When I first started thinking about shooting weddings, yes way back when, I never really gave much thought to flatlay photos. To be honest, the first time I ever shot wedding details was second shooting for another Kansas City wedding photographer. I took the flowers out onto a wooden deck along with the invite and the rings and thought to myself, "This will do just fine!"
Looking back, I'm sure glad I took the time to invest in education about taking beautiful flatlay photos and spending countless hours practicing these shots. I can't tell you exactly when I started envying the magazine worthy flatlay shots, but once my eyes saw them for the first time, I was hooked. I needed to know exactly how to do it.
I wish it was as simple as just showing up on a wedding day, throwing some pieces of paper of the floor, and snapping a few quick photos, but it's anything but. With hard work comes great success! At least that's what I tell myself when I'm bending over stressing over the angles of 5x7 pieces of paper on a Saturday morning in full hair and makeup.
If you've come to this guide as someone who is planning their wedding and wants breathtaking flatlay detail photos, you've come to the right place. I'm going to share my entire thought process and how you can achieve editorial worthy shots.
Step One: Visualize
To start the whole process, we need to think about the entirety of the wedding. What is your love story? Where is the wedding taking place? What type of venue? Which city? What are your colors? What adjectives does your day embody?
From here, I want you to make a mood board of all things that represent the style of your wedding. It doesn't have to be just invitations. Think patterns, fonts, colors, textures, venues, etc. This will be our inspiration that we'll use to build our flatlay. Of course, one of the key pieces to these photos is the invitation suite. I always recommend working with a professional stationer to design a custom suite that matches your inspiration board. They're the experts in that field and do it best. If it's not in your budget to sent elaborate suites to every guest, ask a few stationers if they offer one-off suites or if they have a minimum. You can always order just a few to use for photos and to save as a keepsake.
I think the majority of the time, where I find couples falling short of achieving their dream flatlay photos is lack of quality stationery. Glossy high production invitations photography completely differently than linen or cotton card stock. Same goes for ink versus letterpress. If you want these photos, you just can not skimp on the stationery. It might seem like an investment, but it's what it takes to achieve the style.
Secondly, another issue I run into frequently is minimal pieces in the invitation suite. Sometimes couples just have one invitation card and one envelope. It's possible to take those photos, but you're missing out on so much possibility. I always ask for 3 copies of a full invitation suite. This way, if anything is printed on both sides of a piece, I can photograph both sides at the same time. Instead of just the invitation and envelope, for this style, you'll need to add in a detail card, RSVP card, RSVP envelope, professionally addressed envelopes, maybe even a bride and groom name card, and more. The possibilities are endless. I've photographed cigars with custom bands, custom guest favor boxes, menus, ceremony programs, you name it. The more you give your photographer to work with, the more configurations they're able to do.
Step Two: Plan
Now that we have our invitation suite designed and our inspiration board made, it's time to plan for the accessories. At this point in the process, you should be working with your photographer to ask what style and color flatlay mat they plan to use if they're using one. Not everyone does, but I would argue 98% of published flatlay photos are taken on a mat. With the color in mind, we can plan our accessories.
Your photographer might have some of these props, but if you're like me, you want your exact vision to play out. So if I was planning my wedding, this is what I would do:
Invest in a nice ring box (I love the Mrs. Box for something new or looking on Etsy for a vintage ring box)
Invest in luxury ribbon (usually hand-dyed and hand-torn silk is the best). Don't be afraid to get a variety of colors within your color palette so your photographer has a few options to work with. BONUS TIP: Ask your florist if you can provide them with this luxury ribbon to use on the bridal bouquet. It's a nice cohesive though throughout the wedding day and is usually much better quality than what florists provide)
Collect vintage stamps that fit your theme and color palette (Little Postage House is a great online shop)
Go antique and thrift shopping to look for trinket dishes that match your inspiration
Look at publications (Style Me Pretty, Carats & Cake, Vogue, Southern Weddings, Wedding Sparrow, etc) for inspiration. Take note of what props are being used and look for similar ones to purchase
Check Etsy for styling props, there are shops solely dedicated to selling flatlay styling props
Step Three: Gather
Now that we have our props, it's time to gather everything together. This includes 3 of each paper item and well as the props you've purchased. Don't forget the usually list of bridal and groom accessories (I have another blog post with a full list). Tuck everything into a box and make sure everything is unwrapped and has tags off. Pro tip, use a piece of thick cardboard or a larger piece of card stock to help keep your invitations from bending or being damaged.
Last, but certainly not least, you're going to want to ask your florist for styling blooms. They're most likely know what these are. Make sure to ask how many they include in the box and if you really want to go big, ask if you can purchase two or more boxes. The more variety and quantity of florals, the better.
So what do you think? Are you feeling totally inspired? I am!
Hi, I’m Cassidy Drury, a Kansas City-based luxury wedding photographer with a passion for capturing timeless love stories in an elegant, artful way. I focus on creating heirloom-quality images that you’ll treasure for generations, ensuring no detail is overlooked. Whether it’s your wedding day or a special moment leading up to it, I’m dedicated to providing a seamless, thoughtful experience from start to finish. If you’re ready to invest in beautiful, meaningful photography, let’s connect and start planning how to bring your vision to life! |
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