Bridal Perfection
Trust me on this… you want, and need, bridal portraits!
When I was married in 2000, I had traditional bridal portraits taken in my wedding dress, and we displayed a framed bridal portrait at our wedding. That bridal portrait still hangs in our home today. When my daughter was planning her wedding last year, I knew I just had to take her bridal portraits, and I was thrilled she wanted me to. We picked up her custom-made wedding gown created by Naama Navipur Haute Couture, and used our wedding venue, The Preserve at Canyon Lake, as our backdrop. By selecting an indoor venue we knew that no matter what the weather threw at us, we would be able to keep our bridal portrait date of October 30th, which was important to finish the PAINTING of her selected bridal portrait by the wedding on December 28th (the timeline was very tight for a mixed media painted portrait to be completed, and I strongly recommend scheduling the portrait session at last 3 months before the official wedding date for completion of a painting).
Let me tell you, my husband and I have zero regrets about buying my daughter a custom-made wedding gown. For one thing, it fit her like a glove - and we did not have to do any alterations because the gown was measured, trimmed, and pinned to exactly fit her body at our fitting. For another, we were able to make modifications to the gowns she tried on and take elements of our favorites to combine them into the perfect dress. We took the lace from one, the bodice and back from another, and the color of others to create the most beautiful barely blush-pink bridal gown I have ever seen. At the wedding, the dress had such a beautiful sparkle under the lights, and it moved and flowed like a dream when my daughter danced. And that matching veil… I just can’t get enough and I couldn’t really get enough of her bridal portraits either. I am so happy that my daughter, who dreamed of her wedding dress since she was 4 years old, found her perfect gown for her perfect day.
I have included a gallery of bridal portraits below, plus an example of how we used 2 painted portraits as decor at the wedding. On our bridal portrait session day (remember, it was 10/30), we had a blustery, windy, rainy day but because of the huge windows and abundant natural light, you would never know the weather didn’t cooperate. We were able to go outside for a little bit at the very end after it dried up - you’d never know she was freezing in these. My advice: choose a venue with indoor AND outdoor, climate controlled options for your photos, and for your wedding! The Preserve was the best of both worlds with natural landscaping that is second to none (that pond is incredible!), and also a gorgeous indoor chapel and attached banquet hall with beautiful fireplace, panoramic windows, and a gorgeous bar. There was ample room for our guests, DJ, and dance floor without feeling crowded. I loved The Preserve at Canyon Lake!
My mom-of-the-bride rating of our Naama Navipur Haute Couture dress and our venue, The Preserve at Canyon Lake: 10/10 for both!
As for how we used our bridal portraits at the wedding: we displayed one mixed media painted portrait of our favorite engagement photo, and one painted portrait of our favorite bridal portrait on the stairs (although I have two other wall portraits in my house after the wedding). My daughter has both paintings that were displayed at the wedding, plus all the framed small and large engagement portraits we had scattered around. We also used a photo album full of photos of my daughter and her husband as the wedding guest book. Guests were able to sign the end leaves as well as strategic spaces within the album for a special keepsake they can display and enjoy forever. Sometime later I’ll take some photos of the album/guest book and blog about it.
