What is a Bridal Session? | Boston Bridal Photography

Make the magic of your wedding day last a little longer with a bridal session from Ryan Richardson Photography.

There’s rarely enough time on the wedding day to really slow down and appreciate the beauty and art of the bride. A bridal session is a chance to correct that oversight, setting aside a time (typically before the wedding) to engage in creative acts of portraiture to document your most iconic look. While it’s much more of a Southern thing, more brides (and grooms) across the country are picking up the practice as a chance to don that wedding apparel one more time and really savor their moment.

Traditional bridal portraiture is typically done in-studio with just the bride before the wedding. Modern bridal portraiture takes more of its cues from editorial and lifestyle photography, frequently breaking out of the studio and the mold to bring the bride (and often both members of the couple) to new locations that may not have been possible to shoot during the wedding. Getting married on a beach but wanted to have pictures on a mountain at sunset? Then book a bridal session. Having a swanky hotel wedding downtown but wanted to do something offbeat like bridal bowling? Book a bridal session. The trash-the-dress phenomenon from the early 2010’s was a bridal sub-genre that a lot of couples still enjoy.

Typically these more creative sessions are scheduled for after the wedding when you may not be as worried about keeping the dress perfect and pristine for the wedding day. Traditional portraits shot ahead of the wedding and are generally used for formal wedding announcements and sometimes displayed as large prints at the reception.

Are you interested in booking a Boston bridal session? What kind of shoot would you like to have in your wedding attire? Get in touch with me today and let’s start planning your next shoot.

Ryan Richardson is a wedding and portrait photographer serving Boston and beyond; including Cape Cod Weddings, New England Weddings, Massachusetts Weddings and Rhode Island Weddings.