Today I did my first ever Bridal Session. 

In the south, especially Texas, it is a custom to have the bride pose for a formal portrait in her full bridal ensemble before her wedding day.  At the reception, a large print is displayed.  It reminds me of the times when the lady of the house had a grand portrait painted and hung in the sitting room. 

On July 30th, Leslie will be marrying her Matt, but today, she arrived at the Walker Art Center all dolled up in her wedding best.  Of course, it was the most humid day on record EVER in Minnesota…so humid, in fact, that I had to let my camera acclimate and you could see the dew in the air.  However, Leslie looks fresh as a daisy in all of her images and I just LOVED her big brown eyes.  She was truly a vision in her Monique Lhuillier gown and veil, and got to give her Badgley Mischka heels a test drive.  Richfield Flowers even lent Leslie a bouquet to complete the look. 

Leslie and her mom wanted images that were crisp, clean and modern.  We chose the Walker and I loved playing with the white on white color scheme.  Shooting with a bright white background (called high key) can be tricky with a white dress, but the texture of Leslie’s gown really photographed well.  I chose to use more natural light and less flash so the light would fall nicely along her silhouette. 

A bridal portrait session can be a neat way to get the more fashion forward images you’d like in your gown without taking time away from the wedding day.  Leslie and Matt aren’t seeing each other before the wedding, so our portrait time is going to be fairly short.  By having this seperate session, she gets the best of both worlds and on the wedding day, we can focus more on romantic images of the happy couple. 

Here are some favorite images, enjoy!