Are Bridal Portraits Worth The Added Expense?

One thing some brides skip when they get married is the appointment for bridal portraits. Though some brides feel they might be very neat to have, they decide that they really don’t want to get dressed up in their wedding dress and pay to have their hair done before their wedding, only to have to do it all over again for the actual event. I know these portraits are important to some women, but for others, it not only saves significant money to skip them, it just isn’t something that they really feel they need to do. They want to be dressed up in their dress and looking wonderful on their wedding day only. Many soon to be brides feel it would not be as special if it was the second time.

Instead, many choose to do all of the photos that they want the day of the wedding, and leave it at that. I understand why many want to do the bridal portraits, and I can also understand why this is an advantage for some. They don’t feel stressed or rushed, and they don’t have guests waiting around for them to finish on their wedding day. Also, it reduces the amount of time spent with the photographer after the ceremony, and I can’t think of one wedding guest that would not love that. Neither option is right or wrong. It's just a matter of personal preference.

For some though, the bridal portraits odyssey can become even more important than the wedding day itself. This happened to someone I recently heard about. The bride is apparently a wonderful girl, but she is somewhat hung up on what her parents expect of her. They wanted a very large bridal portrait to hang in their home, and so that was that. She could have done it on the wedding day, but she had to keep the allotted time for photos down as much as she could. She made the appointment for her bridal portraits and said she did have a good time doing them, but she also said she felt it took a bit away from the wedding day for her.

Each woman should make her own choice, and in the end, it won’t be the most important detail anyway. The important thing is to make the experience what the couple dreams it to be, and not to be hung up on what others might think. If a bride feels it might take away from how she feels on her big day, then the bridal portraits should be skipped. No harm done. On the other hand, if the bride feels that it is important to her and that it won't significantly detract from her wedding day, then so be it. Also, if the added expense of the bridal portraits is going to take away from the rest of the wedding pictures budget, then that should be taken into consideration as well. Many years later the pictures of friends and family who were part of the wedding may be even more important than the bridal portraits themselves.