Southern Weddings

Seeing as how we’re still in a festive mood thanks to the impending change of seasons, we have an extra special surprise for you today, courtesy of Perez Photography!  While we absolutely adore the weddings we get to sort through and gush over every week, we thought we’d share a unique (and often overlooked) part of the real Southern wedding process with you.  When Crystal passed along her lovely bridal portraits taken at the rustic Penn Farms in Cedar Hill, Texas, we quickly fell in love with the idea of formal bridal portraits.  What better way to preview (and get even more excited for!) one of the most important days in your life than with a pseudo dress rehearsal that allows you to experiment with your hair, make-up and accessories and even spend a few hours in your gorgeous gown? Crystal’s flowy wedding dress from Anna Maier / Ulla-Maija Couture is simply divine, but what I can’t get over is how flirty and fun her Phoebe Couture reception dress is, especially paired with those cotton-candy pink Valentino heels.  A feminine bouquet of pretty pink roses and romantic orchids from A Stylish Soiree completes the bride-to-be’s picture perfect wedding day look.  What would you do for your bridal portraits?  

Why did you decide to have bridal portraits taken? It’s a Southern tradition! These are pictures I will keep forever and will be able to share with my children one day. A bride can see how the hair, make-up, dress, veil, etc. look on film. A bridal portrait is also the perfect opportunity to make any adjustments before the big day. What if you decide you hate your shoes or want to change up your hairstyle?  It also gives the bride a bit more practice in front of the camera plus I won’t have to worry about getting a bunch of bridal shots the day of my wedding! I highly recommend that all brides have a bridal portrait session!

The weather on my portrait day was: Hot!! This was the first of many 100+ degree days in Dallas. In between shots, I used small hand-held fans to try and stay cool.

What was the design inspiration for your portrait? Rustic prairie love. I wanted a location that would be completely different that our wedding location  and different from what everyone else does. Perez Photography does amazing shots with light and color so what better setting to capture these elements in?

Favorite design element of the shoot: The lighting, color and simple shots.

Are you wearing the same dress in the shoot as you’ll wear for the actual wedding? Most definitely!

How did you decide what to wear to the shoot? I knew I had to have pictures in my reception dress. It would be fun and give the photographer more flexibility. Also, the bridal salon recommended that I not dry clean my wedding dress before my wedding so I was a little nervous about getting it dirty during the bridal portraits. I ended up wearing my wedding dress at the end of the shoot.

Describe your flowers for the shoot: My bridal portrait bouquet was made up of soft pink roses, antique pink spray roses and pink orchids in varying sizes

My favorite detail of the shoot was:I loved the vintage cameras that my photographer used for the shoot

My favorite location of the shoot was: The wooded path and old fence.

Three adjectives that describe the day are:Hot, quick and fun.

What advice would you give to someone planning to have bridals taken? Do it! And when you do, bring two or three people to help assist.

Good luck on your upcoming wedding, Crystal!  You are going to make a beautiful bride!