Photo Education

Wedding Day Planning – For the Photographer

August 17, 2012

I’m Catherine.
A New Orleans based wedding photographer and educator. We are excited you are here and cannot wait to connect with you!.
TOp categories
how to determine your base price
Get My Free Pricing Guide 
ACCESS NOW

At the young age of 5, my mom taught me to read. I would lay out the books A-Z and organize them alphabetically.

At the age of 10, I can remember a night where I actually got out of bed, because I noticed my shoes weren’t straight enough on the floor.

At the age of 13, I would separate my food…and at 16, I realized that when peeling crawfish I was placing the remaining shells in a unified stack.

These weird quirks have continued and even today, I still find myself doing things like lining up dollar bills in the same orientation inside my wallet.

My quirks seem odd, but I’m hopeful that organization will come in handy. Sure, everyone makes mistakes..I do all the time. But making those attempts to stay in control have been very helfpul with my business thus far.

When preparing for a wedding day, there is a process that I go through with every couple. By no means would I consider this process to be “correct”, it’s simply what I do…and have found to work for my business.

And it starts in the beginning:

PREPARING FOR THE WEDDING:

From the first time a client contacts me, I am asking questions. I’m learning about who they are, what they’re looking for in their photography, and what makes them special. I ask about their personal style, and what they do/don’t like about certain aspects of wedding photography they’ve been exposed to.

I use the engagement sessions and the bridal sessions as an opportunity to understand them on an even more personal level so that when the wedding day approaches, we have a relationship established with each other.

Four weeks before the wedding, I send them a questionnaire. The questionnaire includes all of the information that I need. Everything from addresses and times, to important guests and photo requests. This is my way of very quickly coming to understand their needs and desires as well as the must have information for the wedding.

We then schedule a meeting approx 1-2 weeks out. For me, this is close enough to the wedding for them to remember what we talked about, yet far enough out so that if there are any changes that need to be made regarding times, etc. they’ll have the chance to do so.

At the meeting we make the schedule. The schedule begins with the time that we arrive on the wedding day and ends at the time we leave. We go over what was mentioned on yesterday’s blog : wedding day tips for the bride and groom , and I answer any questions that they may have.

I ask for emergency contacts, cell phone numbers, and any other vital information that may become vital on the wedding day and become familiar with the photography restrictions at their venue.

At the end of our meeting everyone is feeling ready for the wedding day.

THE WEDDING DAY: 

(PREPARATION)

On the day of the wedding, Amelia and I try to arrive as early as possible. Especially when traveling outside of Lafayette, we like to get to the city a couple of hours ahead and just relax. We’ll eat breakfast or lunch depending on the time and make our way a bit early to the preparation spot itself.

When we first begin shooting, Amelia and I will either start together or she’ll be with the groom while I am with the bride (depending on the preparation locations). We’ll capture both details and candids and prepare for either the first look or the formals.

If the couple chooses to do a first look, we’ll begin with that, followed by approx 15-30 minutes of shooting with the couple. We’ll then being incorporating formals with the bridal party and family members.

If the couple decides not to do a first look, then we’ll proceed with only individual bridal party images (ie: the bride with her bridesmaids and the groom with her groomsmen) and individual family photos as well. The rest of the formal photos will be taken after the ceremony, including the images of the bride and groom together.

(CEREMONY)

Just before the ceremony, Amelia and I switch (I’ll spend time with the groom before preparing for the processional and Amelia will stay with the bride until she walks down the aisle…capturing all of those intimate moments with her father or whomever is walking her).

During the ceremony, Amelia and I try to remain opposite each other. This is beneficial for many reasons: we don’t get in each others shots, we are shooting from alternate perspectives, and we prevent a lot of movement by capturing both the bride and groom’s angles without having to shift around often.

Amelia will also grab shots from the choir loft if possible  and shoot images from a slighter further back position, while I tend to move around more if necessary.

Depending on the length of the ceremony, sometimes, Amelia will run ahead to begin grabbing shots of the overall reception venue and details.

(RECEPTION)

What happens following the ceremony is dependant upon whether or not a couple opts to do a first look. If they’ve shot most of their images prior to the ceremony, they will either proceed directly to the reception or shoot just a few in the ceremony location.

If they opted not to do a first look, we’ll shoot all of the formal photos at this time, followed by shooting with the bride and groom for as much time as they’ll permit us to.

At the reception, we shoot the order of events in either the order that the couple decides, or the order that the venue coorindator/event planner  prefers. I tend to encourage couples to take care of their formal events on the front end so that they can enjoy their reception (ie: first dances, cake cutting, money dance, garter/bouquet tosses). It sort of relaxes the event early on so that everyone can just have fun without distraction.

As the reception gets close to an end, I’ll check in again with the bride and groom. At this point, Amelia and I have been shooting in more of a candid style, allowing the couple to feel as though they can forget the camera and just have fun. If there are any more specific images desired, we’ll take care of them at this time.

After the exit, we wish the couple a safe and happy honeymoon and head on our way……

Wedding day coverage for us typically lasts anywhere from 6-9 hours depending on the type of ceremony, locations, and length of the reception. It goes by extremely fast, and there’s a long list of images that we like to ensure are captured throughout the day. In addition, we want to have the opportunity to challenge ourselves creatively and create a wedding gallery that is unique to each couple.

Throughout my experience thus far, I’ve found that the only way to do this and accomplish all that we want, is by preparing and communicating ahead of time, as well as staying on track the day of the wedding.

When I was little, my odd habits of organization seemed silly. But now, I see the importance of being on top of things. I try my very best to learn from my mistakes and I hope to continue growing and learning with every experience. 🙂

I hope this post was helpful….Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Live Simply, Love Freely,

Catherine

 

 

Add a comment
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments

Leave a Reply

Browse By Category

Weddings

Business

Podcast

Sessions

cg
photo

On the Air

Mistakes Make Magic

The Mistakes Make Magic podcast is a podcast designed to give wedding photographers and creative entrepreneurs entertainment and lessons learned. 

LIsten in
WORK WITH US

Our Services

Whether we are blending into the event experience or assisting to find the best light, the wedding day is where we create authentic and emotion-filled moments.

WORK WITH US

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

Get On the List

Embed your opt-in form on the right. We styled this placeholder version how we think it should look so just do your best to match it in your marketing email platform of choice.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consec and also really great newsletter content.

yes, I'm in!

Get My Free Editing Preset When You Subscribe