how to prepare your dress for your bridal photo shoot
Your dress has arrived. Alterations are (mostly) complete. Your bridal photo shoot is in a few days. You’ve picked the perfect location & the perfect time of day. But, did you know you need to prep your dress?
You may be worried about the wrong people seeing your dress too soon & therefore you’ve kept it in the bag hidden in a closet. However, the longer it sits cramped in the bag, the more time it has to form deep wrinkles.
A few days before your session (& your wedding day), pull your dress out of the bag & let it hang somewhere high. I perched my dress from a shelf high up in my bedroom that featured cathedral ceilings & allowed me to hang it up without dragging the floor. Find somewhere in your home (out of the way of prying eyes!) & get that bad boy up & breathing the fresh air. Gravity will help pull most of the wrinkles out.
I hesitate to say try steaming your dress because I don’t want to be held responsible if that ruins the fabric. Ask your seamstress if steaming is ok, & even if they say yes, test it out on a small area first.
The next step would be to fluff! When you’re done fluffing, fluff some more! Fluff by pulling apart each layer & straightening. This applies specifically for those ladies with stiff petticoats & several layers of tulle. It makes all the difference in the world!
Every time you pull the dress out of the bag: fluff.
You drove to the venue & it rode in the passenger seat? Fluff when you arrive.
You put your dress on? Fluff.
You’re halfway through your photo shoot? Fluff.
Don’t forget your veil in all of this! Let it hang & naturally de-wrinkle itself over a few days as well!
Don’t miss the other blog posts in this series to help you plan your bridal session: