Should I buy a hat?!

You’ve probably been jokingly asking whether you need to buy a hat for the wedding of this loved up pair for ages … Now, the time has come.

And the answer is: Yes! 100%.

There aren’t nearly enough hats at weddings, IMO.

In fact, I think “hats compulsory” should be on every wedding invitation.

It’s thoroughly British to wear a hat on such special occasions, although with weddings becoming more and more informal I can understand why hats are being worn less and less.

But I say bring them back!

Felt hats. Fur hats. Floral hats. Cocktail hats. Top Hats. Straw hats. Percher hats. Pillbox hats. Fascinators. Hatinators. Plain hats. Patterned hats. Bright hats. Big hats. Dainty hats. Tall hats. Small hats …

Bring on all the hats!

I love the extra layer that headwear brings to wedding photos.

It’s so much fun seeing and shooting a sea of hats. The splash of colour and endless variety seem to add extra atmosphere and excitement to a wedding, crying out to be captured, especially as everyone is arriving for the ceremony.

Hats are great photographer fodder; providing a fabulous finishing touch.

Just feast your eyes on this lot …

(Keep going to the end, you’ll find my top tips for looking great in a hat – at the drop of a hat hahahaha – in photos!)

Parents of the bride and groom laughing together at Rushton Hall in Kettering

Wait!

Hold on to your hats!

Before you go, check out my tips on how to look good in a hat in the photos …

Six photography rules for wearing hats at weddings

  1. If you can’t wear a hat to a wedding, when can you? Therefore logic dictates that millinery must be worn.
  2. Some styles of hat can hide your eyes. So adjust your hat for the group photos. Tip it back slightly allowing your face to be fully seen. This also lets light in underneath the brim which would otherwise cast a shadow across your face.
  3. It’s bad etiquette to show the inside lining of your hat. So if you’re holding your hat for photos rather than wearing it, hold it with the inside facing towards your body.
  4. When choosing your hat, think about how it looks from all angles. With documentary wedding photography, the back of your hat is just as likely to be in the photos as the front.
  5. Debrett’s warns: “A hat should not hamper kissing. It is notoriously difficult to socially kiss while wearing a wide-brimmed hat. There is a knack to tilting the head at a suitable angle, but two ladies both in wide-brimmed hats should avoid such an intimate greeting.” Whatever ;) Photos of ladies laughing as they hat bump are gold!
  6. Rules are for breaking. So if you don’t feel comfortable with a lid on, don’t wear one. You don’t want to be feeling self-conscious and avoiding the wedding photographer.