Wedding Planning 101
Every now and again I do a blog post about something fun and I often crack silly jokes just because I’m the kind of guy who has a sense of humour (eg refer to the post about my love affair with veils).
But there is something I’m pretty serious about and that’s having a plan for your day and making sure I do my bit to help things run smoothly. As your photographer, I’m usually the one constant on your wedding day from bridal preparation to your grand exit. And my job is to capture every moment so you have lasting memories.
When we meet to discuss your wedding day, below are the types of things we’ll discuss. I’ll also call you for a final debrief and finalise a runsheet once your plans are locked in closer to your wedding:
- Decide who needs to be where and when for the entire day. I’ll help keep track of this on the day because you’ll be in your own ‘happy place’ where time-keeping hasn’t yet been invented.
- Help you work out what time your other wedding vendors need to arrive at each location, such as hair and makeup, flowers, and wedding cars.
- Work out exactly when you and your bridal party need to be ready for my arrival. This helps you brief the hair/makeup, video and car teams and prevents us from waiting around instead of shooting.
- Create your family shot list so not a single third-cousin-from-your-mum’s-side is left out of the photo collection.
- Clarify who the most important people are on the day and any dynamics I need to be aware of.
- Set realistic timeframes for getting you from A to B
- Suggest beautiful and convenient location shoot options to maximise your photo time
- Work out the order of proceedings during reception so we’re prepared for all the important moments
- Know in advance any special cultural, religious or personal traditions that you’ve planned eg drumming, exchange of special artifacts, dove / butterfly releases, or stage diving (it’s been known to happen!)
By understanding your day in advance we can focus on getting the photos you want and you can focus on those super special first moments with your new husband / wife. Now, that sounds like a good plan!
