Hiring A Photographer For Your Honeymoon | Our Photo Shoot In Paris

All of the photographs in this post were taken by the very talented Paris film photographer Oliver Fly Photography. Years ago I remember seeing photographs of brides from all over the world who brought their dress to Paris for professional portraits. My first thought was, I want to be that photographer one day! And the second was that I wanted to be one of those brides. (Still working on the former, any takers?) After joining Instagram, I followed quite a few talented Paris photographers but none stood out to me quite like Oliver, whose work is all beautiful medium format film and timeless posing in gorgeous natural light. After showing Matthew Oliver’s work it didn’t take much convincing for me to talk Matthew into hiring Oliver for our honeymoon. It was truly one of the best decisions we made for our wedding and honeymoon experience.

If you love beautiful photography and to travel, you will want to hire a professional for your honeymoon. Whether you take a photographer you trust with you on the trip or hire a local professional to where you are traveling to, there are many great reasons why you will want to hire a pro to capture these once-in-a-lifetime moments. Unlike a destination wedding, your honeymoon photo shoot is more relaxed and you have time to truly style the session the way you wish to. With thoughts of carpe diem and seize the day in our minds, Matthew and I hired Oliver Fly Photography because we wanted to document these magnificent moments, the way we felt, the location, our dress and tux, and our love for one another during our honeymoon travels in photographs that we would cherish forever.

Hiring a professional for our honeymoon is nearly as essential as hiring a wedding photographer if photographs mean a lot to you. We will never have these exact moments back again, but the photographs will be here to remind us of our trip of a lifetime.

To make the most of the photographs, I also hired a professional hair stylist and makeup artists. I knew that with the travel and the jet lag that I would not be looking my personal best. Also, to avoid the crowds we had to be at the photo shoot location at six in the morning so I had to fight back the exhausted look somehow. My hair is also very curly naturally and I wanted a more polished look for France. We searched online and also asked Oliver for recommendations. We chose Ciara of Ciara Coiffure and Charles of Charles Cosmetics because I loved their work, they had the looks I was going for, and they also both had early morning plans available as I would have to be ready in time for the photo shoot at six in the morning. For Paris I wanted a very Parisian and light and airy look for my makeup to compliment the location and the lightness of Oliver’s film photography. Although we had to budget extra for this decision, it was well worth the investment because it made our photographs so much better as a result. If you’re spending a good amount on professional photography, you should invest in the extra time and money to look your best for those pictures. I always give my own brides this same advice and I decided to follow it myself.

Was it difficult carrying your wedding gown, shoes, veil, and tux throughout your honeymoon? It was actually, but it was well worth the hassle! Instead of shipping it back home after the photoshoot, we brought it with us because shipping it was a risk we did not want to take. It could get ruined or lost during the journey and it was also hundreds of dollars to do so. Some of my friends who have shipped clothes from Europe to the U.S. said their boxes arrived six months later and in very rough condition. Still, these gowns and tuxes are heavy and take up space. We put our gown and tux into two dress bags and folded them in half to use as out carry-on luggage on the planes and trains we took. I’m not going to lie, it was actually a lot of work, especially because we also went to Italy and Greece after France. In the end, as you can see, it was well worth it.

If you have the funds, you may want to ship yours to a family member at home via two-day Fed-Ex. If you can’t swing it, or don’t want to risk it, make sure you have a garbage bag to bring in case the bottom of the dress or the shoes get dirty so you can wrap up the dirty ends to keep the rest of your dress clean, pack it gently in a sturdy garment bag, bring a steamer to steam out wrinkles before your photo shoot, and make sure your garment bag has a strong tag with your name and all of your contact information for travel. Your honeymoon is a once in a lifetime experience, you’re never going to pack this much for a trip ever again. If you are looking for a photographer for your honeymoon, my favorite way to search photographers is by looking up hashtags on Instagram. For example, if you’re going to Italy you can look up #Italyweddingphotographer or #Italyphotographers or get more specific like #Romeweddingphotographer. Make sure the photographer you are looking at has experience working with international clients so you can ensure easy communication and access to your photos when they’re done. Another good way to look up photographers is through Google, wedding websites, or businesses like Flytographer. Make sure to research testimonials by other couples and extensively view their work to ensure you like their style. There were many photographers in Paris with numerous shooting styles, but we knew in the city of romance and light that we wanted a photographer that would also capture that same mood. Keep your photoshoot simple by choosing up to two locations for your shoot. Squeezing in too much can make the experience less enjoyable. For Paris we went to the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, two of our favorite Paris views. Originally unplanned, we ended up meeting up again in Provence for early morning photos in the Valensole lavender fields. One thing I did not do was bring an emergency kit with me. I should have brought a bag with a comb and some hair gel because it ended up raining a little and frizzing up my styled hair. When you go out for your honeymoon photo shoot, bring the essentials for touch ups including makeup.