It’s officially FRIDAY everyone! YAY!! (Can I get a “whoop-whoop”!?!) Fridays in the Spring mean only one thing for me, there’s most likely going to be a wedding the next day on SATURDAY! Yes y’all! Starting TOMORROW, I have one wedding every weekend or every 2 weekends from now until July 4th! And then let’s not even START on the weddings I have EVERY WEEKEND starting September 3rd until November 5th! (Can I get another “whoop-whoop”?!) So needless to say, wedding days are a BIG DEAL for me and I treat the preparation for a wedding day as sort of a religion almost! (Okay, so that MIGHT be a bit of a stretch…but you get the idea!)

If you know me well enough or have shot alongside of me at a wedding day, you know that I’m a little bit of a stressed out fool moments BEFORE we actually get to the venue! In a way, I feel a little nervous or maybe a big sense of pressure because I know that I want to capture this wedding day for the couple in the most perfect way possible.  After shooting 40+ weddings all on my own, you’d think the nervousness would subside, but it doesn’t.  I’m always a little nervous when I’m driving to each wedding! When I do get to the venue, get out my gear and roll it into the site, see the Bride and give her a nice “You’re getting MARRIED today!” hug, it’s like all the nerves just completely disappear! Strangely enough, I’ve found my “comfort zone” and those nerves are no more!

My Wedding Prep is done the same way for each and every wedding day.  I have a system of mine that I follow and it keeps me organized and not forgetting anything come wedding day. I want to keep my stress level leading up to the wedding day as low as possible, because if I’m too stressed about anything then others will notice and it’ll probably show in my images! So that’s why I use my Wedding Prep Checklist and for today’s Business Friday post I’m going to share that with y’all! So here it goes!

Wedding Prep Checklist #1: Communicate with Bride the Week of Wedding. Print Off Timelines and Family Formal Lists: I do this probably the Monday or Tuesday prior to the wedding day, depending on the Bride! Communication with the Bride starts WAY EARLIER when we plan a Wedding Day Timeline together about 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding day.  I will print off our Timeline that we’ve created, print off any other timelines or coordinator timelines and Master Timelines from the venue or coordinator and also contact the Bride to confirm the timeline and make any changes to the timeline.  Due to the nature of a wedding day, sometimes we don’t stay true to the timeline and tend to run ahead or behind schedule, but a timeline IS A NECESSITY for ALL weddings.  The Bride will also send me her “Family Formals” shot list of all the people she and Groom would like to be photographed with throughout the wedding day and especially during the “Family Formal Portrait Time” (you can read more about Family Formals here!) I’ll print this list off, I’ll make 3 copies of this list (one for me, one for my assistant, and one for a Bridesmaid or family member to help me keep track of who I’m shooting and round up the people on the list!) I’ll print these off early in the week of the wedding so I won’t have to worry about them closer to the wedding day.

Wedding Prep Checklist #2: Charge ALL Batteries and Clean Lenses: As a photographer, I go through LOADS of AA batteries! I’ve invested in numerous amounts of rechargeable batteries, so before a wedding day, I’m busy recharging them all! It literally takes ALL DAY as I do this! However, going into a wedding day with more than enough already charged batteries IS key! These batteries will power up my flash strobes while in the reception, some LED video lights, my Pocket Wizards, and just a few extras for backup.  I also have a full set of AA non rechargeable batteries in my bag at all times just incase! I have 4 big batteries for my camera bodies, so I’ll make sure those are all fully charged for the next day.  It’s RARE that I’ll ever have to switch batteries throughout the wedding day, but I charge them just in case.  I will keep a travel battery charger in my bag at all times as well.  During my battery charging escapade, I’ll clean my lenses and get them prepped for the BIG DAY! I get them all out, inspect them, and test them on both of my camera bodies to make sure they work properly beforehand! I’ll use a microfiber cloth and a dust blower to clean each lens and tuck them away with their lens caps on tight in the bag ready to go!

Wedding Prep Checklist #3: Backup, Erase, and Format ALL Cards: I own about 8 Compact Flash cards and 2 SD cards and constantly buying more! I only buy cards up to the 32GB size which can hold roughly 1,000 RAW images.  I don’t like to buy BIGGER sized cards because I don’t like to have too much on one card just for insurance purposes, just incase a card were to reformat or something! (That would be SUPER AWFUL! Sure, I can get the images BACK using my software, but still! I’d be a wreck!) I shoot each part of a wedding day on a different card.  One card for Wedding Preparation, one for Bridal Party Portraits and Romantic Portraits, one card for all things reception, and one card for ceremony.  It may not be a system that works for EVERYONE but it works for me! When I’m getting ready for a wedding, I’ll pop each card into my camera, make sure there is nothing on the card that hasn’t already been saved to my hard drives, and then I’ll erase the entire card and reformat it in camera.  I’ll do this with each card and then put them them my memory card wallet in my camera bag after its complete!

Wedding Prep Checklist #4: Load Strobes, Camera Bodies, Flash Stands, and Pack It Up! Now time to pack! I first load up all my gear with batteries! So I put freshly charged batteries in each strobe, turn them on and test.  Batteries and a memory card in each camera body, and turn them on and test.  Once the batteries and cleaned out memory cards make their way into the cameras and strobes, I then pack everything away in my rolling camera bag.  (You can read more about what’s in my camera bag and what kinds of lenses I use here and here!) I pack everything away so it’s ready to pull out of my camera bag and use on wedding day!

Wedding Prep Checklist #5: Pack Up The Car: This usually doesn’t happen until the morning of the wedding day! I’ll pack my gear in the car and bring a long a few other things that might be necessary on wedding days.  I’ll bring a large 3-step step stool along with me just incase I need it.  I’ll bring along a nice wooden hanger for those wedding dress shots if the Bride doesn’t have her own custom hanger.  I always pack a change of clothes just in case and an extra pair of shoes! I also pack a small cooler full of bottled water and crackers for the ride home after the wedding day.

Wedding Prep Checklist #6: Plug In Location into GPS and Get On The Way! Before I leave my driveway to head towards the wedding venue, I always plug it into my GPS on my phone even if I know EXACTLY where I’m going.  I do this to see the arrival time and make sure that I’m arriving to the wedding venue ahead of schedule (I always like to be there on wedding days 30-45+ minutes before I’m actually scheduled!) I then text the Bride to let her know that I’m on the way (this way she knows to expect me! Some sort of communication with a Bride on her wedding day is a MUST! Even though she most likely won’t read it until later, knowing that she can count on me getting there on time is always a plus!) I forgot to mention! I give Phillip a goodbye kiss (if he’s not coming along with me!) and he gives me a good luck little pep-talk! (Always SO nice to have someone around you who supports you! Ahh! I’m just Crazy in Love with him!) 

Wedding Prep Checklist #7: Say a Little Prayer! I mentioned earlier, I’m a little bit of a nervous wreck when I’m heading to a wedding day! Like I said, it’s just those nerves of wanting to make everything simply PERFECT for my Emma Loo Bride and Groom! So when I’m on the way to a wedding day, I always say a prayer to Jesus first of all thanking Him for blessing me with this job! Secondly, calming my nerves and putting me at ease and just putting the day and my work into His hands.  Last but not least, I tell Him that I just want to capture these images in His name and for His glory and I thank Him for giving me the passion and creative heart to capture such sweet moments! Y’all I say this right before every wedding, and I tell ‘ya…I’m definitely at ease when I pull into a wedding day because of it!

Wedding Prep Checklist #8: HAVE FUN! This job is nothing short of FUN! So when I arrive on a wedding day, I first greet my Bride and give her one big bear hug and then get to work shooting all the pretty things that make the wedding day so beautiful! I’m completely honored to capture the entire day and if it wasn’t fun, I don’t know what I’d do! I have SO much fun when I’m shooting a wedding, even through the stressful times, to me, it’s so joyful!  It’s especially even MORE fun when I have my second shooter, Shana, beside me or if I have Phillip there with me as my assistant! No matter what, being able to celebrate with a Bride and Groom on their very first day as Husband and Wife is so delightful and I’m SO happy that it brings me THIS MUCH joy!

Happy Friday Y’all! XO! -Emma Loo