How to Gift Boudoir For Your Wedding
Well, engagement season has been upon us, according to my wedding photography friends! I think this meme sums up my observations from the social media world accurately.
Wedding season hits different in the boudoir world. We are usually thought of during the final stages of planning - the time during planning I like to call the "oh shit, I need a gift on wedding day!" phase. While it is *possible* to gift boudoir as a last minute gift for a wedding, it's much better executed with planning, detail, and finesse. :)
The Little Black Book (LBB) is a timeless wedding gift that seems to be universally loved. Here's why *I* love it:
serves as a time capsule for you - you can also enjoy looking back at it years later. Wedding planning takes over your 'engaged' time.
drums up some excitement on the wedding day
just looks freakin' nice, doesn't it?
highly personalized, by nature
the session itself is lots of fun for you! You can book it yourself, or book it with members of your wedding party. Hell, make it a bachelorette event!
Of course, your LBB doesn't necessarily have to be black. The one above is velvet! I commonly order white leather and dreamy linen bound ones, too. But you can't deny that there is a sexy factor with black, IMO.
So, you've settled on this as a gift. Your next thoughts might be "how do I acutally get this done?" or "how tf do I get ready for this thing?" Well, good news: I gotchu on all of that! Keep on reading.
WHEN DO I SCHEDULE THE SHOOT?
What's the Timeline for Gifting A Little Black Book For My Wedding?
Timelines are important for weddings. Planning is all-consuming. The gifts exchanged on wedding days are often last-minute. Boudoir doesn't do super well with last minute, so keep that in mind as you're deciding on this. In order to save you the work and the stress of trying to figure this out yourself, I have made a handy dandy timeline for working boudoir into your wedding plans!
First thing's first: book your wedding venue. Securing your date is going to be the cornerstone of wedding planning, including planning your bridal boudoir session.
After your date is settled, get your bridal party confirmed. Why is that important, I'm sure you're wondering? Well - lingerie parties are often a part of the bachelorette celebrations! More on that in a minute. But for now, get your bridal party worked out.
Decide on if you want a lingerie party or not. Your MOH might be planning to surprise you with one during your bachelorette party. If you want one, ask for it! You can even tell your MOH that you want to have a boudoir session done before the wedding, if you want - that might inspire a bigger variety in pieces. Many brides like to schedule their boudoir session after their bachelorette party even if they're not sure they're getting a lingerie party during the festivities, just in case! Of course, not everyone wants their bridal party buying them lingerie. I didn't! Do what you feel is most comfortable :)
After you've decided all of those details, interview boudoir photographers. When interviewing, DEFINITELY speak with them either in person, on zoom, or over the phone. A boudoir is a very intimate experience and you want to be sure that the photographer's personality is a good fit for you. Be sure to think about what you want your gift to be, whether you're comfortable with a male or female photographer, and what number of outfits, sets, or locations are included in the session and ask about that in the interview.
Finally, after you've interviewed some photographers, book the session at least 2 months out from your wedding. Ideally, you'll book it between 3-6 months before the wedding, so there's plenty of time to craft the perfect album for your betrothed. Shipping and production of boudoir albums can sometimes take some time - so definitely leave lots of wiggle room.
And there you have it! The tl;dr is: get it done early!
