If you’ve been following me for a little bit then you know how much I LOVE both my boudoir sessions as well as my weddings! It makes so much sense then why combining the two is basically a dream come true in my books, which is why today we’re talking about bridal boudoir sessions! A bridal boudoir session is a boudoir session of a soon to be bride where the photos are typically put together as a physical album to then be given to the spouse, either on the day of the wedding or sometime after. If you’ve never considered having a boudoir session before your wedding day I strongly suggest you read this blog I wrote as well. And if you’re in love with the idea of a bridal boudoir session, but aren’t sure how close to schedule it to your wedding date, then this blog is for you!

What to Take Into Account When Scheduling Your Bridal Boudoir Session

Are You Ordering Your Album for Your Wedding Day?

First thing you’ll want to decide when figuring out when to book your bridal boudoir session is whether or not you want your boudoir album ready by the day of your wedding. If you are planning to have your album ready in time for your wedding day then you’ll have to pay close attention to the points listed below in order to ensure that your album arrives in time. If you don’t need the album ready in time for your wedding day, and instead are looking to give it as a gift after the wedding then you can be a little more loose with the timing! Everything depends on that date you need the album by, so keep that in mind.

Time to Edit Photos

After your bridal boudoir session I’ll need some time to cull and edit your photos before sending you your final album. This process generally takes around two to three weeks depending on how long your session is, and what other shoots I have going on in that two to three week time period. I do prioritize editing my bridal boudoir sessions and sending them out as quickly as possible though as the bride usually needs them by a specific date!

My Process

Outside of editing your photos what does my process typically look like for a bridal boudoir session? To start, within the first couple days of your session I’ll send over some sneak peeks from the session to get you excited for the full album. Afterwards I’ll send you the full album in that two to three week timeframe I mentioned earlier. Once I send those over I’ll have you favorite 30 to 35 of your favorite photos from the album which I’ll then turn into your physical album.

After your images are chosen I’ll format them into a 10 spread 8×8 album and send you over the rough draft, or proof, of the album. From there we can either make any changes to the album layout you want, or if you approve the album I will go ahead, order the album, and ship it directly to you! The whole end process of finalizing the layout of photos, ordering it, the printing process, and finally shipping takes on average 2 weeks. This can vary though which we’ll talk about in the next section!

Busy Season for Printing Companies

Believe it or not, printing companies actually have their own busy season that you’ll have to plan and prepare for depending on the date of your bridal boudoir session. On average, the busiest time of year for printing companies is around the holidays. This is due to an influx of album orders to be given out as gifts, which understandably slows down their entire process. Luckily this only makes the process a week longer, rarely have I ever seen a delay longer than a single week. It is important to keep this timeframe in mind when booking your session, especially if you have a winter wedding that you need your album for!

When Should You Schedule Your Bridal Boudoir Session?

So now that we have all these different factors in mind, when should you schedule your session for? If you add everything up above it comes out to a minimum of 5 weeks before your wedding day, unless your wedding is around the holidays in which case it’s a 6 week minimum. Now of course there is always a chance of a delay for your package due to weather, or other conditions, which is why I’d recommend playing it safe. Rather than booking your session only 5 weeks before your wedding date, give yourself some breathing room and bump it up to 7 or 8 weeks, or even more if you really feel like it! You’ll of course then need to keep it hidden from your spouse longer until your wedding day comes around, but that’s much better than the chance of it not arriving on time!

Now that we’ve covered when to book your bridal boudoir session, there are a couple other questions you might be asking. Like what should I wear for my boudoir session? For that I question I have resources you can check out here and here to get a better idea! If you’d like to see more of my work as a boudoir photographer, check out my Instagram, or this session I blogged about. And if you’re ready to book me for your session today, send me an inquiry!