Your guy finally got down on one knee and it’s official! You’re engaged! CONGRATS!!! Now comes all of the wedding planning. When you’re searching for the perfect wedding venue, one that fits your personality, has a gorgeous backdrop for your ceremony, and can fit all of your friends and family, there’s one thing that usually gets overlooked: the getting ready room. The time you spend getting ready for your wedding day sets the mood for the WHOLE DAY! But more often than not, the place you get ready is just an afterthought after you’ve already booked the venue.

Your getting ready room sets the tone for the rest of your wedding day. This is where you’re hair and makeup will be perfected, your dress will be freshly pressed, and your best girls will be laughing and having a great time all around you. And you. You will look better here in the getting ready room right after you slip into your dress than you will the rest of the day. Your flowers won’t have had time to wilt yet, you won’t have sweated off any of your makeup, and not one hair will be out of place! THIS is the time to get those gorgeous bridal portraits you’ll cherish forever. You want your getting ready room to amplify how beautiful you are, not detract from it. So here are some of my best tips on how to choose your getting ready room for your wedding day!

Make sure your getting ready room has PLENTY of natural light!

You’re going to look your very best in natural light, so be on the lookout for a getting ready room with large windows. I just adore floor to ceiling windows because of how much light they let in! In most getting ready rooms, I’ll turn off all of the overhead lights (because they’re usually a weird color and I don’t want you to look like an Oompa Loompa!) and just use the natural light coming in from the windows. So as you’re touring your wedding venue, be on the look out for large windows, especially in the bridal suites!

Be aware of the wall colors!

When light fills a room, the walls and ceiling will act like a giant reflector. So if your getting ready room is dark red, the color of your walls is going to be reflected onto you. It’ll make your skin tones very red – like a bad spray tan. And that’s not something that can be edited out easily! So I suggest a getting ready room with light, neutral colored walls to get the best skin tones in your photos. White is the best! If you’re dreaming of those bright, creamy, light bridal portraits, then the color of the walls is definitely something to consider!

Make sure your getting ready room has plenty of space!

Girl, you can NEVER have too much space in a bridal suite/getting ready room! We girls are notorious for letting our stuff just explode all over the room when we’re getting ready. 😂 The last thing we want is for a bunch of clothes, makeup products, or leftovers from brunch in the background of your photos! Having a large bridal suite allows the hair and makeup artists plenty of room to do their thing; without accidentally hitting someone in the face with a curling iron. And it gives me plenty of room to maneuver to capture the best shots of everyone! It also keeps tensions low. When you have lots of people together in a small, cramped room, it’s easy to let the stress bleed over into what should be a fun, relaxing time!

What’s the decor like?

We already talked about how the color scheme of the room is important so you don’t get any weird skin tones in your photos, but it’s important to consider the rest of the room’s decor as well! Does it fit the style you want? Does it have any fun furniture we could use in your photos like an antique mirror or a vintage couch? Are the walls cluttered with dark paintings, or is it simplistic and non-distracting? Does it have a decorative archway around the windows where we could hang your dress to photograph it? These are all important things to think about as you’re considering a getting ready room for your big day!

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If your wedding venue has all of these things in the bridal suite, your getting ready photos are going to be AMAZING!! Make sure your getting ready room has lots of natural light, neutral colors (white is best!), and plenty of space. And if it has some beautiful, simple decor, even better!