started all the way back in 2014 when I had my first session with the Swatsworth family. Little did I know then that not only would we continue to have sessions over the years, but I would also get to witness and document their family grow up, which is so special! As a mom myself, it’s so special to have those tangible family photos from over the years and really get to compare the year to year growth and changes that our children (and us!) experience.

When people hear lifetime photographer, I feel like it’s common to think that we start at an engagement session and the wedding and then go from there, but really it is so much more! I have truly had the honor to watch my clients children grow up into the young adults that they are, and in turn give my clients a tangible memory to have forever. To know the Swatsworth family since 2014 and document them and their family over the years to now helping Maraya take her fifth grade graduation photos is truly so special.

Cultivating lasting relationships with my clients is one of the most important part of my job to me, and to be an,e to walk through memory lane with my clients like this is why I am a photographer!

Finding the Perfect Exit Item for Your Wedding

We know there’s a lot that goes into planning a wedding and there are so many little details to figure out! We wanted to help with one detail - your exit item! An exit item is some kind of prop you give your guests to use to see you out on your way after your wedding. The options can be endless for this, so let’s get into the different kinds that we’ve seen!

Probably the most popular exit item we see is sparklers! They always turn out so good in photos- but some venues are starting to not allow them because they can be detrimental to the venue (or intoxicated guests!) if not put out properly! Don’t fear if your venue doesn’t allow sparklers, we are about to give you so many more options!

Option #2 is bubbles! These are so cute and fun, and don’t need to be cleaned up afterward! These work best when there is lighting behind you, so just keep that in mind! But bubbles are a perfect exit item!

Kayla & Eric used glow sticks! These were so fun because they can also be used on the dance floor before the exit as well! They also incorporated rose petals which brings a traditional element into it as well!

Loved these blue ribbon wands used after Meghan and Eric’s ceremony! This was a great exit item!

Another great option that can be used instead of sparklers are cold sparklers! These can be used inside or outside, and have no worried about damaging property or guests! They also make for amazing photos!

How cute are these fairy light wands?! Loved these at Alyssa & Mitchell’s wedding- they’re so fun to photograph!

There’s also streamer guns! These are very cute and fun but also very messy! It’s easy to get tangled up in them, but worth it for the pic!

We hope this blog post was able to give you a couple of ideas for an exit item you would like to have at your wedding! And remember- your exit it’s, can be whatever you want it to be even if you didn’t see it in this blog!

Why You Should Have a Professional Photographer Document Your Wedding

Let’s face it- we all know weddings are expensive. Vendors like planners and photographers put so much time and energy into your wedding, and their prices reflect that. There are a lot of things that couples decide to cut out of their wedding day to stay under budget, and I might be biased, but here’s some reason why a photographer shouldn’t be one of them.

1. Wedding photographers know the best spots to photograph from during your ceremony, reception, etc. This guarantees you’ll have those Pinterest worthy shots all day long.

2. We know how weddings work. Need to know where you need to be? We can tell you. Who has the rings? We can tell you that too. In addition to your planner, we are your next in line to help with things you may need during the day.

3. We have a timeline and sheet of what photos you want, who is taking pictures with who during family photos, and things like that. This way you can have your photos over and done with in time to mingle with your guests.

4. Who doesn’t want photos to show your kids and look back on?

5. We document those fleeting little moments you may not remember because the day is so emotion filled- that hug between a bride and her dad, that tender moment between a groom and his best man, the mom of the bride and mom of the groom holding hands after the ceremony, we capture it all.

6. Odds are you’ve put a lot of time and effort into planning your big day. Choosing the layout of your reception space, deciding on florals, designing your table settings, picking out a color scheme, etc. We will document all of those details for you too! Photographers photograph your invitation suite, your ceremony and reception spaces, and all of those other little details you meticulously planned during your engagement season!

7. We will tell you how to pose! Trust me, pretty much everyone has no idea how to pose themselves for wedding photos. We know what looks good, and we’ll get your photos looking exactly how you want them!

Again- we might be biased on why you shouldn’t cut a wedding photographer out of your budget, but I think this blog makes a pretty good argument on why a wedding photographer is so necessary!