There are a ton of wedding details that you can ask your photographer to get some photos of for you. SO many. Any physical thing that was a piece of your day or an important part of your relationship can be included. Take the time to think about what details from your wedding day you’ll want to have a record of. And talk to your photographer about making sure they’re captured. It’s the best way to make sure you’ll always be able to remember them! Here’s a list you can start with – not everything is for everyone, and there are probably more specific details you’ll have that aren’t on my list. That’s okay! Feel free to use this as a reference and work with your photographer to make your own list.

The Wedding Details List I Give My Couples

• shoes
• 2 copies of the full invitation suite with all the envelopes
• all the rings: both wedding bands and your engagement ring
• any other jewelry, including your necklace and earrings
• your wedding dress
• a nice hanger
• the bouquet
• clippings from your florist (flowers, greenery, a little of everything in your floral arrangements!)
• your veil
• your perfume and/or cologne

Bonus points:

• a ring box or ring dish
• love letters or vows
• cool stamps or art that coordinates with your wedding theme, colors, and/or stationary
• polaroids or souvenirs from your time dating
• your cake topper if applicable
• anything else sentimental you want included in the detail shots

Three reasons it’s worth it to have your wedding details photographed:

1. This one is purely for practicality: having some detail photos (especially of your rings) is helpful if something gets damaged! My wedding ring got caught on a kitchen cabinet about a year after I got married, and it ended up damaging it. When I took it to my jeweler to get it fixed, describing what it looked like before didn’t quite get the point across. And I hadn’t thought to take any pictures specifically of the ring – luckily for me though, my wedding photographer had. I was able to send that photo along with it and get my ring fixed.
2. The details are part of the story of your wedding day. Photos of the small things will help you remember the important things: like how special you felt wearing your grandmother’s veil, the way your husband cried when he read the letter you wrote for him, how good that cheesecake was, and how funny he looked with it on his eyebrow! Besides that, all the colors, textures, florals, old pieces, and new pieces you picked out… They are something you put effort and thought into planning, and getting photos of them will help you remember those details and see the fruits of your labor for the rest of your life. Those shots also usually go at the beginning of your wedding album and help set the tone of the day!
3. Detail photos can be an awesome thank you present for vendors like your florist, dress shop, jeweler, wedding planner, and more. Your vendors will love getting to see their work highlighted – send a couple of the photos of their work and a nice review, and they’ll love you forever!

How long does your photographer need for wedding detail photos?

You’ll definitely want to check in with your specific wedding photographer about how long they typically like to take, but I recommend setting aside at least 45 minutes to an hour for your wedding details! When I arrive on wedding morning, typically the first thing I’ll do is come find you and say hi, make sure everything is going well. Then I’ll collect your details box (typically from your mom or maid of honor) and go photograph those, as well as get venue details while you finish hair and makeup. Setting aside 45-60 minutes allows me plenty of time to get creative and capture everything beautifully!