Wedding days require meticulous planning if they are to be a success and this I believe is the biggest shortcut that you could use.
Meeting your photographer at your wedding venue prior to the wedding is an absolute must in my eyes for several reasons.
The first is, it’s simply the best way to build rapport between all of you as you go through the running order of the day confirming all the timings and checking out all the locations that you are going to use on the day. Doing this without question has proven to make the day run a lot smoother.
I clearly remember one wedding which was a big affair and I had arranged to meet the Bride & Groom a few days beforehand but for some reason, the Groom couldn’t make it, so I did the Pre-Wedding shoot just with the bride. On the wedding day, there was minimal participation from the groom because he couldn’t see the point of it and when he was asked out for a few shots there was a little bit of resistance/hesitance which was a pity. It was a pity because the Bride had put so much effort into the day only to be let down by her Groom. He didn’t appreciate how significant a part he had during the day photography-wise because I didn’t have the opportunity to explain it to him beforehand.
Another very common situation that meeting at the venue avoids is the headless chicken scenario of the photographer looking for locations to take photographs at. This is a huge time-waster on the day if it hasn’t been planned for beforehand. Sourcing a photographer who is familiar with the venue should be a priority.
Key takeaways from this are:
- If you want your day to run as smoothly as possible then demand that you meet your wedding photographer at your wedding venue.
- It ensures that you are all singing off the same sheet but only if you have been on the same stage.
- It allows you to look at ‘plan b’ locations if the weather takes a turn for the worse.
- Another small thing that it provides is knowledge of where the car will arrive at the venue. This then gives the photographer the knowledge that they need to brief the bride as to what side of the car she should sit on leaving the church so that when she gets out of the car, she is closest to the venue door (Red Carpet side) especially if it is raining.