Every bride strives to look her best for the big day and for many the preparations extend beyond the dress, hair and make-up to a full body over haul. I know I buffed myself to within an inch of my life desperate for luminous skin and for the bride on a quest for perfection, facials, hair masks, gym subscriptions and healthy diets have become very much the norm.

And once we have achieved polished perfection? Now that ladies, is where the Boudoir shoot comes in.

Boudoir shoots have become the fastest expanding branch of wedding photography. Often done in secret, (I’m sure more than a few brides have felt the guilt as they crept out with bags full of saucy underwear, stockings and high heels!) the resulting albums have become a hot, and I mean this quite literally, gift for husbands to be.

Various companies specialise in Boudoir photography but more and more wedding photographers are offering the service as a part of the wedding package, in a similar way to the other export from America gaining popularity, the Engagement shoot.

Aside from giving your husband to be a sensational glimpse of what he has to look forward to, the shoot can give a massive confidence boost to the Bride who suddenly doubts her gorgeousness in the midst of pre-wedding stresses. And what better way to preserve the memory of all your hard work and preparations than a collection of images celebrating all that is sensual about the female form?

Nicola Grimshaw-Mitchell of NGM Photographic is an award winning wedding photographer who branched out into Boudoir sessions some time ago. I was lucky enough to have the lady herself photograph me 4 weeks before my own big day. Suffering a massive crisis of confidence and knowing I would never be as slim again I booked in during a fit of self doubt, desperate to make myself feel better.

With confidence restored, I can report the woman is a Genius! I’ll admit we did have one less hurdle as I’m not particularly shy, but I defy anyone to spend an afternoon in Nicola’s company and not feel completely at ease. If an afternoon of pampering, bubbles to ease the nerves and feeling like an absolute supermodel isn’t something you fancy, then maybe the boudoir isn’t for you. But if you want to celebrate your hard work, and last days as a single lady, then this is a very stylish way to do it.

There’s a huge variety of styles within Boudoir photography ranging from the down right provocative to something a little bit too safe maybe, but in my humble opinion, Nicola strikes the balance beautifully between delivering sexy images that will get your groom hot under the collar and directing you into poses tailored to flatter every shape and size, leaving you wowed at how good you look.

I know I was more than a little nervous waiting for the results of my session but couldn’t stop myself from looking at them once I got hold of them! I’ll leave you ladies with one last thought… I doubt any of you would have to stretch your imaginations too far to imagine the reaction you might get from the recipient of such a collection of images!

Yours Truly,
Contra
xoxo

All images courtesy of Nicola at NGM and you can see more examples of her fabulous work at www.myboudoir.co.uk

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