How to prep your wedding day details for photos

In order to get things off to a great start, please have all of the details and momentos you want images of in one place. If these are all in one central spot and ready to be photographed when your photographer arrives on your wedding day, This will help your photographer get through the detail stuff quicker so that they can focus on you getting ready and having fun. Champagne toasts, anyone?! hehe This will also help ensure you have everything you need in one location! I suggest designating a wedding party member (or friend who will be present for the getting ready portion of the day) to be in charge of your wedding details on the day of. This will be helpful for your photographer!

• Gather all of your wedding details, including your fiancé’s. Keeping each of your items together in your shoeboxes is an easy solution.

• Have your rings and jewelry cleaned. Make sure you plan ahead for this, especially if shipping to a jeweler is required.

• Remove tags, stuffing, and plastic from your wedding dress and hang it on a nice hanger. If you've bought a personalized hanger, be sure to have it ready. Be sure to also remove tags, stickers, plastic wrapping, etc. from jewelry, shoes, and anything else you’re wearing.

• Have your dress and veil steamed. Wrinkles in either of these items will be distracting.

• Bring two copies of your full wedding stationery suite (invitations, envelopes, menus, programs, etc.).

• Ask your florist to provide cuttings of flowers and greenery that match your wedding florals for your photographer to use in styled images.

• Select a perfume or cologne that your fiancé will always be able to associate with the memories of your wedding day.
  

Having been a wedding photographer for a number of years now, I can tell you that most wedding days slightly run behind schedule. So when you take the time to prepare all of these items before the day of, you'll save yourself a TON of unneeded last minute stress. Again, consider enlisting the help of a wedding party member or a close friend to be responsible for these items. I bet you'll find they're more than willing. Probably because they'll want to make sure your day is the best day ever! If you have any other tips and tricks for prepping wedding day details, I'd love to hear about them. Drop them in the comments below!

Host: @styledshootsacrossamerica

Concept & Planning: @heatherbengeofficial

Venue: @sunstonewinery

Hair & Makeup: @sunkissedandmadeup

Stationery: @ohelevenstudio

Florals: @parkersandposies @blushbotanicals

Cake: @Lelepatisserie

Rentals: @partypleasers

Men’s Wear: @themoderngroom_

Gowns: @styled.gowns

Linens: @nuagedesignsinc

Models: @lizkoetsier @rhathon

How to bring personality into your senior portrait session

When it comes to Senior Portraits, I want my seniors to show up as their most authentic selves!

The first step in that process is for me to get to know the senior prior to our session. I want to know what interests the senior has, any sports played, a family pet, etc... The second step of that process is for me to work with the senior on choosing a few locations that showcase his/her/their personality and how we can incorporate different outfits. If you're planning your own senior portrait session, or doing some research for your child's senior portrait session, check out these tips below!

• Choose a location that reflects who you are - Are you into more urban cityscapes type places? Or more into nature? What about the ocean? We could head to your soccer field, baseball/softball diamond, or the tennis court!

• Bring a few props or outfits that reflect your interests - e.g. your cheerleading outfit, your dog, ballet shoes, cowboy boots, your guitar, drumsticks, car, letterman jacket, football helmet, converse, etc... The options are endless! Things I would have included in my senior portraits would have been a volleyball, my softball bat, mit and a ball, along with my letterman jacket. Oh, and my dog Goldie!
  

• Consider asking your photographer to capture you doing something you love - e.g. riding your horse for a few photos, in your prom dress, dancing, shooting a few hoops (uh, how about shooting hoops IN your prom dress?! YES PLEASE!), playing violin, or hanging out with your pet! I had so many 2020 seniors whose proms were cancelled. So some requested to wear their prom dresses for their sessions. My future seniors are welcome to do the same!
  

• We'll get the smiling photos for mama, but don’t be afraid to be silly! Make funny faces, laugh, have fun!! I'll use prompts to try and get you to give me those big laughing smiles. But your end of the bargain is to be open-minded about getting a little silly with me.
  

• Bring unique props, like smoke bombs or confetti! We'll make magic with either.
  

One last note for the parents of my seniors: I ask that you hang back a bit and let me work one on one with your child. I know it's hard not to stay close by and ensure that everything is going perfectly for their session. But I often find that when parents stay too close, their child doesn't fully open up or engage with me. More times than not, they're looking over at mom or dad instead of being fully present for their session. If you as a parent have any special requests, let me know ahead of time so that I can be sure get you what you want while making sure your child's true personality is coming through!

No matter what you choose to incorporate in your session, it will be uniquely yours! If there is something you were thinking of, but I didn't include on here, that doesn't mean we can't include it. Just shoot me a note and we'll make it happen!

To-do bucket list for Sacramento area high school seniors

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a blast when I was in high school. I know it's not always the "time-of-your-life" vibe for a lot of other folks out there, but somehow I managed to have a pretty decent go at it. I think a lot of that had to do with with some fun experiences I had in my senior year of high school. Which got me thinking about a bucket list for local high school seniors and that I've put together below.

• First and foremost, do a Senior Portrait Session! You're only young once and I've compiled some of my favorite reasons to do one on the blog of here!
  

• Watch a movie at the West Wind Sacramento 6 Drive-in! Back when I was in high school, one of our good friends drove a Volvo station wagon and we DEFINITELY snuck an extra friend or two in the trunk area under a blanket to save money. hehe Be sure to pack snacks, blankets, and pillows to get comfy for your double-feature!
  

• Grab late-night burgers, fries, and a shake at Willie's Burgers. I am personally attached to the one located at 16th & Broadway, since that's where I spent quite a few late Friday nights myself hanging out with friends in the parking lot white getting down on some chili cheese fries!
  

• Call your besties and grab some blankets to watch the sunset at Boulder Ridge Park in Rocklin, CA. But be sure carpool with your friends AND get there early. The parking lot is tiny and you'll want to snag one while they're open.
  

• When the days start to get warmer, head over to Gunther's for some ice cream or one of their famous fruit freezes to cool off in the evening. I remember the first time my parents took me as a kid. Ever since, I've really enjoyed introducing new friends to this place! It's always a tough choice between a strawberry-lemon freeze or a scoop of strawberry ice cream on a sugar cone.
  

• Catch a River Cat Ball game. I'm an Oakland A's fan myself, so I was a little sad when they became the AAA team for the San Francisco Giants. But I'll always love me some lawn seats on an early summer evening with some ballpark food!
  

• Go to a concert at the Golden 1 Center. I sure wish a concert this place had been one of my first live music experiences, but I think having seen them them at Arco Arena back in the day really gave me a newfound appreciation for how state-of-the-art the Golden One Center is. Tom Petty was around long before I was born, but he was the first artist I saw perform there and it'll go down as one of my all-time favorite concerts.
  

• After the concert at Golden 1, head across the courtyard to grab dinner continue the evening with fun and games at Punch Bowl Social! They have everything from karaoke rooms and video gaming pods to table top board games and bowling.
  

• Plan an evening of ice skating at Iceland Ice Skating Rink. They'll be renovating it soon, but it's been a fixture in Sacramento since 1940 and operated continuously since then to March of 2010 when a 5-alarm arson fire burned the structure to the ground. The fire destroyed most of the building, but the rink itself survived and it's been an open air rink ever since!

Did I miss any of the must-see, must-do experiences for someone possibly getting ready to leave Sacramento for college? I'd love to hear your ideas. Drop them in the comments below.