Bridal pics outside... worried about getting my dress dirty.. Advice on what to bring?

I've wondered this too! Mine is in 2 weeks!

Following! I've always wondered this.

Ok, at the risk of sounding dumb.... what is a bridal shoot? I've seen this referenced a couple of times on WW, but clearly I'm missing something.

More- Its a photoshoot done prior to the wedding day ( or after if you choose).. of you in your wedding dress all dolled up. Some people choose to display them at the reception. But I think the idea is to have pictures of just you ( with no rush, like there would be on the day of) in your gown. And the best part is being able to pick a special place to do them thats not specific to your venue.

Basically an extra keepsake more or less.

Find out if the bridal salon you purchased your dress from does complimentary cleanings for the bridals and the wedding day. I haven't purchased yet but a lot of salons I've been to in my area offer 2 complimentary cleanings for this very reason.

Ahhh! Thanks Kristen!

Maybe you can bring a helper or two just to help you keep your dress lifted over dirty areas?

LOL yeah, I am already dragging my mom along.. actually I didn't have to drag her.. she wants to be apart of EVERYTHING lol which I am sure most of you are experiencing as well haha

Can't wait to see pics! Please share with us. Maybe steam clean the bottom or the dress??

I didn't do bridals, but I know tons of friends who did. I've gone along to help hold the dress up so it doesn't get snagged on stuff, but even trying hard it will still get dirty. Every bride I know has gotten her dressed cleaned after outdoor bridals.

I didn't do a bridal shoot, but I did do photos at my parents' house before the wedding with my BP and family, and some were outside. When I was walking, I just picked up my dress (with help from BP) and then when we were posing for a photo, we put an old sheet on the ground and then spread the dress out on top of that so you couldn't see it. It kept my dress stain free until the wedding.

I've actually always wondered this about women who took pictures before their wedding... getting your shoes dirty, hem of your dress dirty, risk of getting makeup on your dress and sweating in it... I would plan to get it professionally cleaned. I would imagine that even if you didn't get it dirty you would need it steamed before your wedding anyway!

I never heard of this.....

From my photographer but not in her exact words: wedding dresses are generally durable enough that dirt will just come off very easily. She said she absolutely won't risk bridal portraits on wet ground though or in rain and suggests a back up plan for outdoor bridal portraits. Mine were last weekend at an indoor location that also had some pretty spots outside. It's so hot in the southeast that it was nice to have the a/c even though the weather was perfect. We took some pictures outside and I had to walk in the dirt though and you can't see anything on my dress now. She helped me pick it up every time I walked around outside though so it wouldn't drag in the dirt! Her style for bridal portraits was that I didn't have to move spots too much and she just told me how to adjust my pose and she changed angles and lenses to get variety. I think that helped keep it clean too because I was mostly standing still the whole time then picking up the dress and walking to the next photo spot.

Have someone carry around a white towel or blanket for you to stand on. You can hide the edges under your dress, as long as it's long..

I say scope out your area before you put the dress on. Perhaps the day before. Try to find the least amount of dirt in areas you can walk in. Shoes can be cleaned usually pretty easily, but see if there's someone that can do a quick cleaning for cheap afterwords

A bridal shoot is a photo shoot of the bride in her gown, hair and make-up all done up like the way it will be on the wedding day, and with her bouquet of course. its easier to get photos of the bride by herself in advance rather then trying to squeeze those photos into the big day while youre also doing normal wedding photos.