WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

PLANNING GUIDE

I’ve been photographing weddings since the beginning of Obama’s second term and picked up plenty of tips and tricks along the way.

I won’t attempt to play down the significance of a wedding day in an effort to appear casual—this is a big deal.

You’ve spent valuable time and emotional energy arriving to this level of commitment with your favorite person and the day is here to become a family and celebrate it for all to see.

That being said, traditional rules are, in my humble opinion, meant to be a little bit bent and sometimes completely broken.

Maybe you’ll be surrounded by just a few loved ones in your backyard or on the patio of your favorite bar on a Tuesday afternoon in August, or you’ll have 200 of your nearest and dearest partying in a warehouse with glow in the dark cotton candy and tacos until 2am. Perhaps you’re planning a 3 day party in the woods or are flying 12 hours to a faraway destination.

Whatever you have in mind, I’m honored to be documenting every big and little moment for you.

jump to:

SCHEDULE LIGHTING FAMILY PHOTOS FAQ VENDOR RECS

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Not a model? Not a problem!

Most of my direction during the portrait portions of a wedding day will bring the focus back to you each other, so don’t be afraid to physically connect with your partner. When in doubt or wondering, “what do I do with my hands?!” try making contact with your person by holding their hand, touching their cheek, looking to them, or caressing their arm. Since photography is a visual medium any way you can literally and visually ~ connect ~ with one other will support the story being told.

PLANNING 101:

the schedule

If you have a planner (coordinators are a bit different; I try not to assume they’ll create a schedule unless it’s outlined in their contract with you) you can probably skip this section, because they’re probably writing a full day schedule for you.

A schedule helps with the flow of a wedding day, eliminates any unexpected surprises, tells vendors and guests when to be ready and when to leave for Location B, and keeps me from missing any key moments. Unless you’re eloping or having an ultra chill wedding at a single location (you’re literally sleeping and getting ready there, too), some sort of schedule is essential. There are a lot of optional elements added to this schedule, feel free to customize, omit, and rearrange this schedule as you see fit.

Whether you have a planner or not, make sure I’m sent the schedule no fewer than two weeks before the wedding date to give us time to make adjustments if necessary. It’s also a good idea to share the finalized schedule with the wedding party, VIPs, family members, and other vendors. The final schedule should be sent out no later than 48 hours before the wedding.

You can find a copy of this sample schedule to save to your account on my Google Drive here.

Refer to these articles in BRIDES and A Practical Wedding–both of which I utilized when assembling this–as you’re customizing the schedule.

01: Getting Ready

  • LOCATION! LOCATION!
  • include addresses for every location on the schedule
  • add an extra 5-10 minutes to all travel time
  • if you’re getting ready in a hotel room, share the room number with me + other vendors asap (texts the night before are great!)
  • make sure you and/or your partner aren’t the last to get hair/make up done – this can add stress if things are running behind

This is a sample activity you may or may not have planned with your friends and/or family before the official activities of the day begin. This could also be a chance for you and your partner to share a few quiet moments before the craziness of the day sets in. (I love this idea!) Feel free to omit this section, if necessary.

I honestly have no idea exactly how long it will take you to get ready from start to finish, or who you want to spend your getting ready time with. I only have this slotted in here to give you a jumping off point – make sure to check in with your hair/makeup artists (HMUA) to customize this time.

*This is just a sample time slot – we’ll schedule my start and end times around your specific wedding, don’t worry!

If you want photos of your getting ready time, I like to arrive a minimum of 30 minutes before you get dressed. This gives everyone a few minutes to get comfortable around me and my camera and for me to photograph details you may want documented (ex: wardrobe, rings, perfume or cologne bottle, accessories, and invitations) – if you want these photographed, try to have all of these items on hand before I arrive and make sure I have some extra time to do them (30+ minutes if you or your planner want a styled flat lay for the paper goods; I may also take these home with me to photograph later if needed!).

If you’re getting ready separately from your partner and would like to have both of your getting ready time photographed, this time may have to be staggered or require me bringing along a second photographer.

I’ll also be photographing everyone who is getting ready with you at this time – these images are meant to be candid, but it’s a good idea to give your friends and family a heads up that they’ll be appearing in casual photos. They never have to move out of my way unless I ask them to (which I raaaarely do) so encourage them to just do their thing.

The VIPs with you (friends, wedding party, key family members) during getting ready might want to be dressed and ready by the time your hair and/or makeup is complete. This way, they can help if you need it while you’re getting dressed or putting your shoes on; but it’s of course, totally up to you and them and everyone’s comfort levels and personal preferences!

Unless you have meal or snacks planned prior to the ceremony, I recommend you take a moment to eat something light around this time, before getting dressed. You’ll use up a lot of energy in the next few hours and an empty stomach might make you feel frazzled.

This is typically a candid activity; your friends or family are helping you get dressed, assisting with shoes or jewelry, hugging, and maybe tearing up a little bit.

If you have a lot of layers, buttons, laces, or any complicated sort of under garments, you’ll want to add in extra time here! Dresses with small hook-and-eye buttons going down the back alwaaaays take longer than you think. For anyone wearing a tie or bowtie: please practice before the day!!!!! I’ve seen bowties gobble up literally 45 minutes of the schedule with 5 people involved, before finally giving up and doing a clip on.

Prior to the day, encourage your friends and family not to live through their phones during this process; the energy is always way better if there isn’t a glowing triangle blocking your mom’s face when she sees you in your wedding clothes for the first time. 🙂

If you want more posed photos in your full wedding outfit before dashing out for the first look, we might do that here. It’s usually just you, at or near the place you just got ready, or at a designated location near/on the way to a first look location, if time permits. It’s great if you have the flowers or the boutonniere at this point, but not required.

This time greatly depends on how long it will take to get to the first look location, if you’re leaving your getting ready space at all. You might be walking down the hall or you may be driving across town.

02: First Look + group photos

The first look is when you see your partner for the first time, away from the dozens of eyes that will be watching during the ceremony. This time also helps ease any nerves you may be feeling and allows you to take some of the first portraits of you two during the day. I’m a huge supporter of seeing each other before the ceremony, because it makes the rest of the schedule much easier to plan. A big bonus that often gets overlooked? You and your partner get to spend more time together!

If you want to keep this moment intimate, I recommend telling your family and wedding party to give you privacy. If they insist on joining and you’d rather they don’t, you can always tell them that I requested it.

This time is for group photos with anyone you consider a VIP or who will be with you throughout the day: family, wedding party, closer friends.

If you want just a handful (4-5) of quick family photos, this shouldn’t take longer than 15 minutes. Once we add in more groupings and individuals with certain people, we need to schedule at least 1-2 minutes per photo.

Extensive family photos can be stressful for everyone involved, but I promise they won’t be if you follow my lead. In my experience it’s best to keep all family photos to one time slot; I explain why in the Family Photo Tips section below.

If you don’t want to see each other before the ceremony we can do the family photos all at once afterwards, but will need to be sure we have plenty of space away from the other guests, areas being flipped, and have scheduled for the appropriate lighting during this time. It can be a bit like herding cats if we save family photos for after the ceremony, so I highly recommend avoiding this if possible.

This is when you take a few minutes to relax, drink some water, go to the bathroom, take a shot, hide from guests if you want, and get excited!!

If you haven’t had a chance to do a quick ceremony rehearsal, that might be slotted in here, too. I defer to your planner or day of coordinator for this. We can also swap this time with the group photo time slot above.

03: Ceremony + Cocktail

  • GOLDEN HOUR PORTRAITS
  • since these are often the last photos during sunlight and some of your first photos as a married couple, we may spend 10-20 minutes
  • find out below why i love this light so much

Most weddings don’t actually start right at the listed time on the invitation. This gives your habitually late cousin a chance to find their seat before the aisle is littered with the wedding party, or to make up for the fact that the President is in town and their motorcade is messing up traffic (true story).

There’s typically music playing at this time and guests are often offered a welcome beverage while they mingle and wait.

More and more couples are choosing not to hide from their guests before the ceremony and instead spend this time welcoming everyone so they can enjoy their cocktail hour.

This time is different for every wedding and entirely depends on the type of ceremony you’re having. Secular ceremonies might last around 5-20 minutes, while religious ceremonies can last up to an hour or more.

One wedding I photographed included the couple’s friend reading the monologue from “When Harry Met Sally” as well as several other performances and poems read by friends, and that definitely lasted more than 20 minutes, so it’s totally up to you two here.

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!

If you want portraits with your new spouse, we might sneak off for a few “OH SHIT WE’RE MARRIED!” photos during this time. I don’t want to keep you from your guests + cocktail hour, so we try to keep the photos during this time as quick as possible, usually 5-20 minutes depending on how the day has played out so far.

This is also a good time to sign the marriage license if you haven’t done that yet. This will only take a few minutes, and couples often have someone bring over a few appetizers + drinks from cocktail hour to enjoy during this time.

04: the Reception

  • THINGS TO CONSIDER
  • any events and scheduling beyond the cocktail hour will need to be confirmed with the venue coordinator, caterer, or DJ
  • you can find this schedule on my Google Drive where you can save it to your own Drive or download for editing to your heart’s content
  • don’t forget to send me the semi-final schedule two weeks before the wedding so we can make any necessary adjustments

Before guests are invited to dinner, either myself or my second photographer will want 5-10 minutes before to photograph the room + table details, if this is important to you.

If you’re planning to do a grand entrance to the reception, you and your new spouse will be hidden away at this time.

Time for lots of applause and cheers while you and your new spouse enter a room like you’re the Queen of England.

This appears to be less common now, but the first toasts in the wedding reception timeline are considered welcome toasts or a prayer before dinner and are typically offered by the parents, officiant, friend, or a family member of the couple, if not the couple themselves.

This 10000% depends on what kind of dinner you’re having, and it will be best to check with your coordinator, planner, and/or caterer for timing on this.

Maybe we’ve already taken a lot of portraits already and you’d rather just enjoy the evening with your people, or the sun has set, it’s raining, or any other reason why we might skip this. If so, skip ahead!

But if you have your heart set on sunset photos, we’ll want to be sure to schedule for it. These work best where we have a view of the horizon very nearby (no more than a 5 minutes walking) and there’s minimal cloud cover. We can definitely chat more about these photos and where exactly you want them to take place, but I recommend at or near the reception location. I always Google the time of sunset for your specific city and venue location on the day.

Halfway through dinner or as dinner is wrapping up, any VIPs and/or family can offer their toasts during this slot of the wedding schedule. Always give a time limit to these people; 2-5 minutes max is a good rule of thumb, but you know your people best!

These dances typically take place shortly after the toasts. If you or your partner don’t want to do a first dance or parent dances for some reason, I’ve seen many wedding DJs start the open dance with a wedding party dance and a high energy song. The money dance (this used to be more popular when I was photographing midwest weddings in the mid-2010’s, but recently I’ve seen the Filipino money dances more often) is a very fun way to start things off.

Not everyone wants to do a Cake Cutting, Bouquet/Garter Toss, or Money Dance/other traditional dances, and this is, obviously, totally up to you! And honestly, I salute you for doing whatever makes the most sense to you two.

Pizza? Burgers? Fries and dipping sauce buffet? Bubble Tea??? If it’s been more than 2 hours since dinner, a snack is always welcome.

I’ll be around as long as you want me! You can give me a specific final event you want me to be sure to photograph (late night snack at 10, fireworks at 10:30, etc) and I might hang around longer if I feel like I need to.

If you’re having an exit with sparklers, make sure to plan ahead with the venue coordinator and ask their advice for best practices. I recommend using the 20″ or 30″ sparklers intended for this (they should last a 120 seconds or longer) rather than choosing a shorter or budget option.

I’m game if you want the after party photographed, we’ll just need to discuss beforehand so I can figure out what to do with my gear. This might also fall under rehearsal/welcome party coverage, depending on when I started the day.

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Trust your gut!

This is your wedding day, and ultimately it should be a reflection of what you and your partner want it to be rather than a replica of someone else’s mood board. There are no wrong opinions or ideas when it comes to what you want your day to be and represent. I won’t tell you exactly what to wear for engagement photos (unless you want me to) or shame you for any of your choices on the wedding day. I am there to document the day exactly as it occurs, weird lighting, dated wallpaper, ugly crying and all.

PLANNING 1O1:

lighting!

In my opinion you can never have too much or bad light, yet there are different types of light and times of day that lend themselves to certain events or photos.

I don’t expect you to memorize this or schedule your day around lighting, but it’s helpful to give you a peek into what I’m thinking about throughout a wedding day. Don’t worry: I can create kickass photos in all types of light on the fly. Some of my favorite images were taken in light that I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen to work with if given the option.

My ‘BEST FOR’ references below are a very loose guide, because as with all good things the rules are meant to be broken and that’s often when real creativity is born.

GOLDEN HOUR

I’m sure you’re already aware of this one. I love golden hour light; it’s soft, dramatic, warm, nostalgic, and so fun to play with. I call it honey light, and it’s hard to take a bad photo in this light. A wedding ceremony that takes place during this time (~60 minutes prior sunset) is memorable, but also means we would likely be unable to get portraits in this light.

Some of my favorite photos during the day take place when I sneak off with just the couple for a few intimate, romantic, “WE’RE MARRIED!” portraits right after the ceremony, so it’s great if we can do this for 5-20 minutes during the golden hour, the closer to sunset the better. I always take sunset into account when helping to build a schedule, but you can see when it is, too, by googling: “sunset [location] [date].” Certain urban venues and locations make it tricky to access this light, so we’re not always able to play with it.

BEST FOR: Intimate ceremonies, portraits, cocktail hour, reception…everything! I WISH IT LASTED ALL DAY!

Indirect Window Light

This is always nice light. Your makeup artist will want to utilize this during the getting ready portion of your wedding day to avoid weird and unflattering shadows which may be caused by lamps, overhead lights, or bathroom lighting. We can also play with window light during portraits, and use it to illuminate family or group portraits if there are multiple or a single window is large enough.

If possible, use gauzy curtains to soften windows with direct sunlight. This will help scatter the light and make it softer and more flattering for multiple purposes throughout the day. When we’re in a room with bright window light, we’ll want to kill the room lights to avoid getting a funky mixed lighting scenario (which can be a pain in the ass to edit).

BEST FOR: GETTING READY, PORTRAITS, FIRST LOOK, GROUP PORTRAITS, CEREMONY, RECEPTION.

Full Sun

This is the kind of light you’ll find in the middle of a clear sunny day, typically in the summer months from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. Late fall, winter, and early spring full sun can be a different, wonderful, magical beast that sits lower in the sky and may err on the side of hazy and is almost always wonderful and easy to work with.

Summer full sun can be a challenging time to take some of those more staged or traditional group portraits without a shady spot (because of squinting) but we can almost always get some very dramatic portraits of you and your partner during this time.

BEST FOR: Summertime couples’ portraits, wintertime group portraits.

DAPPLED LIGHT

This one is relatively unpredictable; I’m not always able to plan for when it will hit unless I’m incredibly familiar with a location. This is direct light that hits in a magical way, for just a few moments and will disappear as quickly as it appeared. We’ll often find this light in the woods or near a tree, which is what creates its signature shadowy effect. Dappled light is one of my most requested and referenced light types, but we can’t always perfectly plan for it.

BEST FOR: PORTRAITS, FIRST LOOK, ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS.

OPEN SHADE

This one is sort of an amendment to Full Sun. When we’re photographing group portraits, a first look, or anything else that I have some control over during a clear, Full Sun day, I’ll inevitably try to find a large enough area of open shade for at least some of these photos.

I’ll be on the lookout for buildings, tall & full trees, or other structures next to which I can tuck people for posed or semi-posed portraits while still illuminating them beautifully. When in doubt, I’ll try to have you stand in the shade while facing wherever the light is coming from.

As with dappled light, unless we’re familiar with a location it can be trickier to plan for shade. I always keep a sun tracker app on my phone though, which helps me figure out the exact position of the sun in the sky at any time in the future.

BEST FOR: PORTRAITS, FIRST LOOK, GROUP PORTRAITS, SHORT CEREMONIES.

OVERCAST

I used to hate overcast days. I thought they were flat and uninspiring, but after living in the grey PNW for 5 years realized they’re almost always soft, gentle, and flattering. If your wedding day is overcast, you should be excited! It’s one of the easiest and most predictable light sources to work with, so all of your photographer’s energy can be entirely dedicated to documenting your day rather than anticipating the ever-changing nature of full sun.

BEST FOR: EVERYTHING!

TWINKLE + CANDLE LIGHT

Stringed lights are sort of like the golden hour of artificial light: always flattering, magical, and fun to play with. A reception with lots and lots of twinkle lights is one of my absolute favorite environments to photograph. String them above your ceremony seating, over the dinner tables, weave them through the trees, or create a circus tent-like effect over the dance floor. Candle light is another magical little light source that adds immediate intimacy, romance, and nostalgia to any setting. I love the way a tiny flame dances as guests erupt in applause after speeches or the first dance.

I always make the most of twinkle lights or candles when they’re around and love to utilize them to give photos an extra special unique sparkle with filters that I carry in my kit. I have yet to see too many being used, and often wish there were more. So if it’s financially possible, always add more lights! If you’re using candles outside, a hurricane candle holder is always a good idea to keep the flames lit.

BEST FOR: PORTRAITS, CEREMONY, COCKTAIL HOUR, DINNER, RECEPTION, DANCE PARTY.

AFTER DARK

The time after the sun has set can be a challenge for some, but I fully embrace it and love to run around with my flashes for a paparazzi-style pop of fun. Street lights, string lights, neon, shop lights, headlights, DJ lights, candles, firepits, and my flashes are all game here. These photos are often a little darker, more grainy, a little less perfect, and full of motion and energy.

I avoid using my flashes during any part of the day where I would rather go unnoticed, so I typically don’t pull them out until after the speeches + dinner.

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for neon portraits, and I’m always game if you want to incorporate this element into your portraits. Lots of weddings are featuring custom-made neon signs (here and here) that you can later display in your home.

BEST FOR: PORTRAITS, COCKTAIL, RECEPTION, DANCING.

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Tech etiquette

Snapping a few quick photos occasionally is one thing, but we have all witnessed that person whose phone is an extension of their arm all day long. Being hidden behind a screen during the most intimate moments means your loved ones are unwittingly cutting themselves off from totally experiencing what they’re seeing; there’s literally an obstacle between them and their loved one. And from a visual standpoint, it communicates that they don’t really care when we know it’s the exact opposite.

You might already be familiar with unplugged ceremonies, but I think it’s equally as important to have a conversation with family and friends prior to the wedding about intentionally putting their phones down throughout the the day. You can tell them that you want them to be able to live in the moment and really experience every aspect of it and that you’ll have a professional photographer along to document those important moments for them. I promise it will make your photos that much more impactful when you look back on them in 20 years.

PLANNING 1O1:

family + VIP group photos

Without an organized family photo list to guide us, even the most relaxed wedding can suddenly feel chaotic.

Find my Family + VIP Guide with Sample List on Google Drive here.

tips

MAKE A LIST

Make sure to supply me with this detailed family + VIP group photo list no later than 2 weeks before the wedding; otherwise we may not have time to make adjustments to it or the schedule. If I don’t have a second photographer, designate your most responsible family member or friend (preferably not someone in a majority of the photos) to help me identify and organize people. Be sure they know they’re helping and are introduced to me ahead of time.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

To move through these photos as quickly as possible with the least amount of confusion, keep these more formal groupings limited if possible. We don’t need to do every possible combination of you and your family members, swapping out your partner in every other photo just because we can, think about the photos you actually want and try to keep it simple. We often start with: You, your partner, and your parents, then add in your siblings, then add in their spouses/partners/ children. We might grab a few quick photos of you and your partner with each parent, then a photo of both sides of your families all together, before moving on and repeating the groupings with your partner’s family.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Let me know in the pre-wedding questionnaire (my client management system will send it to you 1-2 months before your wedding date) if there are any sensitive relationships (divorce, step-family, estrangement, adoption, etc) or situations of which I should be aware. Since all families and their relationships are different, I try not to assume that you’ll want a photo with anyone specific unless you include it in the list or it’s super evident to me on the day that you have a close relationship.

BEFORE THE CEREMONY, please 🙂

In my experience it’s best to keep all family photos to one time slot before the ceremony so we’re not scrambling to find people amidst the sea of other guests and most importantly, so everyone can get right to socializing and celebrating during cocktail hour as they’re meant to. More couples are opting to spend a few minutes alone right after the ceremony, or to grab some “WE’RE MARRIED!” portraits of just the two of you, as you’ll both be feeling a variety of emotions at that time.

TIMING IS KEY

For key family photos (parents, siblings, grandparents) we can spend a little more time posing and doing assorted groupings that you’ve included in the list. A general rule of thumb for these smaller group photos (less than 12 people) is to plan for 1-2 minutes per photo listed. So, if you have 15 total photos in the list, we’ll need to plan 30 minutes for this. If you send me a list of 47 groupings and only 20 minutes for them, I will cry.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

If you wish to do any large group photos with multiple extended family groups (allll the aunts, uncles, cousins) we’ll need to keep these groupings limited and allot more time for this in the schedule. Keep in mind that while these large group family photos can be tricky to schedule for before the ceremony, they’re extra tricky to get after the ceremony once all of the guests are present, everyone is wandering off to the cocktail hour, and your coordinator is losing their mind because they can’t flip the room for dinner since we’ll likely need that space for big group photos.

WE ALL HAVE THAT ONE COUSIN…

In order for family photos to flow well we need to ensure every person being photographed is at the agreed upon location on time. We all know who our habitually late cousin is, so if it’s necessary to tell them to arrive 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, so be it. 😉 Out of interest for the day’s schedule, we can’t delay family photos if someone is missing and will do our best to get a quick photo with them later.

sample FAMILY list

  • THINGS TO CONSIDER
  • arrange by families
  • include names + relationship identifier
  • assign your loudest friend or planner to help me on the day if I don’t have a second photographer
  • keep grandparents + young children in mind
  • find this list on my Google Drive to save or download & edit

ALEX’S FAMILY (7 photos = 10-15 minutes)

  1. Alex + Sam w/ parents (Sue + Bill)
  2. same as above, add: sisters (Sara, Tara)
  3. same as above, add: grandparents (+ Marjorie, Jim)
  4. A+S w/ grandparents
  5. A+S w/ Mom
  6. A+S w/ Dad
  7. A+S w/ sisters

SAM’S FAMILY (9 photos = 10-20 min)

  1. Sam + Alex w/ parents (Erica, Sean)
  2. same as above, add: sister, husband, kids (Jane, Jake, Anna, Sue)
  3. S+A w/ kids (Anna, Sue)
  4. S+A w/ Smith grandparents (Susan, Oliver)
  5. S+A w/ grandma (Carla)
  6. Sam + grandma Carla
  7. Sam w/ Mom
  8. Sam w/ Dad
  9. Sam w/ siblings

WEDDING PARTY/VIP (3 group photos = 10 min)

  1. Alex + VIPs (Sara, Tara, Jordan, Jesse)
  2. Sam + VIPs (John, Paul, George, Ringo)
  3. A+S with all VIPs

Total time needed for 19 groupings = 30-40 minutes

other vendors!

This is in no way a complete list of the talented creatives I’ve worked with on wedding days, just some favorite ones that have floated to the top. There are a few included here that I haven’t yet worked with but who come highly recommended from other trusted photographers, too.

The videographers I recommend all work in a similar unobtrusive, candid, and creative manner to me, which really compliments the overall vibe we each try to support on a wedding day.

Above and beyond my favorite videographer I’ve worked with is Lauren at LoveBug Pictures based in Portland, Oregon; she and I always feel like two halves of the same brain when working together and the weddings I work where she’s involved are approximately 200% more fun for everyone. We’re constantly daydreaming about creating a custom photo+video package together (somedaaaay) so if you reach out to her, be sure to say Caitlin sent you.

A few other video favorites are Steven and his team at Wild Light Films based in SoCal + Florida; and Iron and Fern based in SoCal. I haven’t yet worked with them, but the work of Hitches + Unions always catches my eye!

My favorite NYC and East Coast-based florists are Tati and Eric at Kraft & Company, Cristina at Pink Jasmine Designs. Zoie at Efflorescent Floral (I haven’t yet worked with Zoie, but everything I see her create inspires me), and the team at Geometry Gardens; and my favorite West Coast-based florist (she’s always down to travel!) is Sarah at Selva Floral.

I’ve worked with both of these brilliant graphic designers within the corporate world before weddings, and I wholeheartedly recommend the unique design perspectives they each bring.

For any DIY or custom printed good or web collateral (signage, invites, displays, websites) my favorite graphic designer is the badass, talented, and compassionate Cheyne Brooking of Studio Ludis based in Portland, Oregon. She’s also a wildly talented illustrator, so reach out if you’re looking for something extra fun and custom.
Studio Ludis: WEB — IG — ETSY — CREATIVE MARKET

Possibly the sweetest person I’ve ever met is Ingrid Opitz, who is a classically trained watercolor artist and illustrator. You can find her Etsy shop here. I can share her private contact info if you’re interested in working with her to create something custom, too!

Dani at Once Upon a Vow (with her sister, Karla!) is one of the kindest officiants I’ve ever worked with. She magically channels the energy of every couple she works with which makes them feel safe and genuinely cared for, and the weddings she’s involved in are 10x more memorable as a result. Bonus: they’re both inclusive + bilingual.

Olivia Garvin not only makes you look like your most natural and ethereal self, I feel 10x calmer just being in the same room where she’s working her magic. Pent specializes in enhancing your natural beauty and brings a relaxed vibe to what can be a nervous part of your wedding day. Bespoke Beauty + Bridal can give you the glam treatment.

My personal hair cutting genius is Liv at Headdress (I was aware of her for years before moving to NYC; she’s the one to go to if you have curly or wavy hair) and Ray at Headdress is a close second.