Houston Wedding Blog

How to Look Gorgeous in Your Wedding Photos

Your wedding photos, like your wedding vows themselves, are meant to last forever. You can make sure those photos capture you in all your bridal glory by following these foolproof steps to picture perfection.

Step 1: Hire a good photographer. The best wedding photographer is the one who makes you feel comfortable at your very first pre-wedding meeting, and who understands exactly how you want your wedding photos to look and feel. Make sure the photographer shows you actual wedding photos he or she has shot, and talk to the photographer’s former clients for feedback and referrals. Don’t rely on eager but inexperienced family members or friends who offer to save you money by snapping pix on your big day, but do let them take photos of their own and send you the best shots as keepsakes.

Step 2: Have your makeup done by a professional. A pro makeup artist knows how to utilize cosmetics to make your face look its best under specific photo conditions (harsh lights, flash, sunlight, etc.). Do a run-through with your makeup artist prior to your wedding, and make sure you feel comfortable with how you look. On your wedding day, have touch-up supplies at arm’s reach (oil blotting sheets, pressed powder, lipstick and lip liner, mirror, etc.). Last but not least, two words: waterproof mascara!

Step 3: Practice in front of a mirror. Take a tip from Tyra and spend a few moments rehearsing your smiling and posing. Closed- or open-mouth smile? Right side of your face or left? You’ll get a sense of your preferences and be ready for your close-up when the photographer points and shoots.

Step 4: Work your angles. Don’t face the camera head-on, but rather tilt your body 45 degrees, even in portrait shots. Also, follow the lead of your favorite celebrities, and slightly cross your legs when standing, placing the heel of your forward foot near the toe of your rear foot. This position will help to narrow your silhouette and avoid the dreaded “deer in the headlights” look.

Step 5: Check before the click. Prior to any posed photo shoot on your wedding day (directly after your ceremony, cake-cutting, etc.), check your hair and makeup, and make any necessary adjustments. Smooth down flyaway hairs, and blot or powder the shine off your nose and forehead. Our favorite pretty-picture trick? After touching up your makeup, press your palms to your cheeks, hold for a moment, then release. This will give your face a natural, rosy glow and minimize the overdone look that sometimes mars wedding photos.

Step 6: Relax. Before your photographer shoots, take a couple of deep breaths and lower your shoulders (but keep your neck long and chin slightly down—again, what would we do without Tyra??). Feel the love surrounding you, savor the joy of the moment and smile.

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Beautiful Bridal Bracelets

It’s a common bridal conundrum: You want to accessorize your gown with jewelry, but you’re worried about going overboard. After all, you don’t want to eclipse your beautifully bejeweled bodice with a heavy choker or pendant. Neither should you overload your crystal-encrusted updo with an elaborate pair of chandelier earrings.

The perfect solution? A statement bridal bracelet. All you have to decide is what you want your wedding-day wrist adornment to say.

For modern glamour with vintage touch, nothing holds a candle to a jeweled cuff. Today’s most stylish brides are sporting thick cuffs that get their delicacy from intricate filigree work and pavé gems, which catch the light magnificently.

We adore this brilliant specimen from Jude Frances, available through Thomas Markle Jewelers

Meanwhile, the Art Deco elegance of the Mystery Liner Cuff by designer Debra Moreland for Paris is perfect for slender wrists, refined gowns and white silk or satin.

Also in vogue is the jeweled bangle, worn either alone or in groups of three (or more!).

Simple, sumptuous, spectacular—that’s this white gold, white diamond bangle by Simon G (style MB 1432), available from Thomas Markle Jewelers.

For the contemporary, less traditional bride, there is the cubic-zirconia-accented, conversation-worthy Wavey Bangle, which gives the impression of multiple bangles in a single piece.

And, for our final pick, we are fans of this absolutely unforgettable bracelet from Select Jewelers, a traditional style that combines clusters of round diamonds with fabulous baguettes in a piece that will make a treasured heirloom as well as a gorgeous gown accessory.

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Wedding Day Survival Kit

The happiest day of your life can also be one of the most stressful. For most Houston brides, wedding-day anxiety is not of the big-picture variety—Is he really the one? Am I ready for this?—but a result of minor glitches: a fussy bustle, chipped nail polish, a lost contact lens. One of the best ways to avoid these sorts of mishaps is by making sure you have a well-stocked wedding day survival kit at your side on your big day.

Harried bride wishing she had a survival kit

A week or two before your wedding, print out your kit list and get everything on it; almost all of the items will be available at your local drugstore. Organize items by category, pack smaller items in labeled Ziploc bags for easier access and assemble your kit in a roomy tote bag with plenty of compartments (a diaper bag makes a great survival kit holder!).

Every wedding day survival kit should contain the following:

BEAUTY
All your wedding makeup (if your makeup is being done professionally, make sure you have all of the products the makeup artist is using, in order to do touchups prior to photos; refresh makeup before you cut the cake, as this is one of your biggest photo ops)

Hair spray
Nail polish
Nail glue
Bobby pins
Oil blotting papers
Q-tips
Tissues
Mirror

CLOTHING

Safety pins
Sewing kit
Clear nail polish
Stain remover (brides and wedding pros swear by white chalk or Clorox wipes to erase stains on white wedding gowns)
Masking tape (perfect for quickly mending dropped hems)
Extra stockings

PHARMACY

Non-aspirin pain reliever
Tums or other antacid tablets
Any medication you might need
Extra contact lenses and lens solution
Feminine protection
Deodorant
Hand sanitizer
Breath mints
Band-Aid Blister Block

EVERYTHING ELSE

Pen and paper
Batteries for cameras
Vendor contact list (ask your coordinator to provide one—include taxi companies)
Cell phone (to phone taxis, track down a missing vendor or a temporarily misplaced coordinator)
Copy of your vows
Wedding license
Rings

Make sure your survival kit comes with you to your ceremony site AND your reception site (you may want to entrust your planner or maid of honor with this responsibility). And, speaking of your maid(s), you may want to pack a few extra…well, just about everything, to make sure your wedding party is as prepped, primped and in perfect wedding day form as you are.

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Wedding Shoes that Wow

Think the selection of your wedding gown is just about the toughest choice you’ve ever had to make? You obviously haven’t gone wedding shoe shopping yet, Houston bride. Peep-toe or slingback? Flower or bow? High heel or ballet flat? The options are endless.

To settle on the perfect pair, consider your dress style. In general, narrower silhouettes are best paired with a show-off shoe, since it’s more likely to be on view. Ditto shorter dress styles, which look lovely with satin peep-toes, strappy sandals, sparkly wedges or even elegant ballet flats. Ballgown styles go well with platforms, slingbacks and pretty pumps.

While your shoes need not match your dress—champagne shoes are fine with a white gown; satin shoes go well with a tulle skirt—if you’re partial to embellishments, try to couple like with like (don’t mix heavily bejeweled footwear with a seed-pearl-encrusted gown, for instance).

A few more words of advice: Make sure you bring your wedding shoes (or a different pair of the same heel height) to all your gown fittings, to ensure your hem is the proper length. Also, you may want to buy two pairs of wedding shoes, particularly if you will be changing outfits between ceremony and reception. Even if you plan to party in your bridal finery, consider a comfier pair of reception shoes so you’re able to dance the night away painlessly.

And now, a few of our current favorite bridal shoe picks.

If your budget allows, you’ll want to have a look at these darlings from designers Christian Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti. Both are d’Orsay style, peep-toe, bow-accented and drop-dead gorgeous, but somehow they couldn’t be less alike. We love them both!

Christian Louboutin Carnaval Nodo Satin d’Orsay Pumps

Giuseppe Zanotti 80429 Wedding Shoe

Looking for something a little unconventional? Check out the Body Talk from Poetic License—a sweet satin T-strap with an adorable frill detail and sturdy, dance-friendly 3 ½ -inch heel.

Poetic License Body Talk

A pretty wedge combines (relative) comfort with modern style. We love the exceptionally affordable Shanika Wedge from Touch Ups with its rhinestone-accented buckle closures and dyeable satin upper, and the T-strap Nina Gamma evening sandal, with a cool Lucite heel and just a touch of bling.

wih-blogpost-8-shoes-shanika1

Shanika Wedge

Nina Gamma Wedge

No matter what shoes you take a shine to, they’ll get an extra bit of wedding sparkle from Wedding Things’ Bridal Bling shoe-sole initials—perfect for trying out your new last name!

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Wedding Flowers that Beat the Heat

Photo courtesy Blooming Gallery

Doesn’t matter what the calendar says—summer is officially here. With today’s temperature looking to top 90 degrees, and the rest of the week, month and entire season likely to bring more of the same, it’s time to think about wedding flowers that can endure Houston’s notorious heat without a petal out of place.

If you’re planning a Houston wedding in the next few months, you’ll want to make sure you choose heat- and humidity-resistant blooms, particularly if any part of your wedding is scheduled to take place outdoors.

Among the heartiest, and loveliest, hot-weather floral picks, the intricate orchid is an enduring favorite. Despite their delicate, exotic appearance, orchids are extraordinarily well suited to maintaining their dewy appearance in even the steamiest weather conditions. Whether you choose clusters of six-petal dendrobiums or showy, dewy cymbidiums, you can’t go wrong with these sturdy plants in your bouquet or centerpieces. And for grooms and groomsmen, a single cymbidium makes a dashing boutonniere!

Photo by D. Jones Photography, courtesy Events in Bloom

The elegant, attenuated calla lily is another great summer wedding bloom. Choose mini callas in intense, vibrant shades—choices typically include gold, hot pink, scarlet and purplish-black—and have your floral provider create a simple, unadorned, hand-tied nosegay, or an ornate, jewel-accented bouquet.

Photo courtesy alovelymorning.blogspot.com

For centerpieces, you might try forgoing cut floral altogether. Succulent arrangements can be a stunning modern alternative to traditional tabletop floral. Succulents come in almost as many shapes and colors as cut flowers, but unlike conventional wedding flowers, they retain moisture in their leaves and stems, and can stand up to intense summer heat. Your floral vendor can create arrangements using floral foam and/or colored stones, bits of glass or other textured pieces for anchoring and additional color. Or use potted succulents that can double as guest favors when your celebration comes to a close.

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