Your wedding day is filled with little details you’ve spent months choosing – from your rings and stationery to jewellery, perfume, cufflinks and sentimental pieces. Having these items gathered together before your photographer arrives means they can be photographed beautifully without interrupting the flow of your morning or sending someone searching through bags and boxes. You certainly don’t need everything on this list, but using it as a guide will help make sure the meaningful details you’d love captured are ready to go when photography begins.
A simple way to keep everything organised is to pack three small boxes ahead of the wedding day: one for the bride’s details, one for the groom’s details, and one for shared or general items such as rings, stationery and sentimental pieces. That way, whoever is photographing each part of the morning can quickly grab what they need without interrupting hair, makeup, getting dressed or those last-minute preparations. It also helps make sure nothing important is accidentally left behind, already being worn or tucked away somewhere no one can find it.
While this checklist uses “bride” and “groom” as simple headings, every wedding looks different. If you’re a same-sex couple, non-binary, gender-diverse or simply don’t identify with traditional wedding roles, just use the sections that fit you and ignore the labels. The aim is simply to gather the personal details, accessories and meaningful pieces belonging to each person, along with anything you share as a couple, so they’re ready to be photographed.
Bride’s Details
- Shoes
- Earrings
- Necklace
- Bracelet
- Other jewellery
- Veil
- Hairpiece / comb / pins
- Perfume
- Lipstick
- Clutch or handbag
- Garter, if applicable
- Dress hanger/custom hanger
- Vow book or written vows
- Letter/card from the groom
- Gift from the groom
- “Something old, new, borrowed or blue”
- Any personalised or embroidered items
Groom’s Details
- Shoes
- Tie / bow tie
- Cufflinks
- Tie bar/clip
- Watch
- Pocket square
- Belt
- Suspenders
- Socks, particularly if personalised or interesting
- Cologne
- Boutonnière
- Vow book or written vows
- Letter/card from the bride
- Gift from the bride
- Special flask, pocket watch, cigar case etc.
- Anything engraved or personalised
Rings
- Engagement ring
- Bride’s wedding band
- Groom’s wedding band
- Ring box
- Ring dish or other special ring holder
Flowers and Styling Elements
- A handful of loose flowers/greenery from the florist (most will include this in your delivery if you ask ahead of time)
- Bride’s bouquet
- Groom’s boutonnière
- Corsages
- Ribbon used elsewhere in the wedding
- Fabric or lace used in the wedding styling
- Any wedding-specific decorative elements
Shared and Sentimental Details
- Stationery including invitation, envelopes, order of service, menu, place cards, etc….
- Family heirloom jewellery
- Lockets
- Photographs of parents/grandparents
- Memorial charms
- Handkerchiefs
- A piece of fabric from a parent’s/grandparent’s wedding dress
- Letters
- Meaningful gifts
- Religious or cultural items
- Medals
- Objects connected to how they met, became engaged, family history, etc.
- Anything with engraving, handwriting, dates or initials
Pop all your small details into boxes or bags and nominate someone who knows where they are. Please also make this person aware that they will be responsible for taking the rings from the photographer and passing them to the receiver (whether this is the groom, bride, best man, ring bearer, etc…).
When I arrive, I can take the box and get started straight away rather than interrupting to ask where individual items are.
Don’t worry about buying props specifically for photographs. I’m much more interested in things that are actually part of your wedding or have meaning to you.
If you’re getting ready at separate locations, keep one person’s detail box and the shared detail box together at the first getting-ready location I’ll be photographing. I can then bring the shared box with me when I move to the second location. We’ll confirm the order of coverage before your wedding day, so you’ll know exactly where everything needs to be.
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