How/when to do Bridals??

Not bothering with them. I see no use of having a huge portrait of me in my dress hanging on my wall. I'd rather have one of the both of us up there.

As others have said, it's a southern thing and it's supposed to be taken before the wedding with enough time to get them back to hang up at the reception. I've seen them done for both the bride and the groom. And then at the reception, they are usually hanging in big frames on the wall, side by side.

I guess I should add that I am from the South. I had absolutely NO idea this was mainly just a Southern thing! I guess that shows how much I get out! Lol

I feel like this should be done before the ceremony....a second time (before or after) to get all done up again and put on your dress seems a little silly to me.

I'm doing mine the day of the wedding so I don't have to go through the whole getting ready process twice and so I don't have to risk messing up my dress. We are doing a first look a couple hours before the ceremony so we can do all of our pictures before everything starts so I will just do mine right before we do out first look.

Also, if you do them on a separate day, I don't think everything has to be EXACTLY the same. Similar, but not the same. It's completely up to you though. You could do something completely different if you wanted to.

Bridals are a typical Southern thing. I did them in coordination with my makeup and hair trial. I loved them and my Dad would have been upset had I not taken them. I didn't have a chance to take pictures by myself before the ceremony so I was glad that had those.

This is the first time be heard of Bridals.

This is a super cool idea! If you have the extra funds, I say go for it! While I had never heard of them before being on this site (maybe they aren't common in Canada!), and I wont do them, I think the idea is kind of lovely, and I like being able to see the "whole package" (all done up in your dress, makeup, hair, etc) in case you wish to change something. The idea of being a bit more relaxed during the photos is lovely too.

Definitely don't ask your friend to drive 5 hours to get ready, but visit a Sephora or MAC or something to do your makeup. Maybe do them next February or March when you have most of your bridal ensemble ready to go

Doing them before the ceremony defeats the purpose of Bridals, in my opinion. The reason they're done nowadays is so that there are framed portraits of the bride and groom in their wedding attire at the reception. It's part of the decor in southern weddings.

Of course most people get solo photos on the day of the wedding and of course those are your sentimental portraits for you and your loved ones, but the purpose of bridals is specifically for reception decor these days, in my experience.