Behind the Scenes | The Wedding Process

Behind the Scenes

The Wedding Process

What Goes Into Being a Wedding Photographer

Hello!

I get asked, "how many hours do you put into a wedding?" or, "what do you do all day?" quite a bit.  My impression is that some people thing I come to a wedding, snap pictures, then go home and party!  (Side note: I'm not that cool. I wish I had parties to go to!)

This impression is my fault to an extent.  On my website and on the blog, I talk a lot about the images, and the pretty stuff, because that is the BEST part!  So I figured that I would tell you a little bit about my process - how we get from that initial inquiry till delivering the images from the wedding. It may be a little more complicated than you think!

• I get an email or a phone call asking about a wedding date.
• I usually send a starting pricing & request to set up an in-person meeting.
• If I get an email back - we set a date! 
• Before meetings, I always send an email reminder with directions.
• We'll meet at my studio, learn their story, discuss packages & options, look at albums, and create a sample timeline to see how much coverage they need.
• After, I email a thank you from consult with timeline we created, and ask about any more questions they may have.
• If they decide to book, I email a contract & invoice.
• Then I try to get a phone call (or continue emailing) to discuss the engagement session (i.e. style, locations, etc).
• Sometimes I collaborate on a Pinterest board with them to get the style exact!
• More email reminders for the engagement shoot!
• 2 hour engagement shoot on-location.
• I back up the engagement photos on THREE hard-drives (just in case!)
• I edit the engagement photos within two weeks.
• Then I send sneak peeks, blog, and upload all the images for the clients.
• After the engagements, there's usually a little break, but I keep up with my clients in our private Facebook group!
• The next step is to schedule a final meeting to discuss the timeline.
• We meet at the studio for about an hour to finalize the timeline, family groupings, and details.
• I then email the timeline to my second shooter & have a phone call to discuss details.
• The day before wedding  I email my clients to wish them luck and confirm one more time.
• Shoot 8-12 hours on the wedding day (so much fun!).
• The same night I come home and upload all images to three different hard-drives.
• That night I also usually edit a sneak peek for social media.
• I edit the wedding within 4-6 weeks from the date.
• I create and send a gift to clients while I'm in the editing process.
• Throughout the process, I upload sneak peeks & blog posts.
• The best part is uploading the final gallery & delivering it to my clients.
• I also meet with them for ordering any prints or albums (again at the studio!).
• If an album is ordered, I spend a few hours designing it, and redesigning it based on my client's feedback.
• Final product delivery.

Whew!  That's a lot of steps.  I hope that helps you understand a little more what goes on behind the scenes.  If you're a current client, now you know where you are in the process. If you're just curious about what I do, now you know!

xoxo,
Katie

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Three Steps to Avoid Wedding Day Amnesia

Three Steps to Avoid Wedding Day Amnesia

How to Remember the Most Important Day

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Wedding day amnesia can happen to anyone (grooms and brides!).  I definitely have a fuzzy memory of parts of my wedding, especially the busy, crazy, running around and having fun parts. After planning your wedding for a year or more, the day itself seems to fly by.  You'll be surround by friends and family, and having an absolute blast.  I think it is the overwhelming amount of emotions, events, and partying that can cause you to forget parts of your wedding day, or (like me) only remember a blurry, fuzzy version.  Planning time for yourself, and time for just you and your partner, will help to center you, and allow your mind to remember everything.

Step 1:

During the getting ready, step into the bathroom (or bedroom, or hallway, or anywhere you can get a moment of peace!), shut the door, look into the mirror, and take a deep breath.  You're really about to do this.  You're getting married!  Think about all the reasons you love your partner, and why you want to be with them forever.  Think about the proposal, and your first date.  Think about how excited you are to see them at the first look (or walking down the aisle).  Remember how you feel in the moment (also don't forget to eat - you don't want to pass out during the ceremony!).

Step 2:

After the ceremony, when you walk down the aisle, don't stop and talk to everyone.  There will be plenty of time to stop by everyone's table during the reception.  Take a short walk, just the two of you (your photographer will follow behind you getting awesome candid shots - but you can ignore them).  Talk about how crazy it is that you're married now.  Talk about your excitement for the reception.  Just be present and with each other.  When you've had a few minutes together, then go back into the craziness of family photos!

step 3:

During the reception, you can coordinate with your photographer to sneak away for a minute. It is a little easier to leave the party for a few moments if someone else (the photographer) is asking for you.  Take a few sunset/night-time shots, and then your photographer can go back inside and continue capturing the party, leaving the two of you to have another private moment to talk, or just be with each other.  Go back in and keep partying when you're ready!

Throughout the day, just take a moment.  Take a deep breath, and look around.  If you do these three things, it will help you remember the best parts of your day, and allow you to be fully present.  As an extra bonus, having those candid moments built into your timeline will make for awesome pictures!

Thanks for reading.  If you have questions, or just want to chat, contact me!

Katie

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