Day After Sessions | What are they? | Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

What the heck is a Bridal or Day After Sessions?

What are Bridal Sessions or Day After Sessions? I get this question A LOT! And I get it, if I weren’t in the wedding industry I wouldn’t know what they were either! Basically, Bridal Session sometimes referred to as Day After Sessions are Couple Sessions in your wedding outfits that happen after your wedding day. I know what you are thinking… cash grab. But honestly, they aren’t!

Why do we need them?

Hear me out. Think back to when you were a kid, going to a family wedding. Remember how you would go to the ceremony, usually around lunchtime, but then you would have to wait for the reception. I remember hanging out in coffee shops, or at the closest family member’s house trying to keep the cute dress clean and being bored. There used to be 3-4 hours between the ceremony and the reception.

This break was to take pictures of the family, wedding party and the couple themselves. But as things change over time, couples didn’t want to make their friends and family wait around, so the time for photographs got smaller and smaller. I get it; you want to hang out with all the people closest to you. This is one of the reasons why you will see first looks happen so that you can get all the photos out of the way and hang out with your guests for the rest of the day. If you have questions about a ‘first look,’ I have a blog post coming your way.

Bridal / Day After Session as the solution

So what do you do if you want to spend as much time as possible with your guests but don’t want to have a first look? This is where a bridal session comes in, the day after, week after or whatever works best with your schedule. You get dressed up in your wedding outfits and get your couple photos taken. Don’t get me wrong, on the day of your wedding you will have a couple of pictures taken, just for a shorter period, 20-30 minutes usually. The great thing about bridal sessions is it takes the pressure off, you are relaxed and don’t have anywhere pressing to be. You also aren’t surrounded by your wedding party or guests who are wanting to take photos with you as well. Bridal Sessions can be anywhere from an hour to three hours depending on the package and location you choose.

When you can wander your dream photo location on your wedding day.

Another reason for bridal sessions is for the location. Sometimes you want all the photos that come along with a great adventure elopement, but you also want to spend the day with those closest to you. Who may not be able to climb a mountain, the escapement, or take off to the beach. Maybe you dream of getting married at a winery (ME) or that beautiful old mill. But you also dream of photos at your favourite hiking spot but its too far away to drive too within your wedding day. This would be another case where a bridal session would work out perfectly. You get to enjoy your wedding at the winery (hint hint), but you also get those couple photos on the mountain, or at that favourite hiking spot, you get the idea.

Do you have any questions? Are you fired up for a bridal session? Let me know! Want to see an example of a bridal session? Check out Cassie & Sascha’s photos below.