Venue: Ohana Camp | Florist: Valley Floral Company | Invitations: Black Unicorn Studios | Baker: Kismet LLC | Dress: Ivy + Aster via White Dress by the Shore | Makeup: Facesplash Makeup | DJ: Buch Spieler Music | Grooms Suit: TopMan

Ceremony/Reception: Candlewood Inn, Florist: Peter’s Florist, Dress: The Bridal Suite, Makeup: JK Flashy, Dj: Joe Price

It was so fun to do this family/engagement session, with Jen & Derrick and their son at Waveney Park, in New Canaan, CT. I am so looking forward to their upcoming wedding and seeing how this kiddo looks in a suit!

Ahhhh, the wedding day has finally arrived, it’s here, it’s here, it’s HERE! Your day has finally come….and your in GYM SHORTS & a TSHIRT! Now Im the first to praise any reasoning towards comfort, especially at the time of day on your wedding that has the potential to be so stressful, BUT, that’s not an excuse to not be fabulous the entire day! Sleep dripping in pink & diamonds if you have to, it’ll be the only day where people wont judge you =)

A lot of my brides like to invest in some new attire for when they are getting ready, and I’m all for it! Pretty robes, & pretty tops make for VERRRRRRRRRY pretty pictures! When you are wearing a beautiful silk robe or cute wedding zip up, it makes you look great while your in the midst of putting on your “face” and have a million rollers on your head, plus it easier on your hair & makeup people to just slip or zip something off rather than trying to protect their masterpiece when pulling off an old gym tshirt.

I thought I’d offer some ideas of potential pre-wedding-dress attire (plus you can have your bridesmaids join in the fun, they make a great bridal party gifts!), here are a few of my favorites robes

Top Left to Right: Forever 21, Plum Pretty Sugar, Anthropologie, Victorias Secret

Or the alternative to a robe or hoodie could be a romper, jumper, or slip set like below, its cool, its super comfortable, its modern and different (plus they dont need to go overhead to come off).

Left to Right: Urban Outfitters, ShopBop, Jcrew

Or the longer version of above is cute as well

Left to Right: ShopBop, Zara

Left to Right: Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue

I especially love these two above, because the longer, floor length gown offers a bit more modesty, yet is still strikingly beautiful, and the opposite gown is so colorful and playful. Plus, robes & zip-up tops are roomy enough for any body type, allowing everyone to look feminine and beautiful.

I’ve seen a lot of vendors (I’m talking to you VS!!!!) also offer up, more of a ‘sexy’ bride type collection in their ‘dressing gown’ lines, and while those are fabulous, these are just a few samples of some more tame options for the morning of your wedding, your pre-wedding-dress outfit can be bright, it can be bold (and it doesn’t necessarily have to be white).

Buy both and save the sexy, barely there wrap for your wedding night =)

In the crazy, stressful world of wedding planning, I’ve decided to create a new series of posts here on my blog, to help brides & clients with the ins and outs of wedding planning, wedding vendors, and wedding day tips and advice. I thought I’d share my personal experiences of being a bride and a photographer on what I’ve seen, what I’ve noticed, what I’ve missed and share some insight on things often overlooked, underused, or over discussed. Ive now been on both sides of the table (as a bride last year and a wedding photographer!), I really feel there were things I missed or wish I knew prior to my wedding day, that Im here to share with all of you! Im also going to create a home here to do meet and greets with several different types of wedding vendors in the area to get their 2 cents on advice and tips special to their industry, but more importantly I want to spot light other cool vendors, that are doing awesome, unique things in the local industry and share their talents.

And, with that, I bring you my first, IN THE KNOW post. I’ll cover a wide range of topics & vendors, but I figured I start with something silly, simple & almost alllllways overlooked….HANGERS!!

So, when I was wedding dress shopping, I posted a bit about this on my old blog, that I spoke about HERE, so you may know that I have a HUUUUUGE pet peeve about plastic hangers on wedding dresses. I dont know what it is, but they just drive me crazzzzy! You see for most people a wedding dress purchase is a big deal. Its probably the most expensive piece of clothing you will ever purchase, and hey, even if its not, it still symbolizes something very special regardless of the cost. Theres so much thought and love that goes into choosing that dress, BUT, the day you bring that dress home its stuffed into a body bag (or garment bag, as most people call it), and hung on a tiny, clear, .03 cent piece of plastic.

SO that pretty, life-changing, very expensive piece of white fabric hangs on a slab of plastic that cost pennies to make, and makes your dress look cheap, devalued and just, simply, unspectacular. Which brings me to my most life changing of all weddings tips……dont forget a PRETTY HANGER!!!!!!

As you’ll see in the photos included in my post, some of my clients have chosen these super popular, super cute, ‘bridal hangers’ that feature your names or your future new name. It’s cute, it’s cheap, and it’s a simple way to jazz up your dress for photos. They’re easy to find online, etsy.com is always a best bet for that kind of stuff. Hey…You dont even need to spend money on a hanger if you dont want to, just remember to bring a nice, sturdy, wooden hanger (or one of those pretty fabric covered ones) from your closet at home with you on the wedding day, it makes all the difference in photos! I swear! And, to prove I practice what I preach, below is a photo taken from my wedding, this is the silly little blue hanger that held my dress on my wedding day (it says “wifey”, cause, yea, I’m corny like that).

photo credit: angelica glass