If you’re a wedding photographer looking to up your flat lay wedding photos, you’re in the right place! “Flat lays” are a huge trend in wedding photography right now. They usually showcase wedding detail items like the invitations, rings, bridal jewelry, shoes, and other fun styling accessories to accent the photo.

Here are my top 5 must-have products for flat lay photos – and big bonus, some of them are super cheap!

My Must-Haves for Flat Lay Wedding Photos

1. The Mrs Box

Velvet ring boxes are a beautiful way to showcase the bride’s ring. I personally recommend The Mrs. Box, hands down. I have gotten cheap-o ones off Amazon and they usually come with lots of flaws which are not ideal for close up shots and are WAY too big, making the ring look silly.

The first time I got a Mrs Box I was actually so surprised at how small it was! But it’s small for a reason, to showcase the ring and make it look bigger. A bigger box will make it look small and lame. Trust me. The quality of the Mrs. Box can’t be beat and they come in EVERY COLOR under the sun!

 

2. Ribbons

Ribbons are an inexpensive and easy way to add texture and color to your photos. I personally love this set I got off Amazon.

It adds just the right extra touch of something there without being over the top. And they take up almost no room in my bag!

 

3. Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers always look better over fake ones for flat lay wedding photos. Maybe there’s some good fake flowers on the market for this kind of thing, but in general I just like to stick with real ones. Just a few will do it too!

At actual weddings, the florist usually leaves a few extra stems in a vase to be used for photos or extra touches here and there. If not, take the brides bouquet for a moment or use a table centerpiece.

 

4. A Nice Tray

Here’s another Amazon find!

I love love love this tray. It’s super lightweight, pretty small and compact, and looks WAY more expensive and fancier than it was for the price.

Also featured here are the ribbons mentioned above and a different Mrs Box!

 

5. A Nice Background

And guess what? This one is free! You just need to use your eyes.

Okay, so this isn’t something you can buy. I do not recommend going out and buying a styling mat that costs $175 or something crazy.

If you really feel you need that, great! I don’t and have always found a good area to do flat lays at any wedding.

 

Things I have used before include…

the floor! wood floors look nice!

a table or chair

a bedspread (as seen in tray photo above)

a rug! (as seen in photo directly above)

the bride’s veil, a bridesmaid’s dress

 

EXTRA TIPS

Making flat lays at home in your spare time for fun? I do this all the time when I’m bored or just want some good Insta-worthy content.

RINGS – Amazon has lots of inexpensive engagement rings. Don’t forget to get a men’s ring too!  I’ve also had good luck finding these at Kohl’s.

INVITATIONS – I’ve gotten sample wedding invitations from Minted and Shine Weddings for free! It also never hurts to ask a local calligrapher or stationary maker for a sample to support another industry business.

USE WHAT YOU HAVE – Do you have your own wedding dress or shoes still? What about your friend? No use in buying new things when you might have some items right at your fingertips.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

xo Melissa

You might also like: 

• You’re Engaged! Now What? | Virginia Engagement Photographer
• The Wool Factory Styled Wedding | Charlottesville Wedding Photographer
• Nate & Tori’s Beach Engagement Session | Virginia Engagement Photographer

 

Did you love this post? Pin it with one of the images below!