My bridal portraits.
I truly can’t begin to tell you how much I love these photos.
One of the things I’ve learned is that bridal portraits is mostly a southern thing.
A few of my friends up north and out west had either: a. never heard about them or b. didn’t know many people who chose to have them taken. The tradition is you take portraits in your dress (which also stands for a hair/makeup test) and use one of those images to print a picture of and have it displayed at your wedding. I honestly never gave a second thought on if I should/shouldn’t do bridal portraits. Now that I’ve had them done, I’m super happy I did. On your wedding day (at least mine) there isn’t that much time for individual portraits – if you make them a priority, they happen – but it is still a lot shorter than a normal portrait session.
When my friend Susan & I were trying to figure out the look for where I wanted my portraits and I just kept coming back to old Charleston charm. We rented out the Legare Waring House for the indoor portraits and did the outside portraits around the house and down the Avenue of Oaks. Especially since I was moving away from Charleston (my hometown) for a while I wanted these reminders of home when I went back and looked at these pictures.
I’ve had a few questions about my dress so I thought I would share why I chose it.
At the point we got to this dress Maria (my MOH and roomie) had probably put me in at least 30-50 dresses. I can’t remember if my cousin Jade or if I chose this dress to try on, but the minute it was zipped up it just felt right. When I walked around the store Jade and Maria started getting teary eyed and kept saying “this is the one, this is the one”. It took me going home and looking at the pictures over and over again but I really knew it was the dress. I went in wanting a more sheath, great gatsby type dress with lots of beads and classic jewels; I didn’t want a ballgown because they were huge and just something I didn’t think I wanted. My Aunt made me try on a ball gown and I LOVED it – it was totally bridal, but it didn’t feel like AMY bridal. So when I put on this dress and saw the white/blush/platinum/lavender merge together – I was sold.
This dress is me.
It’s different, unique, classic, and wraps up everything in one. <3
Photography: Susan Lloyd Photography
Dress: Allure Romance #2853
Veil: Lace & Sequin Cathedral Veil
Earrings: Kendra Scott
Bracelete: Knot Bangle – The Painted Press c/o
My Rings: Brilliant Earth
Shoes: Lauren Conrad Scalloped Shoes – In Blush
WOW! Gorgeous! I love the setting for the outdoor ones. I did not do bridal portraits before the wedding, but I did have some taken just of me on the day of, and I think they turned out really great. It’s such a special day you want to remember forever!
I had a few taken on our wedding day too – and i love the other look of them as well!
It was such a fun experience! <3
Oh Amy you look absolutely beautiful!
I had never heard of bridal portraits, they are not a UK thing as far as I know, but I might try and bring it in when I finally get married!
The dress is stunning, and the outdoor setting for these shots is truly spectacular. x
Aw shucks, Thank you Emma! <3
You should TOTALLY get bridal portraits - and bring it to the UK! I love it!
And the outdoor setting is SO old Charleston, i love it.
So stunning! I especially love a lot of the ones with the veil, and the one with the soft filtered light coming through the side 🙂
We do bridal portraits out here in Utah typically, but a lot of the times the bride will have the groom come along too (for a “groomal”, if you will), which is what I did. A lot of people would probably find THAT pretty strange!
The veil was SO HARD to find – I found a different one that was over $500 and I couldn’t justify the price, so I ended up finding it at Davids Bridal so much cheaper!
OH WOW!
That is TOTALLY strange 😉
I didn’t want Eddie to see me in my dress until I walked down the Aisle haha.
I haven’t heard of bridal portraits before so I guess it is mostly a southern thing. These are beautiful. I love wedding dresses that aren’t a stark white. They are a little softer (in my opinion).
They are definitely a little softer – I really love the effect the colors have on it.
And the more I talk to people the more I really do think it’s a southern thing!
You look STUNNING!!!!! So gorgeous!
Rachael! 🙂
Thank you! I honestly felt gorgeous. 😉
Your dress is gorgeous!!!! It’s been almost 9 months for me and I STILL wish I could wear my dress again! I just loved it so much!!
Thanks Bailey!
I really, really, really love my dress and I wish i could wear it all the time haha.
Simply stunning! Also I just wrote Charleston down on my travel bucket list. I get overly focused on foreign locations, but holy cow this placed looks beautiful!
Thank you Kate! <3
I totally felt like a princess hahah.
And Charleston is definitely gorgeous. I am seeing more and more how BEAUTIFUL the USA is. While Europe is great and i've been 2 times - There are some amazing gems in our own backyards!
Amy! These are so glamours! You look so beautiful! There are so many that are my favorites!
There were so many that were my favorites too! <3
Susan did such a great job capturing me and making me feel SUPER comfortable.
I learned (and have learned) a lot from her!
[…] lot of compliments on it. I fell in love with this piece so much that I ended up ordering one of my bridal portraits to be featured at the wedding too – same frame just a smaller size and I loved it just as […]
[…] + My Bridal Portraits […]
amy! these are SO gorgeous!
[…] A few details I want to really remember are the pieces I took time picking out for my Wedding day. The scent I chose was Burberry Weekend and there was never a doubt that would be what I would wear on my wedding day. I hold that perfume so close to my heart; it was my moms. I wore her perfume and her ring as well as her vintage fur that she got at an auction with my aunts. I have so many memories that are connected to her whenever I smell the perfume or wear her ring. It was just another way for me to be connected to my mom on my wedding day. They were small reminders that while her and my father may not have been there physically they were, and always are, with me physically. My outfit details are detailed on my bridal portrait post. […]