I don’t know about you, but I love seeing what other photographers and wedding vendors choose to wear on a wedding day. There seem to be two basic lines of reasoning: 1) go all black to look professional, and blend in with the other vendors, or 2) don’t wear all black so you don’t look like a “vendor” and instead dress to blend in with the guests. Some wear pants and TOMS, others wear cute dresses and even heels. In my opinion, how you decide to dress on the wedding day isn’t a “right” or “wrong”, but should be reflective of you, how you run your business, how you want others to perceive you, and how you work best.

So, for me, as someone who loves fashion and is very inspired by how I feel and my surroundings when I work, I choose to wear things that have color and that I feel cute in, while having the functionality that I need to be comfortable throughout the day. I truly feel like I do better work, and am happier (even if exhausted) throughout a wedding day when I feel cute. Silly as that may sound, it’s true. What this means is that I don’t usually wear black, and I’m perfectly ok with colors and patterns. I always accessorize with a fun necklace, bracelet, earrings or ring (usually a combination of a few) and I always wear a dress. But I also have a few requirements: I buy dresses with pockets so I can always have my cell phone, timeline & extra memory cards on my person, even if I put down my shooting bag. I also only wear flats – cute flats, of course, but flats. I’ve seen other photographers who can pull off wearing heels and not die, but I don’t wear heels super often, anyway, so for me I know I will function most effectively and comfortably in shoes that are both cute and comfortable. I also wear little black bike shorts under my dresses to alleviate any “What if I need to crouch in an awkward way to get the perfect shot?” moments. While they’re probably not usually necessary, it’s just the added insurance of making me feel comfortable wearing dresses to each wedding I shoot. :) So here are a few examples of some outfits I wore this past season:

Target dress with pockets. Super comfortable, fun color/pattern, and still went with a lot of different jewelry and shoe combinations. Also could put a button down underneath it, or a sweater over it for cooler weddings.

Navy polka-dot collared dress. Also from Target, and also has pockets. Super comfortable, worked great as is, with a sweater or blazer over, tights and boots or just flats. A basic color & pattern, but that left lots of room for fun accessorizing.

Blue and black belted dress. Another one from Target, and also with pockets. (Obviously I feel like blue is a good color for me, haha.) Looked great with lots of different belts, and also made for an easy blazer + tights look.

Black and brown polka-dot 3/4 sleeve dress. This one’s from Forever 21. Has pockets, buttons from the waist up, looked great with several different belts and also with tights/boots/sweater.

As you can tell, I’m a big fan of dresses that are cute in and of themselves, but are versatile and can easily have layers/accessories added. Because while I want to get a lot of wear out of them, I don’t want to wear the exact same outfit to each wedding I shoot. So these, among a few others in my closet, made for great options at weddings throughout the whole year. Also, the gray blazer was a great investment ($50 on clearance from Anthro) as I wanted one to add over dresses, but still wanted something that had texture and didn’t look straight up like corporate professional wear. And my flats are a combination of Target, Old Navy and DSW. I did just purchase this pair for the upcoming season and they are the most comfortable flat I’ve ever worn. If you’re in need of a good, basic flat give these a try!

And just for fun, here are some things I’m pinning to expand my shooting style for this wedding season.

So there you have it! While I’m not saying everyone needs to dress like me when they shoot a wedding, I think my wedding-day style accurately reflects my personality, my brand and helps get me in the mindset that is most effective for me to successfully and cheerfully serve my clients on their wedding day. And that’s really what’s most important, in my opinion. Special thanks to Sarah G, Sarah B, and Riette for the images of me shooting!

Happiest of Mondays to you all!