Wedding details are so much more than they may seem on the surface! More than just trinkets, these little details communicate the aesthetic of your wedding and are often the most personal elements of the entire day. The details are always the first thing I photograph at each wedding, and they’re featured on the first spread of your wedding album, setting the scene for what’s to come.

Let’s dive in to a few of my favorite must-have wedding details, where to purchase them, and most importantly how to ensure they’re photographed beautifully!

Here are the essential wedding details that every couple should have. Time is so limited on the wedding day and it will fly by faster than you can imagine, so I can’t stress enough how important it is to have all of these details gathered and waiting in the bridal suite before the photographer arrives. You should be enjoying yourself on the morning of your wedding – not frantically chasing down details!

Assuming that everything is gathered and ready, these essentials below will typically take at least 30 minutes to style and photograph beautifully. Be sure to discuss your details with your photographer and ensure you’re allowing enough time in the timeline!

Essential Wedding Details

• All wedding bands and engagement ring
• Full invitation suite (include a second set if there’s an interesting back you’d like to have photographed)
• Bride’s dress, veil, and shoes
• Special jewelry and heirlooms
• Bride’s bouquet (make sure the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquets are delivered to wherever the bride is getting ready!)

Elevated Wedding Details

If you’d like to elevate your wedding details, these are some of my favorite extra special pieces! These are what I’d consider secondary elements beyond the essentials noted above. For more elevated wedding details, allocate 60 minutes in your timeline to ensure the photographer has time to style and photograph your details.

• A ring box (The Mrs. Box is my absolute favorite!) in your wedding colors
• Bride’s perfume
• Vow books (check out these from Etsy)
• All paper goods in addition to invitation suite (ceremony program, menus, escort cards, etc.)
• A spool of ribbon (I love this ribbon by Courtney Inghram)
• Extra sprigs of greenery and blooms from your florist
• Groom’s boutonniere, cufflinks, shoes, watch (if getting ready in the same location)
• Welcome bags and favors

Other Wedding Details

So far what we’ve discussed are the personal details typically belonging to the couple, which are photographed at the very beginning of the wedding day. But what about all the other details that make your wedding unique to you? Here’s a few of the most common details that are photographed throughout the wedding day:

• Ceremony decor
• Escort card displays
• Signature drinks
• Cake and desserts
• Tablescapes and centerpieces
• Sweetheart table

Again, the most important factors to help ensure these details are captured beautifully are communication amongst your vendor team, and allowing time. You want to make sure your timeline has plenty of slack built in so that your photographer actually has a chance to slow down and photograph the details you worked so hard to select! And it’s not just time in the timeline – but that the time you’ve allotted actually makes sense within the larger logistics of the day.

For example, I typically build in about 30 minutes of time right before the ceremony to photograph ceremony and reception details. However, if the florist is still arranging centerpieces at that time, that means I can’t actually photograph those details yet and once the event gets going, it may not happen later. It’s crucial to ensure your entire vendor team is on the same page about not just what needs to happen, but when!

A wedding planner can help tremendously with coordinating all of this so that you don’t have to. This is also when having a second photographer becomes a HUGE benefit! One of us can be staging and photographing the details, while the other stays with the couple and documents any candid moments that might be unfolding.

There you have it! If you’d like to chat more about having me as your wedding photographer, simply send a note via the contact form here!