Behind the Scenes: My Wedding Checklist

It's Friday! Yay! Today I've been inspired by my friend Tiffany of Tiffany Heidenthal Photography, who just posted her own Wedding Checklist, to share a little bit of the behind-the-scenes that goes into prepping for shooting a wedding. As she points out, photographers don't just show up, snap away, enjoy the free food and drink, sing along to every word of the Cupid Shuffle, and afterwards go home and pump out a ton of baller images. No, no, no. I distinctly remember finishing my Very First Wedding and feeling (a) unbelievably exhausted and (b) surprised at how exhausted I was. Little did I know that running around, carrying gear, corralling family members, and taking awesome photos takes A LOT OF WORK and, yes, A LOT OF PREPARATION. So here's what I do to prepare myself for tackling the amazing awesomeness of photographing badass wedding bashes!

TWO DAYS BEFORE WEDDING

  • Absolutely stop looking at other photographers' work/portfolios and comparing myself to them. I am really bad about this!

  • Study my "Swoonworthy Shots" folder - a collection of my own images that I think REALLY NAILED IT. These remind me of what I'm capable of from an artistic perspective and also what I'm good at from a technical perspective.

DAY BEFORE WEDDING

  • Charge all batteries. 

  • Format all memory cards

  • CLEAN ALL THE THINGS

  • Pack bags (I use an ONA Union Street bag and a Lowepro Slingshot for all my camera goodies, plus an extra bag filled with "just in case" items like snacks, water bottles, safety pins, and Advil.)

  • I always try to do some kind of relaxing self-care the night before a wedding: either a nice Gilmore Girls watching sesh, an Aesop face mask, a manicure, or similar

  • Double/triple check logistical details and shot lists to make sure I know where I need to be and when.

DAY OF WEDDING

  • LEAVE HOME/HOTEL SUPER EARLY. That is a big one for me — I want to make sure I give myself enough time to find the venue, park, get a lay of the land, and ideally have about 5-10 minutes to just focus, breathe, and collect my thoughts.

  • Grab a coffee (but not a giant one).

  • ROCK OUT.

And there you have it! Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes action later in the summer, or for even more of The Real Deal, follow me on instagram or like my page on Facebook! If you have any questions about my process, don't hesitate to email me! 

AdviceCarly Romeo