Prepare to be Extra Prepared

There’s nothing more terrifying than being a vendor for a wedding day and not being prepared. Forget memory cards? Dead camera batteries? Is there a nonexistent or vague timeline? That is a one way ticket to Terror Town! As a vendor, brides and grooms place their trust in us to handle their wedding day. And as a bride myself, external stress on wedding day get’s passed straight to us!

BUT! This doesn’t have to be the case! Keep reading for my foolproof guide on how to be prepared for weddings and to knock it out of the park!

COMMUNICATION

This step sets the scene for the whole wedding day before you even arrive. Sending questionnaires and having a phone call with the bride and groom is so key to setting expectations for the wedding day! Some brides need a timeline for every event, others can only handle knowing the start time of the ceremony to ease timeline nerves.

Communication with the couple seals the timeline, and to allows you to know the most important things about their wedding day. This will help you, as a vendor, to take care and hold their wedding day.

Luckily for YOU! I decided to spill the beans and have a freebie for you!

This questionnaire is jam packed with FIRE questions to ask a couple around a month before wedding day to help you serve them best!

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CHARGE EVERYTHING

This one goes without saying, but it’s always a good reminder! Be sure to have your camera bodies charged, the extra batteries charged, and bonus if you bring a portable phone charger!

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MANAGE STORAGE & MEMORY CARDS

The most horrifying message any photographer can see at a wedding is “Memory Card Full”. There are a few ways I make sure that I have as much space to occupy with wedding photos as possible.

1. Have backup cards (and a lot of them!!!)
2. Format cards of previous weddings that I (this is the important part) have ALREADY DELIVERED
3. Backup existing photos on (multiple) hard drives before using them again.

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MAKE A TIMELINE

As a photographer, this is ABSOLUTELY vital. A timeline specifically for photos is far different than a timeline through the venue or coordinator. A coordinator may have three hours worth of timeline with information that may not apply to us photographers! We don’t need to know when the DJ arrives, but we do need to know how much time to give for the first look with dad if you want to knock out bridesmaid and groomsmen photos in the same hour.

A hack I learned from my own wedding photographer, the one and only Sullivan Taylor, creating a timeline for the lock screen of your phone works WONDERS with staying on track for wedding day! Check out this example (Lord of the Rings fans will appreciate)!

That’s right!! I created a template for you to use as well 🫶 Working with your couple for a comprehensive photo timeline will ensure that you get every important shot, big and small.

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THE TRUSTY FANNY PACK

The infamous trusty fanny pack!!!! This bad boy holds everything you may need and very closely! Some things I always include in my wedding day fanny pack:

1. Memory cards: The last thing you want during a wedding ceremony is having to run off to get another memory card to finish the job!
2. A Portable Phone Charger: If you’re like me and want to get video footage of the day (for IG Reels… iykyk), a portable phone charger is a must must MUST!
3. Chapstick: because I would perish without mine
4. Extra batteries

With everything so close to me in the fanny pack, going through wedding days is made EASY!

I hope each of these tips helps you to prepare for your next wedding, whether that’s tomorrow or in a year! Let me know which tip you never thought of or you swear by as well!

I have so much more I want to share with you when it comes to photography! Connect with me HERE to keep this conversation going <3