There are so many things to remember when you pack your camera bag before a wedding, so I always try to do as much as I can in advance. Here are a few things I do to ensure that I am all set and ready to go before the wedding day. This is my own pre-wedding routine, so please feel free to tweak the list below to make it your own.
TASKS TO COMPLETE:
- Charge camera batteries
- Format memory cards
- Purchase flash battery pack (if you don’t already have one)
- Check camera settings (I like to make sure that I am shooting in the format I want, in case somehow that changed along the way. I always shoot in RAW, so I like to double check and make sure that I don’t have the JPEG option selected. I also check my ISO because it is not uncommon for me to shoot in low light conditions during the week and crank up my ISO. Going into a wedding, I always set my ISO to 100 and then adjust it accordingly when I arrive to the wedding venue and start shooting.)
- Enter venue location into GPS
- Clean lenses
- Sync both cameras
- Print wedding day timeline
- Save wedding day timeline to phone
- Charge cell phone
- Charge laptop
- Add wedding day contact # to phone (I usually ask my bride in advance for either the mom’s or maid of honor’s phone number)
- Choose wedding day outfit
- Pack snacks and water
- Send a short “Looking forward to tomorrow” email to bride
And there you have it: my pre-wedding routine! I hope this gives an insight into how I prepare for a wedding and proves helpful to you as you are getting ready to kick off this wedding season as well! If there are other things you do to prepare for a wedding day, please let me know in the comment box below.
Great tips! Thanks so much for sharing your pre-wedding routine!
What a great article on how to get ready for a wedding. This definitely serves as a great checklist for a wedding photographer.
what a fantastic wedding preparation checklist, thank you for sharing…i will definitely be using it (especially the part about saving the timeline to my phone, i’m always losing the paper).
Great pre-wedding routine to make photographing the big day go smoothly!
What a great post! It is so important to set up and prepare before a session.
Awesome tips, even for those like me that don’t do weddings :) thank you!
I think couples will love to know exactly what it takes to get ready the night before their big day from the photographer’s perspective! It’s good to see how organized and prepared you are.
Nice simple blog on the most important part before heading off to a wedding!
Wow! I really need your help! I wish I could intern for you!!! Thanks so very much for helping fledglings like me!
Hi, Susan! I’m so happy you are enjoying the blog posts. I offer mentoring sessions if you are interested in learning more about wedding photography.