One of the most pivotal aspects of a wedding for me, with or without a wedding planner is the creation of a wedding shoot plan. The shoot plan is the wedding day playbook detailing the who, where, and when. It just makes sense!
I meet my couples at the wedding venue, two or three weeks before at the time of the ceremony because this permits me to assess the impact of sunlight or lack of the sun on the wedding images. It also allows me to plan, what lens to use, what type of secondary lighting do I need, if any. If there is foul weather, how will I light the indoor ceremony?
In addition to my concern about light and weather, we have to address the question of logistics:
- Do we have enough time to get from one location to another?
- Do we have enough time to take all of the desired photographs and be back for the entrance?
In the shoot plan, I list
- bride and grooms cell numbers
- address for each location
- the timing for each phase of the wedding
- notes to highlight requested shots
- identify areas for all planned wedding photography (within the allowable wedding timing)
- a list of all family members in each group shot -this is important because it can have a significant impact on the schedule.
Once complete, I create a draft and send it to the bride and groom for their edits and once finished we have our wedding day, time, playbook.
On the big day, the couple does not have to worry about the details.
