I'm no Bridezilla - I just don't want my Bridal Portraits Taken!

Do you plan to have bridal portraits made before your wedding?

This interesting report shows the importance (or lack of it) of bridal portraits and I think you will see things through the eyes of two brides and their feelings about wedding pictures.

One thing I skipped when I got married was the appointment for bridal portraits. Though I thought they might have been very neat to have, I decided that I really didn’t want to get dressed up in my wedding dress and pay to have my hair done before my wedding, only to have to do it all over again for the actual event.

I know that these type of pictures are important to many women, but for me, it not only saved money to skip this part of the wedding images, it wasn’t something that I felt I needed to do. For some reason, I wanted to be dressed up in my dress and looking wonderful on my wedding day only. I thought it would not be as special the second time.

I was right. I would not have felt as good if I had put my dress on for bridal portraits before the wedding day, and I certainly didn’t feel like doing it after the fact. Instead, I did all the photos I wanted the day of the wedding and left it that way.

What's important to one bride and groom may mean nothing to another wedding couple

I do understand why many want to do the bridal portraits, and I can also understand why this is an advantage to some. They don’t feel stressed or rushed, and they don’t have guests waiting around for them to finish on their wedding day. It does reduces the amount of time spent with the photographer after the ceremony, and I can’t think of one wedding guest that would not love that.

For some though, the bridal portraits odyssey becomes more important than the wedding day. This happened to a friend of mine. She is a wonderful girl, but she is somewhat hung up on what her parents expect of her.

If you want a wall portrait you should consider doing bridal portraits before the wedding

They wanted a very large wall portrait to hang over the fireplace in their home, and that was that.

My girlfriend could have had these bridal portraits done on her wedding day, but she had to keep the photography costs down as much as possible. The bride could have hired a good wedding photojournalist to do her pictures during the marriage ceremony. Instead, she made the appointment for her bridal portraits and said she had a great time doing them, but she also said she felt that doing wedding gown pictures before hand took away from the wedding day a bit for her.

Personally, I feel that wedding photojournalism is a bit overrated but many can do the job of producing quality portraits of the bride.

It is really for the bride, the groom and the families to decide when the concern is bridal pictures

Each woman should make her own choice when it comes to bridal portraits instead of having them done along with all the other wedding pictures. In the end, it won’t be very important.

The important thing is to make the bridal and wedding experience what the couple dreams it to be, and not be hung up on what others think is the correct way. If a bride thinks it might take away from how she feels on her big day, they should be skipped. No harm done. And, the groom probably won't care either way!

From Bob: The only comment I would like to add is that, no matter if you choose to create your birdal portrait before or after the wedding ceremony, make sure you hire a professional wedding photographer to do the job. You will save many heartaches if you do. After all, the bridal is one of the most important pictures you will ever have taken. Do it right!

Other Bride Places ...

Are You Getting Married? - Be sure to read all the advice here for brides and fiancees. www.the-brides-day.com

Beauty Tips for Brides and Pretty Women - Your bidal portraits will look their best when you know these beauty secrets. No matter if you are a new bride or just another pretty woman you'll love these makeup tips. Every wanna-be birde should study some beauty and makeup tips before doing their pictures. A great wedding portrait begins with a fantastic facial makeover.

Monty Zucker Wedding Photography - Monty Zucker is one of the world's best known wedding photographers and has done wedding photography packages for many upscale families. His bridal pictures are unique and this page is a good study when it comes to engagement photography.

Search for a Wedding Photographer - Need a photographer to shoot your engagement or bridal photos? The Wedding Photojournalist Association may be just what the new bride ordered. Here you can go through a listing of U.S. wedding photographers and portrait shooters so you should be able to find someone to take wedding photographs for your bridal gown pictures or the wedding ceremony.