One of the best wedding photography tips I can give you is to have a pre-wedding routine. 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 to prepare in advance.
If you’re wondering what gear I bring with me, I also have a full wedding gear checklist you can check out.
Wedding days move fast. The last thing you want is to show up flustered because you forgot to charge your batteries or load your memory cards.
Over the years, I’ve developed a system that helps me feel confident and totally prepared before I even leave the house. If you’re just starting out or want to tighten up your own process, this list will help.
Below is my personal wedding day prep checklist, but please feel free to make it your own!
Wedding Photography Checklist (The Night Before)
- Charge all camera batteries
- Format memory cards
- Make sure I have plenty of AA and AAA batteries for flashes and triggers
- Reset the 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 (and save it offline just in case!)
- Clean lenses and dust off gear
- Sync both cameras
- Print the wedding day timeline
- Save a copy of the timeline to my phone
- Print 3 copies of the family shot list
- Charge phone + laptop
- Add wedding day contact # to phone (I usually ask the bride in advance for either the mom’s phone number or one of the bridesmaids’)
- Choose my outfit + comfy shoes
- Pack snacks and water
- Review the couple’s wedding day questionnaire to make sure I don’t miss any important details
- Send a short “Looking forward to tomorrow” email to the bride
Why this Pre-Wedding Routine Matters
If you’ve ever shown up to a wedding and realized your flash batteries were sitting on your kitchen counter, then you need a pre-wedding routine. When you walk into a wedding fully prepared, you can focus 100% on telling the couple’s story without distractions. You’ll shoot confidently, move more efficiently, and avoid unnecessary stress, all because you set yourself up for success before the day even began.
And that, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated wedding photography tips out there!
What’s on Your Pre-Wedding Checklist?
Do you have your own pre-wedding routine? I’d love to hear what works for you. Drop your go-to wedding photography tips 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.