The Best Bridesmaid Getting Ready Outfits (Pyjamas vs Robes)

The getting-ready hours are some of my favourite to photograph. Champagne on ice, hair pins everywhere, the bridal party laughing before the day properly begins. But there's one small decision that quietly shapes how those photographs look: what everyone wears while they're getting ready. After a decade shooting weddings across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, I've learned that coordinated morning outfits are one of the easiest, cheapest ways to lift your prep gallery from snapshots to something genuinely beautiful.

Why getting-ready outfits matter more than you think

Most couples spend months agonising over the dress and barely a thought on what's worn before it. Yet the prep section often fills a third of the final album. Those frames are intimate and unposed, which makes them emotionally powerful, but they're also unforgiving. A row of mismatched high-street dressing gowns in clashing colours pulls the eye in six directions and dates a photo instantly.

Coordinated outfits do the opposite. They create a calm, repeating colour story that lets your faces and the light do the work. When five bridesmaids are wearing the same soft tone, the images feel curated rather than accidental, and the bride stands out naturally. It's the visual equivalent of a tidy room: nothing fancy, but everything sits better.

Pyjamas: relaxed, playful and brilliantly British

Matching pyjama sets have become the default for good reason. They photograph as fun rather than formal, which suits the giddy energy of the morning. Personalised satin sets with each bridesmaid's name or role are everywhere now, and honestly they earn their keep, those little details give me lovely close-up shots while you're having your makeup done.

The practical win is real too. Pyjamas with a buttoned top mean nobody has to pull anything over a finished hairstyle, which matters when your hair and makeup artist has spent forty minutes on a sleek updo. They also keep everyone genuinely warm, no small thing in a draughty Cambridgeshire farmhouse or a converted barn in February.

My one caution: avoid busy patterns and bright primary colours. Loud stripes and cartoon prints fight with skin tones and bounce odd colour casts onto faces. Soft satins in cream, blush, sage or dove grey read far better through the lens and won't fix your photos to a particular trend year.

Robes: elegant, flattering and timeless

Robes are the more grown-up choice, and they tend to age beautifully in an album. A well-cut satin or fine chiffon robe drapes gorgeously, catches window light, and gives a lovely line down the body whether someone is standing at the mirror or curled on a sofa. They suit refined venues, think a country house hotel near Newmarket or a Georgian townhouse in Cambridge.

The flattering bit is genuine. Robes skim rather than cling, so every member of the party feels comfortable regardless of size or shape, and that confidence shows. They're also wonderfully easy for the "putting the dress on" sequence: a robe slips off in a second without disturbing hair or makeup.

If I had to pick the single most photogenic option, it's a personalised robe in a muted shade with the bride in a slightly different tone or colour, perhaps white against the bridesmaids' blush. That gentle contrast separates you in every frame without anyone needing to be told where to stand.

How to choose colours and details that photograph well

Whichever route you take, a few simple rules make all the difference. I've gathered the ones I find myself repeating to couples most often, the small choices that quietly improve every getting-ready image.

• ◆Stick to a tonal palette: Choose one soft colour family, blush, sage, champagne or grey, so the group reads as a unit rather than a clash.
• ◆Let the bride differ gently: Put the bride in a lighter or contrasting shade so she separates from the party in every photo automatically.
• ◆Mind the fabric sheen: Satin catches light beautifully; matte cotton is lovely too, but avoid cheap shiny polyester that flares under window light.
• ◆Skip busy prints: Loud patterns and bright primaries reflect odd colour onto skin and date photos fast, solids almost always win.
• ◆Coordinate, don't clone: Matching is great, but identical can feel stiff, varying the style slightly keeps personalities visible.
• ◆Think about the room: Pale outfits glow in a bright, neutral room; darker robes suit a richly decorated suite, match outfit to setting.

My honest recommendation

If your wedding leans relaxed and joyful, a country garden do in Suffolk, a marquee on the family farm, lean into matching pyjamas in a soft satin. If your day is more polished or your getting-ready room is elegant, choose robes and let them do the heavy lifting. There's no wrong answer; the only real mistake is leaving it to chance and ending up with a row of bobbled dressing gowns from the back of various wardrobes.

Practically, order early. Personalisation takes time, and you'll want everyone to try theirs on before the day so nothing is too tight at the worst possible moment. Lay everything out the night before with the shoes and jewellery, it makes a beautiful flat-lay for me and saves a frantic morning hunt for the missing earring.

Whatever you pick, remember the point isn't the outfit itself. It's the calm, coordinated backdrop that lets the real moments, your mum zipping you in, your best friend welling up, shine through. Get that right and the prep gallery will be one you return to again and again.