Photography

Mystical Rose

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing me to photograph your wedding day. Every single wedding that I am chosen to photograph makes my heart SO happy. Being there, on your wedding day, to capture one of the most beautiful sacraments, truly warms my heart. As you probably can tell, I love capturing Catholic weddings + marriages and I am so grateful I get to do that for you.

Firstly, thank you...

I want this too!

The Catholic Bride Guide

You may be wondering, "So what exactly is the Catholic Bride Guide?" This guide is specifically for all the lovely Mystical Rose brides who have chosen me as their wedding photographer! It is full of different resources for your wedding day, anywhere from what details to bring to your wedding day, to some of my favorite Catholic vendors, to how to Honor Our Lady on your wedding day, etc.! I want this to be a resource for all my brides to go to when they need guidance for their wedding. I am ALWAYS here to help you throughout the planning process, but sometimes its nice to know you have something tangible to go to when you have a question! Of course, if you have further questions about something you find in here, or you have questions that you don't see answered in here, do not hesitate to reach out to me at: victoria@mysticalrosephotos.com

I want this too!

Also! If you haven't yet, be sure to join my Facebook Community
"The Catholic Bride" here!

What is the Catholic Bride Guide?

Again, I am SO excited to photograph your wedding and I want to let you know what you should expect from me as far as communication throughout your entire wedding process and planning.

If you decided to add-on an engagement session, you will receive a questionnaire a couple weeks after signing your contract with questions about when you'd like to have your engagement session + if you have a location in mind. After, we will coordinate all the details and set it up! Once your engagement session is done and delivered, you will hear from me periodically throughout your wedding plans. I usually check up with my brides every few months to see how the wedding plans are going and if you need anything from me. I am always accessible to go to for questions + advice as well!

I want this too!

What to expect from me!

About 6 weeks before the wedding, you'll get an email from me with a list of questions about your timeline + wedding details. Once that's completed, we will hop on a Zoom call and go through it all to solidify your timeline
and game plan.
And then we will see each other on your wedding day!! So exciting!
After the wedding day, you can expect me to post a couple sneak peeks of your photographs within 48 hours of the wedding day and you will receive your photographs 4 weeks after your wedding day via an online gallery.

Before we dive in too deep, I wanted to share a couple of resources that may be helpful for you as you plan your wedding! I really want to serve you throughout this whole process and be there for you every step of the way!

A couple resources...

The next resource I have for you is The Catholic Wedding Podcast! I used to co-host this podcast with my friend, Jo (side note: she's an amazing Catholic wedding videographer...highly recommend if you are looking for one!!) We put together this as a resource for Catholic brides to provide helpful tips as you prepare for your wedding day AND for your marriage! We have great guests on, and lots of important topics as you prepare for this beautiful vocation you are going to enter into! To listen on Spotify, click here!

The first resource I have created is The Catholic Bride Facebook group! This group is designed for you to connect with other Catholic brides who are planning their wedding! It's a place to go for tips, ask questions, make friendships, and just know that you're not alone! :) You can also find other Catholic vendors in that group (such as planners, videographers, etc.) I hope you find it useful, and I am excited to see you in the group! To get to the group, click here!

-I want this too!

Wedding checklist

There are so many tasks throughout the wedding planning process! Below is a little list of when to get certain tasks done. Please note: this is meant to be a guide and it's not an exhaustive list. Don't worry if you get some of these items done on a different timeline than what I am suggesting. This is just meant to help you and to give a general idea! :)

9+ months before (or shortly after you get engaged):
-Book your church
-Browse and book your wedding venue
-Browse and book your wedding photographer (you already got this one down!)
-If having engagement photographs, consider booking this soon that way you have the photographs for your save the dates!
-Consider hiring a wedding videographer (if so, start looking at them)
-Consider hiring a wedding planner (ask me for Catholic wedding planners that I love!!)
-Start looking at wedding dresses and styles that you like
-See what documents your church needs (for instance: sacrament records) and start collecting those now (it can take some time to get those records, and many churches require a "new" copy of them)
-Start working on a guest list

7 months before:
-Set up a wedding registry
-Set up a wedding website. I used Zola and I highly recommend, it was free! (do this before the save the dates so you have somewhere your guests can go!)
-Order and send out save the dates
-Order your wedding dress if you haven't already

6 months before:
-Hire your DJ
-Hire a caterer (unless your venue already comes with catering!)
-Look at floral designs you like and book a florist
-Look at bridesmaids dresses you like and pick one
-Look at bridal hair and makeup artists, and hire one if you would like to
-Consider blocking hotel rooms if you have many guests that will travel in

5 months before:
-Choose what you'd like the groomsmen to wear, and share that with them
-Design and order your wedding invitations
-Decide if you want to do wedding favors, and start looking at ideas for them
-Book location for bridal shower and create guest list for that
-Look at bakers and dessert options

4 months before:
-Book honeymoon location
-Buy any accessories and jewelry you plan to wear
-Send out your wedding invitations (p.s. I'd love to receive an invite to your wedding!! I hang each one I get up on a corkboard in my office!! ).
-Buy wedding rings

3 months before:
-Order wedding favors, if desired
-Consider buying gifts for those who are special to you (Mother of Bride, bridesmaids, groomsmen, altar servers, choir, etc.)
-Finalize music for your wedding
-Work on your wedding playlist for the reception
-Determine rehearsal dinner location (and decide if you'd like me there! You can hire me to come and capture some of these moments of you with your loved ones the day before your wedding!)

2 months before
-Finalize any bridal gown alterations
-Consider getting transportation for yourself/bridal party
-Finalize food/beverages for event
-Do your hair/makeup trial
-Consider getting Mass Programs for your guests
-Talk to your priest about having a Mass offered for your future spouse sometime during the week of the wedding (I did this for my husband - there was a Mass offered for him the week we got married and it was so special!)
-Finalize timeline and fill out the questionnaire I will send you 6 weeks out (I will help you with this! We hop on a call about 6 weeks before the wedding date to finalize everything)
-Have your bridal shower

1 month before:
-Reach out to any guests who haven't responded to the RSVP
-Start to break in your wedding shoes (and consider getting backup shoes - I highly recommend having comfy shoes to change into for the reception)
-Pay any vendors their remaining balances (most require it approx. one month prior)
-Discuss if you want to give tips to any vendors (such as your DJ)
-Tell your bridal party/family the timeline for the wedding, and appoint a "go-to" person (that isn't you or your groom) to be the person to help with any questions (unless you have a wedding day-of coordinator, they will help with this!)
-Pray and breathe!!!! :)

Firstly, I want you to celebrate a little bit. At this point, you have your date set, your photographer, your church finalized, and likely your venue too! Those are all BIG things to cross off your list.
That's worth celebrating! Now it's time to chat about the fun stuff and have a fun date night with your fiancé!
You can schedule your engagement session with me at any time, but I suggest getting it on the schedule a couple months in advance to make sure I'll be available.
Because I block off weekends for weddings, I typically schedule engagement sessions for weekday evenings.
I will send you a little questionnaire about what you're dreaming up for your engagement session (for instance, do you want it at a park, or a downtown area, etc.) and then I will help you choose a good location based off what you say!

I want this too!

Your Engagement Session

If you already have a location in mind that is meaningful to you (maybe the place you went on your first date, or a fun spot you love to visit), I am totally down for that! These are your pictures, and I want you to love them.

Just a couple of quick reminders about
your engagement session:
-Engagement sessions are up to 1 hour long and the images will be delivered via an online gallery
-You can choose to do 1 outfit change if you'd like (so a total of 2 outfits! Some couples like to do one dressy outfit, and one casual outfit).
-Travel fees apply for engagement sessions
over 30 miles from me.

When planning for your engagement session, you may wonder what you should wear. The short answer is, you can totally wear whatever you'd like as long as you feel comfortable in it. It's super important that you feel comfortable and beautiful in what you wear. That may sound silly, but it really does translate to photographs when you don't feel beautiful. Also, I always recommend that you, the bride-to-be, decide on what you would like to wear before your fiancé decides what he will wear.

As I mentioned above, you can bring two outfits for your engagement session (although you don't have to if you don't want to)! I recommend that you bring one casual outfit and one dressier outfit. For your dressier outfit, I personally love it when my brides wear a skirt or dress that is flowy/fun to twirl in (it makes for great pictures) but you certainly don't have to!

I want this too!

What to wear for your engagement session

The main tips when choosing outfits:
-Don't match (ex: both wear jeans and the same color red shirts). Instead, pick colors that go well together. If you need help with this, let me know!

-If one of you is wearing a pattern, the other
should be in a solid.

-I recommend that you don't wear clothes that have logos. Logos can be really distracting in photographs and I want the main focus to be on you!

-Google color palettes that work well for the season we are doing the photoshoot. For instance, google "autumn color palette" for inspiration!

One of my favorite modest dress shops is called Neesees Dresses! You can find beautiful dresses for your engagement pictures here!

1) Pray together during your engagement every day.
.
The devil hates marriage and will do anything to get you to fall during your engagement. Praying together every single day will help you face so many challenges. I highly encourage that you pray the rosary every day together. This is something you can do even as a long distance couple, my (now) husband and I prayed the rosary on phone/Zoom calls almost every single day even though we were halfway across the country apart!

I want this too!

Ways to Keep God Close During your Engagement

2) Go to Mass together frequently (in addition to Sundays).
.
Going to Mass during the week and receiving the sacraments frequently together helps so much to bring you closer to eachother and to God. If you can, try to even pick a specific devotion (such as First Friday devotions or First Saturday devotions) to do together. If you're long distance, individually going to Mass will help to give you strength during this time too!

3) Pick a patron saint for your marriage.
.
During your engagement, choosing a patron saint that you and your fiance are devoted to can really help as you ask that specific saint to pray + help you throughout your engagement and marriage! This can be a specific saint that you are particularly devoted to or you can pick the patron saint of marriage:
St. Joseph!

I want this too!

Betrothal Ceremony

One of the ways you can keep God close to you both throughout your engagement is by having a betrothal ceremony!
What is a betrothal?
-A Betrothal is a beautiful ceremony before God, in church, and it is a promise to God that you intend to marry each other. It was common tradition to do this during your engagement and it is something that is becoming more popular again. The ceremony typically happens after a Mass and it is a short and sweet ceremony.

Why have a betrothal ceremony?
1) It's a lovely way to include God in your engagement!
2) You get extra graces! Your engagement ring will also be blessed
3) It shows others how much God means to you and your future marriage.

How do you have a betrothal ceremony?
Talk to your priest about this! As mentioned before, it is typically done after Mass. You only need the two of you, the priest, and two witnesses! You can make it as intimate (just the minimum required people) or you can make it a big celebration with your family and friends.

If you would like me to be there to photograph this beautiful moment, I would LOVE to! You can exchange it for your engagement pictures (if you have a package that includes engagement photos), or we can chat about adding it to your package!

Getting ready photographs are so special because there are lots of little special + emotional moments that happen when you are getting ready. It also helps tell your story better when you are going through your photographs (especially your wedding album).

I want this too!

Getting ready tips

1) Decide what getting ready shots you'd like

It's really important for you to identify what getting ready shots are important to you. Some people love detail shots (flatlays, ring shots, shots of the dress, etc.) some brides want to do a "first look" with their bridesmaids and with their father, some just want a few shots of them getting into their dress. It is really important for you to know what is important to you so we can coordinate how much time we need to allot for your images.

2) Choose a location for getting ready photographs that allows for good natural light

Lighting is everything in photography, and I try not to take out my flash until the reception time. Because lighting is so important, I ask that you choose a getting ready area that has at least one good window. As long as I have one good window, I can usually make some magic with the natural light from that (and I normally turn off other florescent lights).
If there are no windows in the spot that you are getting ready, I may actually try to move you to a different location in the space that has natural light.
If it's totally impossible for me to move you, I will take out my flash. As I mentioned before, I try not to until the reception because the look between natural light and flash is so different!

3) Allot extra time for hair and makeup

Hair and makeup are the main things that cause a wedding timeline to go off the track. If either of those take longer than you expected, the overall timeline gets shifted and, unfortunately, photography is the main thing that gets cut (whether that be in the form of your getting ready photographs or in the portrait session time). I want you to have the best photographs possible and need some time to capture what I represent! I recommend that you have your hair + makeup done before I arrive and allot for it to take more time than you think.

4) Make sure you have all your details in one spot

I will be going over details in one of the next sections but if you would like detail shots, it's super important that you have all your details in one spot/one bag. I suggest that you have all the items put into the bag the day before the wedding that way you don't forget anything that is important to you on the day of the wedding.

5) Getting into the dress tips

Getting into the dress photographs are super special. It's extra special because you get to choose who helps you in this moment. For many people, they choose their mother and/or maid of honor to assist them getting into their wedding dress.

Here are a couple of tips to make sure it goes seamlessly:

-Have a crochet hook to help you with any of the buttons! It's such a huge help!

-Make sure whoever is helping you get into your gown is already dressed + their hair and makeup is done too (that way everyone looks pretty and ready for the event)!

Overall, I highly recommend that you don't skip the getting ready photographs. These are really important photos that share a fuller story of the wedding day, and are great to include in your wedding album.

I want this too!

Details

If detail shots are important to you, I would love to capture them! To capture these, I ask that you place all the important items in a bag/box so that we don't have to hunt for items on the actual wedding day! Please note: the more details you can give me, the fuller and more "complete" the flatlay will look.

These are the items I will need:
-Two copies of the invitations (to capture the front + back)
-Jewelry that you'll be wearing (bracelet, necklace, earrings)
-Your engagement ring + wedding band
-His wedding band (this one is sometimes forgotten - please make sure to have both sets of rings and have the maid of honor in charge of getting the rings to the best man before the ceremony)
-Veil
-Shoes
-Rosary
-Extra flowers + any extra greenery (feel free to also pick up some fake greenery/flowers that match your theme if you won't have extra real flowers)
-Anything else that is important to you (such as save the dates, perfume bottles, heirlooms, etc.)

Important: If you'd like detail photographs of the wedding dress, please make sure to have a nice wooden hanger for the pictures, here is a link to one on Amazon!

As you can see, this flatlay is very full-looking because there are lots of details and the colors really all tie together for a December wedding!

This flatlay is more simple because there are less details and simpler flowers included. Neither is "right" or "wrong" but is just something to keep in mind when it comes to the details you give me and the look you're hoping for!

-I want this too!

Wedding Day "Emergency Kit"

As you prepare for your wedding day, I highly recommend that you put together a little wedding day "emergency kit" of items that you may need on your wedding day.

Here are the items I recommend that you include in this kit:
-Mini First Aid Kit
-Tylenol/Ibuprofen
-Bobby Pins
-Hair Ties
-Tape
-Scissors (these are almost always needed at one point)
-Crochet hook (to help you with your wedding dress buttons)
-Nail polish + nail polish remover
-Disposable tooth brushes + mini tooth brush
-Deodorant
-Lint Rollers
-Safety Pins
-Pens
-Menstrual Products
-Mini Sewing Kit
-Mints
-Granola bars/easy snack items

You may need many of these or you may only need a couple of them, but it is so much better to have them and not need them, then need them and not have them!

I want this too!

First Looks

First Looks have become more common and I want to take a few minutes to talk about them!
Firstly, I truly recommend that you and your fiancé take some time to decide what you want to do + if you'd like to do a first look. I will never force my couple to do one, but I will highly recommend them in certain instances.

For instance:
-If it'll be dark by the time we do portraits (due to ceremony + sunset time), I highly recommend that we don't do all the portraits inside/in the dark. They will not represent my work and you will be so much happier having natural light portraits.
-If there's not enough time in between the ceremony end time and reception entrance time. I highly recommend checking out my "Timeline Tips" below but if you planned your timeline beforehand and there's little to no time in between the ceremony + reception entrance, I will recommend that you do a first look.
-If you want some privacy on your wedding day and you won't have time for that after the ceremony.

Another thing to consider is if you want other types of "first looks." Some brides really love to have a bridesmaids reveal or a first look with their dad! Even if you don't want to have a first look with your future spouse, I recommend considering these because they provide for some beautiful moments.

If you don't want a first look but desire to have some privacy before the ceremony "together", you can always pray together before the ceremony! In this situation, your eyes will be closed, you will be back to back (or have a pillar/corner of the building separating you) and you can hold hands together and pray a few prayers before the ceremony!

I want this too!

Timeline Tips

One of the biggest questions I get is "How long do we need to take the wedding photographs?" This is a super important question because pictures do take some time and, if the timeline gets shifted on the day of, the number one thing that will be affected is the portrait time. I want to make sure we have enough time to capture all the beautiful images you desire!

1) Getting ready -
1.5 hours

2) Ceremony -
1.5 hours

This will cover about 45 minutes dedicated to detail photographs (flatlays and wedding dress shots) and 45 minutes to cover getting into the dress, and any reveals you would like to do (for instance: a bridesmaid reveal or first look with your dad)
if possible, adding more time during this section is very helpful, particularly if getting ready photos are really important to you and you want a variety (ex: images of you and your bridesmaids during hair/makeup, photos in robes, and popping champagne will take more time)!

This will cover the usual amount of time for the ceremony + nuptial Mass from start to finish.

3) Family Portraits -
30 minutes

This will cover the general amount of time we need to take family portraits. I recommend that you keep family photographs to around 10 groupings, I usually allot about 2-3 minutes for each group (time depends on the size of the group).

4) Bridal Party Portraits -
30 minutes

This will cover the time it takes to take full bridal party photographs and then the bride with her bridesmaids, groom with his groomsmen.

5) Bride + Groom
Portraits - 30-45 minutes
(at least!)

This will cover the outdoor portraits of the bride and groom. The more time you give me, the more creative shots we can get!

6) Reception details/cocktail hour -
30 minutes

If getting some reception details/cocktail hour coverage is important to you, I like to have about 30 minutes to capture some of these moments! Please note: Depending on the timeline, if it's a choice between longer bride + groom portraits vs reception details, I highly recommend opting for more portrait time. This is completely up to you though!

7) Reception coverage - 2.5 hours

This is usually enough time to capture entrances, first dances, toasts, and the beginning of open dance floor!

Please note: this does not include transportation time. when creating your timeline, be sure to allot extra time for traveling to locations (I recommend looking at google maps to see the time it will take to drive to the location, and multiply it by 1.5 due to possible traffic and just the extra time it will take to travel wearing your dress, possible delays, etc.)

I want this too!

Timeline examples

To help make it a little easier for you, I have included a few example timelines below from real weddings that I have photographed! This is for you to use as a base. Of course, things will vary slightly for you depending on various factors (such as distance between church and venue) but I hope this will help to have an idea of how to put timeline tips into action!
One thing to note: usually, the reception timeline is discussed and planned with your DJ! He/she is the expert when it comes to this area of the day! However, I do ask that you let your DJ know when I am scheduled to leave for the day, that way they know that all of the important moments need to happen before then.

9 hour day (no first look with groom)

Noon - Photographer arrives, capturing flatlay
12:30 - Bride putting on dress and jewelry
1 - First look with dad
1:15 - Groom arrives to church, getting ready photos of groom if time allows
2 - Ceremony
3:30 - Bride and groom photos at altar, then leave for reception
4:15 - Arrive to reception, family photos
4:45 - Bridal party photos
5:15 - Bride and groom photos
6 - Enter reception
8:15 - Sunset photos
9 - Photographer leaves for the evening

11 hour timeline with first look

10:15 - Photographers arrive, capturing flatlays
10:45 - Hair/makeup done for bride
11 - Bride putting on dress, 2nd photographer capturing groom getting ready photos
11:45 - Leave for church
12:15 - First Look
1 - Rest while guests arrive
1:30 - Ceremony
2:30 - Family photographs and bride and groom in church
3:00 - Leave for Chikfila snack break and photos
3:30 - Go to park
3:45 - Bridal party and bride and groom photographs
4:45 - Leave for reception
5 - Bride and groom enter reception
9 - Last dance
9:15 - Photographers leave for evening

9 hour wedding day with groom first look

10:15 - Capturing flatlay
10:40 - Bride Getting Ready (Groom was not captured for photography getting ready due to different locations and only 1 photographer)
11:15 - First Look with Dad
11:30 - First Look with Bridesmaids
11:45 - Leave for Park
12 - First Look with Groom
12:20 - Bridal Party Photos
12:50 - Couples portraits
1:45 - Couple portraits at church, most of family formals
2:30 - Ceremony
4 - Bubble exit
4:10 - Remaining family photos
4:20 - Leave for reception
5 - Couple looks at reception hall
5:30 - First dance
5:40 - Dinner
6:20 - Toasts
6:40 - Parent dances
6:55 - Bouquet Toss
7 - Open dance floor
7:15 - Photograph leaves for the evening

10:15 - Bride and groom arrive to church (no getting ready footage)
10:30 - Photographer arrives, first look at church
11:15 - Ceremony
12:45 - Family photos and b ride and groom photos in church
1:15 - Leave for Art Institute
1:45 - Bridal Party Photos
2:15 - Bride and Groom Photographs
2:45 - Couple joins cocktail hour to watch eclipse with guests
3:30 - Enter reception, dances, cake cutting, shoe game, etc.
7 - Last dance and exit
7:30 - Photograph leaves for the evening

9 hour day with first look with groom

II: Have the rosary prayed before your wedding!
This is a great task to delegate to the best man
or one of the groomsmen
(but can also be delegated to a family member). Have them lead the rosary before the ceremony starts as you guests enter!

III: Have your bridesmaids
or groomsmen in blue!
Blue is Our Lady's color so I highly recommend incorporating it in the wedding day! A special way to do it is to include it in your wedding colors!

IV: Offer Our Lady flowers
This is a beautiful devotion that is very common in Catholic weddings! Talk to your priest about offering flowers to Our Lady!

WAYS TO HONOR
OUR LADY AT YOUR WEDDING

I: Pick a title of Our Lady to honor and devote your wedding day to!
Maybe you have a strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, or Our Lady of Guadalupe. You can choose to include elements of that title in your wedding details (through prayer cards or jewelry, for instance)

V: Include rosaries and medals of Our Lady throughout the day
There's a few different ways to incorporate rosaries in your wedding day but the main one is to wrap one around your bouquet! You can also include Marian medals in your jewelry (whether it be a necklace, bracelet or earrings)!

VI: Pick Marian Hymns to have played throughout Mass!
My husband and I loved picking out some different Marian hymns for our wedding and I think it's such a beautiful way to honor Our Lady. See below for some specific suggestions of Marian hymns!

daniel + mary

Our wedding album is still the talking point when people come over to our house! They are absolutely stunning! Thank you Hamilton!

kallie + Robert

We are ecstatic with how our engagement session went and how beautiful the images came out! Thank you Hamilton for capturing us so authentically.

mary Rose

Goodness! I am absolutely in love with my photos - they are STUNNING. And the Henderson pair were so easy to work with! Totally recommend!

Marian Hymns

Deciding on what music you'd like to play at your wedding can be tricky and a little overwhelming! My biggest tip is to chat and meet with the choir director to see what music they recommend and make sure they're involved in the process of picking your wedding hymns. You also want to remember that some churches have different versions of hymns, so make sure to find videos of the specific versions you like and send them to the choir director (also send it with enough time in advance for them to learn it if they don't already know that version)!