2011 Wedding Photography Review ::Getting Ready + Wedding Details

After my review of 2011 Engagement pictures, I thought we'd move on to one of my favorite parts of the wedding...Getting Ready! Anticipation is in the air, sometimes nerves and it's a great time for me to photograph all sorts of wedding details that tell the story of the day.

5 Top tips for reduced stress on your wedding day

1. Hire a professional hair and make up team who have experience with weddings! A friend who does make up may mean well but hair and make up are probably the #1 cause of the schedule being thrown off and running late means more stress and usually less time for pictures :( Email me at leah@leahhaydock.com if you need recommendations!

2. Get ready in a room with as much natural light as possible. If you're getting ready at a hotel requesting a corner room usually means more windows. If you're getting ready at home, choose the largest room with largest windows (doesn't have to be a bedroom! the sun room, dining room can be a good option).

3. Ask your wedding party to help keep clutter to a minimum (throw bottles in trash, put dress bags and shoe boxes in the closet etc).

4. Set aside all your details. It's awesome if you can find a little table and have everything ready - a copy of your invitation, any other wedding stationery, duplicate copies of escort cards with your new names, wedding jewelry including BOTH wedding rings etc. When I arrive I can take care of all these detail pictures with consistent light and location so they look amazing in your wedding album. Ideally I like to photograph the wedding rings too, I *hate* asking you to take them off after you've got married - it just seems wrong!

5. Consider both getting ready in the same location (separate rooms!) - it's easier to get pictures of you both. If you're getting ready in different locations we can talk about arranging coverage in both locations.

Let's get to the pictures, here are some of my 2011 favorites...

First up. The beautiful Boston Winter Wedding of Becky + Duke. Becky got ready at the Back Bay Hotel and had some amazing accessories. Hello Manolo:

At the Union Bluff Meeting House in York, ME for the wedding of Diana and Jeff, the dress was from Madeleine's Daughter in Portsmouth, NH, and just for a change, here's the groom getting dressed:



At the Boston Renaissance Hotel on the waterfront we had photographs of Kate Spade purpletasticshoeness and Tiffany bling, a three part wedding dress (hello detachable long skirt!) and Renee before her wedding to Kevin:




Invitations, pocket square folding and the stunning Lindsay before her wedding to Matt at Granite Links in Quincy, MA:




Meg and Dave's wedding at Gould Barn was all kinds of fun with lots of handmade and personalized details including a custom comic cover gift:




Arianne & Roger's wedding at Hamilton Hall, Salem, MA is currently featured over 3 pages in The Knot Boston magazine Spring/Summer 2012 (page 70 if you want to pick up a copy):




Hillary's jewelry and dress at her wedding to Paul at Tupper Manor:



Bridget in her suite at the Mariott Custom House before her New England Aquarium wedding to Matt:





I had the pleasure of being the wedding photographer for Amanda & Joe's day at the Four Seasons Boston back in July and what a perfect day it was, Kate Spade gold shoes no less:




At Caitlin & Peter's wedding at Henderson House we had bicycle themed wedding stationery:





Katie & Dan's wedding at The Ridge Club in Sandwich MA was so much fun with lots of beautiful details:





Atkinson Resort and Country Club in Atkinson, NH is one of my favorite wedding venues in NH. We had our own post-wedding party here, it's 10 minutes from our house and so it was an absolute treat for me to be the wedding photographer at Atkinson for Katy and Sean:




Haverhill, MA is not also close to home and so I was delighted that Stephanie & Mike chose me as their wedding photographer for Renaissance Golf Club. It's SUCH a beautiful wedding venue north of the Boston:





This year Paul and I were lucky enough to buy a second home in Casco, ME and so it's a treat for me to spend my wedding photography weekends in Maine (as I'm often in Boston or NH) not to mention that Lauren's wedding to Dave in Kennebunkport was just amazing:





Katie's wedding to Donnie at the Barn at Gibbet Hill was a day filled with laughter and fun:





Wollaston Golf Club was the venue for Katie & John's wedding south of the city:




The State Room Boston has to be the best wedding venue with a view of Boston at night. I was the wedding photographer for Jessica & Mark's wedding there in October and they got ready at the Marriott Longwharf hotel:





One of the most elegant wedding venues in Boston is the Fairmont Copley, Eunis & Jeff's wedding was visually spectacular (and a ton of fun!):




Liz & Tim's wedding at Tower Hill Botanic gardens was the second time I'd photographed there, always a pleasure to return




A mix of fall foliage and snow made Catherine & Rob's wedding at Church Landing, The Inn at Mill Falls in Meredith, NH unforgettable:





Oh Turner Hill how I love you as a wedding venue. Photography opportunities abound. And Cathy and Brian got ready at Boston College Club for an amazing start to the day:




All the way up in Vermont at Simon Pearce was Kathleen and Joel's wedding and I couldn't have imagined a better end to my 2011 year of weddings:




Wow, I'm exhausted looking back. I think I'll blog ceremony and couples pictures next. Or would you like my favorite first looks pictures? Comment below please!