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What to Give Your Photographer on Your Wedding Day : Wedding Photography Checklist
When planning a wedding, it's easy to focus on big elements like the venue, dress, flowers, décor, entertainment, and guest experience. But don't forget the little details: your wedding invitation, perfume, rings, shoes, vow books, and heirloom jewelry all contribute to your story. These can be beautifully captured through wedding detail photos and flat lay photography.
A key tip is to prepare a wedding detail box for your photographer before the wedding morning.
If you're working with an experienced planner and photographer, like our partners at Cherish Luxury Weddings, they will ensure these details are beautifully captured.
What Is a Wedding Detail Box?
A wedding detail box is a container with personal items you want photographed on your wedding morning. Photographers use these for flat lay wedding photos, editorial shots, and documentary style images. A flat lay is an overhead photo where wedding details are arranged together, serving as a visual introduction to your day. Items like your invitation suite, rings, jewelry, perfume, flowers, and sentimental pieces can be photographed to reflect your wedding aesthetic and story as a couple.
Why Are Wedding Detail Photos Important?
Your wedding photography isn't just about capturing the ceremony and candid moments; it's also about documenting the details you carefully selected over months.
Consider the time you spent choosing your invitation design, stationery, rings, perfume, shoes, jewelry, and accessories. You might have even included family heirlooms or meaningful objects.
Though they may seem small, these details collectively tell a personal story of your wedding.
This is why detail photography has become a crucial aspect of modern wedding photography.
What Should I Give My Wedding Photographer?
If you're wondering what to put in your wedding detail box, here's our recommended wedding photography checklist.
1. Your Complete Wedding Invitation Suite
Start with your stationery.
Give your photographer the complete invitation suite rather than just the main invitation.
Include:
Wedding invitation
RSVP card
Details card
Envelope
Wax seals
Stamps
Ribbon
Menu cards
Ceremony programmes
Any other stationery
If you have an extra invitation suite, bring two.
Having duplicates gives your photographer more flexibility when creating the flat lay.
2. All Three Wedding Rings
Don't forget the rings.
Give your photographer:
Your engagement ring
Your wedding band
Your partner's wedding band
These are some of the most important wedding details to photograph, and they look beautiful styled alongside your invitation, ribbon and floral elements.
3. Your Wedding Shoes
Your wedding shoes are part of your bridal look, so make sure they are included.
Whether you've chosen classic heels, delicate sandals or something completely unique, your photographer can capture the details, texture and design of your shoes before you put them on.
4. Your Veil and Hair Accessories
Your veil can create beautiful photographs, especially when incorporated into a bridal detail flat lay.
Also include:
Hair pins
Clips
Bows
Tiaras
Bridal combs
Other hair accessories
5. Your Wedding Jewellery
Place all the jewellery you will be wearing on your wedding day into the box.
This could include:
Earrings
Necklace
Bracelet
Rings
Hair jewellery
Cufflinks
Watches
Family heirlooms
If a particular piece has a story behind it, tell your photographer. Those little stories can make the photographs even more meaningful.
6. Your Wedding Day Perfume
Yes, your perfume!
Your wedding fragrance is something you'll associate with your wedding day for years to come, and the bottle itself can make a beautiful addition to your wedding detail photos.
The same applies to the groom's cologne.
7. Your Vow Books
If you're writing personal vows, don't forget your vow books.
Photographing your handwritten vows alongside your rings, stationery and flowers creates a beautiful record of the words you chose for one another.
8. Groom's Wedding Details
Wedding photography isn't just about the bride.
Prepare a separate collection of the groom's details, including:
Watch
Cufflinks
Tie or bow tie
Pocket square
Tie clip
Shoes
Cologne
Boutonnière
Any special accessories
These can be photographed separately or incorporated into a larger wedding detail flat lay.
What Other Personal Items Should You Include?
This is where we always encourage our couples to think beyond the traditional checklist.
Ask yourself:
What objects are meaningful to us?
Maybe it's a locket containing a photograph of a loved one.
Maybe it's your grandmother's jewellery.
Maybe it's a family photograph.
Maybe it's a handwritten note.
Maybe you've attached a special charm to your bouquet.
Maybe there is a small heirloom that has been part of your family for generations.
Include it.
These are often the details that make your wedding photographs feel the most personal.
Don't Forget Loose Flowers and Greenery
If your florist can provide a few extra stems, ask them to set aside some loose wedding flowers and greenery for your photographer.
These can be used to style your invitation suite, rings, jewellery and other details.
They also help connect your detail photographs to the overall wedding décor and floral design.
For a destination wedding in Sri Lanka, this can be especially beautiful when the floral design reflects the setting and overall aesthetic of the celebration.
When Should You Give These Items to Your Photographer?
Before your wedding morning.
This is important.
Don't leave your photographer searching through different suitcases, hotel rooms or bridal bags while you're getting ready.
A few days before the wedding, gather everything together in one box or bag.
Then give it to your wedding planner, maid of honour or someone you trust.
When your photographer arrives, they can immediately begin photographing your details while you continue getting ready.
This saves time and makes the morning much more organised.
Don't Worry, Your Wedding Vendors Have You Covered
If you're reading this and thinking, “How am I supposed to remember all of this?” , don't worry.
This is exactly why having an experienced wedding planner and professional wedding photographer makes such a difference.
At Cherish Luxury Weddings, our vendor partners are experienced in capturing the details that make each celebration unique. They know what to look for, what to ask for and how to style these details beautifully.
Our photographers will also remind our couples ahead of the wedding to have these items ready, so you don't have to think about it while you're getting ready.
Some of the Photographers We Love Working With
We are lucky to work alongside some incredibly talented wedding photographers who know how to capture everything from the grandest moments to the smallest details.
Whether you're planning an intimate celebration or a luxury destination wedding in Sri Lanka, choosing the right photographer is one of the most important decisions you'll make.
We recommend choosing someone whose photography style matches the way you want your wedding memories to feel, whether that's editorial, documentary, romantic, cinematic or a combination of styles.
Wedding Photography Checklist: Save This for Your Wedding Morning
Before your photographer arrives, make sure you have:
Complete wedding invitation suite
Extra invitation
RSVP cards and stationery
Wax seals
Stamps
Ribbon
All three rings
Wedding shoes
Veil
Wedding jewellery
Hair accessories
Wedding perfume
Groom's watch
Cufflinks
Tie or bow tie
Pocket square
Groom's cologne
Vow books
Loose flowers and greenery
Family photographs
Lockets
Heirlooms
Bouquet charms
Any other meaningful personal details
Put everything together in one box and hand it to your photographer or wedding planner.
Planning a Destination Wedding in Sri Lanka?
At Cherish Luxury Weddings, we believe the most memorable weddings are the ones where every detail feels intentional.
From finding the right wedding photographer in Sri Lanka and trusted vendors to developing your wedding concept, managing suppliers and coordinating the day itself, our team takes care of the details behind the scenes.
Because your wedding day should feel effortless, and your photographs should capture not only how beautiful it looked, but what made it yours.
Planning a luxury destination wedding in Sri Lanka? Get in touch with Cherish Luxury Weddings to start planning your celebration.
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