to do portraits or not?

mjlav1901

I was just wondering the purpose of portraits.  I don't want to have one displayed at my wedding so I guess I was just wondering if I should spend the $175 just to have them.  What did you do with them?  There will be tons of pictures from the wedding and it was really more important for me to do the boudoir session instead.  Will I regret not doing them?  Thanks!

HobokensFury

Bridal portraits are a Southern thing.  They are not done and not missed around here so go ahead and skip them.

artbyallie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_to-do-portraits-or-not?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:12Discussion:2b886a43-ebb1-4751-b01e-44be5c782877Post:9c5ce8eb-5fde-4376-83ce-5cf24d8e9d79">Re: to do portraits or not?</a>:
[QUOTE]Well seeing as she is actually from the south, she may actually want to do them
Posted by MedStudent13[/QUOTE]

<div>But if she just doesn't want them (which she implied), she doesn't have to.</div><div>
</div><div>I did bridal portraits and a DIY boudoir book, the former largely because my mom wanted them. She and both my grandmothers came along to the shoot and one of my favorite pictures is from the end of the session where all four of us are posed together.</div><div>
</div><div>And maybe it's vain of me, but I think my portraits came out really nicely and I do have a group of them framed on our wall in addition to a few wedding pictures.</div>

ZeroOrchestra

W took bridal portraits the day of, after detail shots and before group shots with my bridesmaids. I just figured it was something that was always done, or at least was with our photog. If you don't want them there's nothing wrong with skipping them.

gurrlballa10

I did them and I honestly love them.  I put one on a canvas and yes, I had it displayed at the wedding.  Call it narcissistic, but that's whats done in the south.  Mine weren't standard portraits though.  I went to my favorite artsy area of Charlotte and we took them at all the fun places down there.

mjlav1901

Oh wow, thanks for all the opinions and advice.  Southern and Northern weddings are so different so I'm not surprised at the differences in portraits as well.  After researching it I discovered it does have a Southern history..."the bride’s family would arrange for her to be photographed before being presented to her groom. This was a rite of passage and a keepsake for the family. The bride’s photograph was displayed at the wedding, typically next to the guest book so no one would miss it. After the wedding, it was displayed in the family’s home. Many Southern families still display their daughter’s bridal portraits." Firsttimersluck...why would I flame you when I've asked for your opinion   And Rachers...I don't know why this: But I'm completely narcissistic so whatever was necessary after you made an appropriate, valid point that makes much sense.  I did engagement pics with my FI and will do boudoir pics for a present for him (per his request) so I'm going to skip the bridals.  Thanks for responding everyone. 

TiffanyT816

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_to-do-portraits-or-not?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:12Discussion:2b886a43-ebb1-4751-b01e-44be5c782877Post:dd57a2c3-f862-48ac-aa5e-e30960613d59">Re: to do portraits or not?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah.. No one does them in Washington.. flame me if you want, but up here it comes off a little extra narcissistic.. if you had e-pics done.. and you have a photog at your wedding, why would you need a bunch of photos of just you standing in your dress ? I get the TTD or RTD shoots because those are funky and artistic... but just portraits seem sooo unnecessary
Posted by firsttimersluck[/QUOTE]

Uh, yea. I'm in WA and have never even heard of these. I think E pics and the wedding are definitely enough for me. I might do boudoir shoots for my FI as a gift but it feels like my face will then be plastered all over in pics, not so sure that I need all that.

geieran

I'm getting them. I was a little back and forth, but it seems to be really important to my mom. Like some PPs said, it's also pretty standard in the South. I wouldn't say that it's narcissistic, though. I was a little on the side of not wanting them because I'm shy and I don't care a lot for attention to be directed at me and I don't like to look at myself. However, I have come to the conclusion that there are other reasons that you might want to do them. For me personally, my mom was one of the deciding factors. She loves my F, but I know she wants a portrait of just her baby girl. When my brother gets married, she will want a picture of just him to put by me. 

Another thing I have decided that I kind of like is that the bridal portraits give me a chance to just be me. I love horses, but they're not my F's thing. Everything else is us as a couple like with the e-pics. I'm doing my bridal portraits at a beautiful horse farm. I think it's actually going to be fun. I have always kind of wanted a picture with me in my wedding dress with a black horse, too. After all, that's the best that I will probably ever look and I'm with one of the most beautiful creatures God ever created celebrating marrying the man God created for me. But that's just me. :-)

Whatever it is that you decide, though, it's okay. I hope you don't feel pressured either way.

rlavach

I had never heard of them until TK. While I had no desire to do them, considering that I ended up not getting any solo photos on the day-of, it may not have been a bad idea. For some reason, it didn't occur to me to include solo pics in my 'must take' list. Oh well!

traybay88

i am having a bridal session - i am also having a boudoir pics, but its more like a pin-up photo shoot per my fiance's request (and of course I so want do them too) and i just want lots of pictures of me in my dress. i am from the South, and I might be a little vain, but I only get to wear the darn dress once!! i want some pictures of me in it. 

fallbride1109

I didn't do them.  This was my second wedding and I didn't feel it was appropriate.  I always think of them as being more for traditional church weddings where the big portrait is displayed outside the sanctuary.

I don't really regret not doing them but I am sad that I don't really have a picture of me alone in my dress that I love.  I was hoping to get one on the wedding day, and although I have a couple of me alone, I don't love them.

meganb1977

For practical purposes, bridal portraits do give you a good chance for a trial run of your attire.  It will give you a chance to wear your dress and shoes for a length of time to see how they feel after more than just those few minutes to check the fit.  Or if there's anything you don't like about your hair or makeup or etc.

I did take bridal portraits but I did it partly because I thought my mother and grandmas would enjoy them and partly because I wanted to take them on the beach since my now-husband nixed the idea of actually getting married on a beach.  It wasn't a huge hassle because my parents live near a beach, it fit the Hawaiian theme for the wedding, and I got a steal on my gown so I splurged on bridal portraits.

That said, bridal portraits are a frill that you can go for it if you want them and time/budget permit, or skip them even here in NOLA if it's not important to you!  Although I have seen the large reproductions displayed at receptions I have also seen just a 5x7 (which is what I did) and I've been to many weddings here where there was not a bridal portrait on display.

And rlavach has a good point about at least getting some individual pictures of you on the day of.  Your mother or grandmother or your future husband might like one!  And you can do some nifty things with framing an individual picture of you as a set with an individual picture of him or flanking a picture of the two of you together.

hdhorn

I didn't care anything about it, but my mom wanted one.  We just had a few taken after our ceremony, since we didn't have a reception to display one.  As my mom said "everyone has their daughter's bridal portrait hanging in their house".  Must be a southern thing.

Kristin789

Megan is right - this is the trial run of everything bridal.

The bride-to-be will schedule her hair and makeup trial on the same day as the bridal portrait.  She'll work with the hair people and the makeup people to make sure everything is just right, and then she'll go to the photographer's studio with her dress in a bag.

Upon arrival, she'll be shown to a changing room, and her mom and MOH will help her into her gown, veil, etc. 

The florist will have sent over an exact copy of her bridal bouquet to be used in the bridal portraits - and this is included in the floral contract.

Then the bride-to-be is ready, with hair, makeup, dress, veil, bouquet, etc.  and gets the bridal portrait photos taken.

hoffse

I'm just scheduling a few stand-alone portraits in the church the day-of.  I plan to do these before anybody else is really there.  Of course, I'm southern and my parents have a large portrait of me in my (huge, white) cotillion dress with the elbow-length gloves and magnolias in their living room.  My photog offered either a portrait session or an e-pic session, and we felt the e-pics were more important.  But we also have him for the entire day so I'm going to get 3 or 4 of just me.