Bridesmaid Photo Ideas Your Girls Will Love

So many moments on your wedding day are worth photographing, but capturing the perfect photo of the bride and her bridesmaids is right up there with the first kiss, the first dance and tossing the bouquet. The special relationship a bride has with her maids is something to be treasured, and a beautiful image that preserves that bond will be something you’ll look back on fondly forever.

To inspire your own wedding album, we’ve chosen 10 of our favourite pictures featuring the bride and bridesmaids — and asked the talented wedding photographers who took them to tell us the story behind the image.

Hot Pink Summer

Taken by Kasia at Peppermint Love Photography: “This was taken at a summer wedding at the beautiful Studland Bay House, Dorset, a large Edwardian country house. It was a hot, summer’s day and I love the strong light that saturated all the colours of the wedding. The photo was taken as the bridesmaids were leaving for the church ceremony. It was a beautiful, relaxed wedding.”

Bridesmaids with Attitude

Taken by Andrew Dobell: “This was taken before Simon and Sutha’s wedding at Northbrook Park. During the preparations, the girls showed me the poster of the 2011 film, Bridesmaids. They asked if I could recreate the pose. Shortly before the ceremony I took the girls to a log pile (a suitably gritty backdrop) and asked them to act sassy and mimic the poster. They got into it right away. I love doing something a little different to run-of-the-mill bridesmaids shots and this is just a really cool photo.”

Filmstar Bridesmaids

Taken by Lee at Wrapp Weddings: “This was shot at Pinewood Studios about 20 minutes before Juliette married Greg. Because of Pinewood’s history, and being huge fans, they chose a Bond-themed wedding. The ladies wore beautiful cocktail dresses and the chaps, tuxedos. Seeing the girls so excited and armed with a cheeky glass of champers created a wonderful atmosphere and made my job very easy. The room itself suited the colours of the dresses and I only bounced the flash to give it a touch more light.”

A Creative Set Up

Taken by Matthew Burfield: “Nicolene and Robin’s vicar made it very clear that I was to shoot from one place — a pew to the couple’s right (restrictive rules in churches are very common; it’s worth checking before you book your venue). During one of the readings, when I was looking for different angles, I noticed a cross cut into my pew through which I could frame the bridesmaids beautifully. It gave a great club-shaped, Alice-in-Wonderland style frame to the picture.”

The Bridesmaid Bus

Taken by Mark Gawthorne at Evolve Photography: “Becca gracefully declined the bride’s prerogative and arrived fashionably early on a vintage bus for her Cornwall wedding. With the bride and bridesmaids sat on the bus, observing guests arriving, I hopped on board. With the large bus windows providing the perfect light, complementing their colourful dresses and matching shawls, I arranged them around the bus seats as an unusual alternative to ‘arrival photographs’. If you want photos with your attendants prior to your ceremony, factor in a little time and arrive early.”

Laughing in the Rain

Taken by Simon Earle: “Shendish Manor Hotel has a stone gazebo licensed for weddings and that’s where Alex and Karina planned to get married. On the day, it poured with rain, so the wedding moved inside. The weather also played its part in limiting the photography. I took this photo during a short break in the rain, asking Karina and her bridesmaids to have some fun —they’d been eager to pose all day and didn’t take much coaching from me. As a result we got a great series of outdoor shots that belie the fact it poured down most of the day.”

Clean Slate

Taken by Nicola Milns: “Alys and Si’s wedding was at St Pauls Cathedral followed by a reception at Stoke Newington Assembly Hall. Their wedding was contemporary with handmade details such as giant initials, cakes, candle holders in the same slate grey as the bridesmaids dresses, giant balloons and pastel flowers. This shot of Alys with her bridesmaids was taken in the entrance of the Assembly Hall late in the afternoon, which is the best light to work in as it’s softer than at midday.”

A Moment of Laughter

Taken by Jo and Tracey at Cove Photography: “It’s so important to us to capture the essence of the day; the special moments shared between the bride, groom, bridal party and guests. This natural shot was taken as the bride enjoyed a moment of laughter with her bridesmaids before her traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. The shot shows how composed, relaxed and happy she was, and the natural lighting keeps it soft, hinting at the lovely weather they had on the day. As the shot is full length, you get to see their beautifully embellished dresses too.”

The Power of Three

Taken by Amanda Carter at Dottie Photography: “Laura and Simon’s wedding took place in April at South Farm in Hertfordshire. Laura was determined to get married outside from the first day I met her: she was my kinda bride! Wearing a sleeveless Justin Alexander dress, Laura was very brave and her smile beamed as she walked down the garden, followed by her bridesmaids in their Coast dresses. This picture just reminds me what great friends they were. It was great for them to get that little bit of time together, away from the guests, to chat about the wedding.”

Sweeping Beauty

Taken by Stef Trower at Studio Perfect: “This image was taken at Eastington Hall, just before Laura married Simon at the church next door. Laura’s sister Rachel was a bridesmaid and it was extra important to capture every special moment shared between the sisters as their mother had recently passed away. I asked the girls to descend the staircase one by one to capture the moment naturally. The backdrop of ornate mirrors, neutral walls and spiral staircase made those fab dresses pop. I captured this magic moment of Laura looking down gracefully at her dress, her bridesmaids fulfilling their roles perfectly, assisting and supporting the bride-to-be.”