What is a flat lay?
A flat lay is one of the most popular types of wedding detail shots. It's a photograph with all your details including flower arrangements, stationary, jewellery and any other detail you'd like to include that went into your wedding.
Why have a flat lay? Flat-lays are a great way to bring together all the items that went into your wedding all in one photograph as a keepsake that lasts beyond your wedding day.
Flat-lays should summarize the story of your special day by showcasing everything including your colour palette, meaningful items and the general theme you have both chosen for your wedding.
Prepping for your Flat Lay
It helps if you gather your details before we arrive on your wedding day, this allows details to be photographed first! I arrive to every wedding with a kit that includes flat lay accessories so no worries if you don't have the perfect ring box or chiffon ribbon to complement your items!
Some tips for flat lays:
Flowers
Ask your florist for some extra flowers/greenery so we can add these to the flat lay. One of my favourite local florists is Green Bloom Design. Her bouquets are beyond amazing and she customizes them based on your vision. The dried bouquet pictured below is from her collection.
Though dried flowers are becoming more widely available, they're still not as popular as fresh when it comes to wedding flowers. Personally I LOVE dried bouquets versus fresh flowers. I'm a sucker for bohemian & rustic styled weddings and I think dried bouquets compliment that theme very nicely. For the flower lovers that don’t feel like they can take care of real flowers, dried flowers are the way to go and long lasting! With dried flowers, you are able to create a long-lasting arrangement and bouquet.
Stationary
Print an extra Save The Date, Wedding Invitations & Custom Thank You Cards to add to the flat lay. A great site to use for this is Basic Invite. I came across Basic Invite when they reached out to me to collaborate on their wedding stationary line. After browsing their website, I instantly fell in love with their unique designs!
Basic Invite is one of the few stationary websites that allow you to see almost unlimited colour options with instant previews online. You can change the colour of each element on a card, with over 180 different colour options! The card can be exactly how you want it, down to the littlest detail. You can change the font, colour, type of paper, shape of paper, literally anything your heart desires. If the customizable option isn't on the card you choose, you can live chat with an employee and they most likely can customize it for you! Each of their wedding invitations are part of a set. They have all the wedding stationery you need, like save the dates, wedding invitations, enclosure cards, wedding menus, wedding programs, and even matching thank you cards!
What I love most about their stationary is their unique designs. While searching for our own wedding stationary, I was starting to notice a lot of the designs were looking the same and nothing was popping out to us. Basic Invite has very unique designs.. they even have clear invites as well as wooden and felt ones, how cool is that?!
Bonus- they also have a FREE wedding website and it totally matches your invitations. If you're torn about having a wedding website, it's a no brainer with Basic Invite as its completely free. It’s a great extra to add to your invitations to include any information you may not want to cram onto your wedding invite. It’s also a place to tell your love story, show off your engagement photos and receive paperless RSVPs.
Basic Invites allows you to order a printed sample of the invitation you're considering so you can see the card’s paper quality, the colour and how it will print before you decide to place your final order. They also offer Free Address Collection Services and that includes both your return address and your guests addresses. You can even send your guests emails to collect their addresses and their site will create your guest list all by itself. So simple and again everything is customizable here too, so you can pick whatever fonts, colours or themes you like!
Jewellery
Flat lays often include engagement rings and wedding bands and are usually displayed with a ring box or ring dish. Sometimes brides want to include their earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. Grooms sometimes add in their watches, cufflinks and boutonnieres.
We always recommend putting all your details in a small show box so they’re ready to hand to your photographer!
One of the biggest things we need to create the perfect flat lay is time. It helps if you gather all your flat lay items before we arrive on your wedding day, so as soon as we arrive on your wedding day we can start with the flat lay! Usually I will take all your flat lay items and find a quiet place with the best lighting and spend 10-15 minutes alone creating your wedding flay lay! Remember, every flat lay is different and unique to every couple and their wedding memories!