How to Have Styled Anniversary Photos

If you’re anything like I was, you have spent the months of your engagement scouring Pinterest for wedding inspiration, spending lunch breaks memorizing Green Wedding Shoes or The Knot, and thinking about your wedding most other minutes of the day.  (My own bridal portrait session poked fun at the “Life of a Bride” – maybe you’ll enjoy my pictorial description of the wedding planning life?)

While you’ve been scouring the blogs and websites, you’ve seen the best of the best in wedding photos — perfectly curated florals, ideal lighting, exotic locations, and perfectly coiffed hair — but what if your wedding doesn’t turn out quite the way you’ve pictured it?

Maybe you chose not to take time away from your guests for portraits of you and your groom, or maybe you didn’t get a chance to photograph during sunset because of the timeline of your day, or maybe it rained when you really wanted sun (or was sunny when you really wanted rain! :-P). No matter what the reason, if you decide styled anniversary photos is for you, then here’s the way to do it well.

 

For excellent Styled Anniversary Photos, Hire an Excellent Team

At the very least, you’ll want a talented hair and makeup artist and an exceptional photographer. Bringing on a stylist and a floral designer will take your experience to the next level of amazing.

I worked with Jen from Dames & Dolls Makeup for these photos.  She’s not only an amazing hair and makeup artist, a hilariously encouraging person, and a curator of fantastically entertaining Instagram stories, she also doubles as inspiration and stylist.   She did an amazing job on Sara’s hair and makeup and stayed on set to brush out fly aways and change lipstick halfway through.

 

For Amazing Styled Anniversary Photos, Choose an Amazing Location

Styled anniversary photos don’t require you to book an ornate wedding venue (though you could if you wanted to!) or take a helicopter to the top of mountain (but seriously though: you could!). But in choosing an amazing location, you are giving your photos a zest for life that will shine in posterity. In this case, a backyard is all it took to set the stage for amazing styled anniversary photos.

 

   

 

For Memorable Styled Anniversary Photos, Choose Memorable Props.

Although some anniversary photos will rely on florals as the main prop (have you seen this Jones Lake anniversary session?), in this case we loved using a plethora of beeswax candles from Beeswax Works on Salt Spring Island to set the scene for a cozy evening of candlelit romance.  And seriously: what better way to celebrate love than by candle light?

Fun fact: beeswax is especially nostalgic for me because I grew up making and selling beeswax candles! Yup, that’s right: my family was a beekeeping family and we sold honey from our hives alongside candles. Nothing beats the smell of good quality beeswax and I loved using these candles to set the stage for cozy love!

 

Ultimately, though: if you build a fabulous team and then trust the experts to craft brilliance for you, you will have a wonderful styled anniversary photos session and a fantastic set of photos to prove it!