Riverside Park Grand Rapids Bridals

A couple days before their wedding day, Daylen and Annalise flew into town for their bridals at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. And it honestly couldn’t have been more perfect. I don’t have too many couples that opt to do a session before their wedding, but it’s honestly such a great idea! They wanted to make sure that come wedding day, they had plenty of time for portraits with all of their guests, and time to also just relax and breathe.

We all hear it far too often: “the wedding day flies by so fast!” Even if you have a longer timeline and more time to hang with your people, you still have portrait time with family, portrait time with your wedding party, and portrait time with the person you JUST MARRIED! And let’s be real, all of these times are insanely important! Because your wedding day photos are the only tangible items you’ll have from that day to look back on. You want those portraits. But you also want time to hang out with your guests and chat, and to also get candid photos with them. And that’s where doing a bridal session either before or after your wedding day comes into play.

If you have a session like Annalise and Daylen did before their wedding day where they got their ceremony clothes on and their wedding party all dressed up, you have significantly more time on your actual day to hang out with your guests. Now you don’t have to completely forgo doing any portraits on the day of your wedding, but even just getting a few before or after is helpful! It means less time focused on that and more time focused elsewhere.

Doing a bridal session also allows for you to have a different location that might fit a whole different vibe than your wedding day location. If you’re getting married downtown, then heading out to Lake Michigan could be an option! Daylen and Annalise chose Riverside Park because it was so close to downtown where everyone was staying, but it also didn’t look like you were that close. It honestly was perfect!

I know not everyone’s schedules can accommodate a bridal session. But it’s definitely something to think about!