Guide to Wedding Details Flat Lay

An all-inclusive guide to wedding details

As your North Carolina wedding photographer, it is my goal to capture the elements of the day that help tell the story of who you and your love are. At the beginning of the day, I’ll arrive to capture the wedding details that help introduce the day and who you are in the beginning of your wedding album. This Guide to Wedding Details Flat Lay will help walk you through some inspiration for what to prepare for me to style your wedding details flat lay!

So… what is a wedding details flat lay?

It is a collection of items that are sentimental to you and your love that may not ordinarily get photographed. Think family heirlooms and invitations, and any other items that you may be passionate about. This helps set the tone for your wedding album, helps me wake up my creative juices, and gives a little more insight into who you are as a couple

What to include in your wedding details flat lay

I highly recommend getting a medium sized box and gathering all of these items beforehand! It helps you stay organized and prevents day-of stress of finding everything for me to photograph. Below is a list of items to gather and put in that box!

• Whole invitation suite including the envelope and any specialty stamps – I personally love Ivy and Linen’s designs!
• Vow books or letters
• Jewelry and Accessories
  • All rings and ring boxes
  • Bracelet, necklace, earrings
  • Veil
  • Both pairs of shoes
  • Tie
  • Cufflinks
  • Watch
  • Pocket Square
• Personal touches
  

Tips for preparing your wedding day flat lay:

Gather everything in advance.

You will be SO glad you did! I like to photograph the details at the beginning of the day when you’re finishing getting ready. When I arrive, it makes the time so much more efficient if you can simply hand me a box of your sentimental items rather than rushing around the room, asking your friend to help find certain items, and running through the mental checklist of what to give me. Now you can go back to enjoying getting ready without me interrupting you.

Steam your veil and wedding dress the day before (or have someone steam it the morning of before I arrive.)

Making sure these two items are ready to go is so helpful! You have no idea how long it takes to steam these two until you actually do it. Pro tip: Steam your dress and veil first, then proceed to the makeup chair. Doing it the other way around WILL cause your makeup to melt.

Ask your florist to drop off loose flowers before I arrive.

This always adds such a romantic touch to wedding flat lays.

Keep the bridal suite clean.

I know it’s so difficult- I spent 20 minutes the morning of my wedding tidying up my wedding suite, putting the bed back together, and I was SO happy I did. I remember when my photographer and videographer walked in to take some getting ready portraits, I felt so much more at ease knowing the space around me would reflect a clean and tidy one in my portraits; I also knew I was giving them more space to be creative with a clean room.

Give me time.

It takes time to craft organized, thoughtful, beautiful flay lays! If you only allot me a few minutes to get it done, it doesn’t allow me the time to lay out your details and tell your story through your sentimental items. If flat lays are not your jam, totally okay! Just be sure to communicate that with me so I know where to focus my attention during that time of the day.

Thinking of working together?

If you enjoyed this guide to wedding details flat lay and are thinking of working together, you can read through my North Carolina wedding photography packages and fill out my inquiry form so we can discuss all your dreams for your big day!