10 items you need in your bridal suite

1. THE BRIDE’S DRESS

This might be self-explanatory, but it never hurts to list as a reminder! Most often, brides get dressed in their ‘bridal suite’ (i.e. hotel room or a parent’s home), so the dress will usually be there anyways. However, if the bride is getting dressed elsewhere, try to also have the dress in the bridal suite for photos of it before the bride slips into it. Often bridal suites will have much better lighting and backgrounds than say a church or similar venue, if that’s where the bride is getting dressed.

2. HANGER FOR THE BRIDE’S DRESS

Often times, the bridal shop sends the bride’s drop-dead-gorgeous dress on a lackluster, plastic hanger. Do yourself a favor and avoid the cringe of getting your photos back and noticing a cheap-looking hanger against an expensive, luxurious gown. Do the same for the bridesmaid dresses, if you’re going to have them photographed.

3. A COPY OF THE INVITATION SUITE

This includes invitation, rsvp card, envelope(s), details card, etc. Photographers usually love to photograph this with some of your other details like shoes or bouquet, to help set the tone for and tell the story of your day! It’s likely you won’t keep the invitation suite for very long, after all paper isn’t forever. So it’s a wonderful idea to get a photograph of the invitation suite! You’ve spent time planning how it will all look, and it only takes a moment to pack an extra copy of this in your bridal suite bag.

4. ALL THE BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES

The bride will need her shoes, veil, earrings, necklace, garter, undergarments, clutch/purse, and literally everything she’s going to put on as she gets dressed. Photographers will sometimes use some of the accessories (especially shoes + jewelry) in photos, so it’s important to have it all in the bridal suite — not only to dress the bride, but for photos.