What to do the day before a wedding| Photographer Tips

A hair crisis – no hairdryer or straighteners. The power shower wasn’t feeling very powerful. The house alarm was going a little loopy with random screeching.

Continuous power cuts for 23 hours 8 minutes and 32 seconds* wasn’t very fun. Thankfully I had all my gear charged up, but it was a definite reminder to always charge up my batteries straight after a shoot rather than the day before. Get those speed light batteries, video light batteries, camera batteries and spare all charged up before you pack all your gear away after a shoot. On that note I have a few things that you should do the day before a wedding. Totally non technical.

Here are some tips on how to prepare the day before a wedding day:

• Hydrate yourself
  With the busyness of a wedding day it is easy to miss out on drinking water. Drinking plenty the day before will help be hydrated and stop headaches. But do do do pack yourself a few water bottles and try hard to keep sipping on them when you can.
• Polish those shoes, the flat ones
  Mumsy point. But dirty shoes, urgh. I have found Dune shoes the comfiest and look smart, like this type >>
• Paint your nails
  Your hands are on show! I like to treat myself to professional manicures, but if I can’t find the time I do a home job. This gel kit stays looking good for a fortnight, it’s simple too >>
• Pack a spare outfit and shoes
  I wear black slim fit suit trousers and a black top, sometimes team it up with a blazer if it’s chilly. I tend to bend in all sorts of weird positions, lying down, kneeling etc… without paying much attention to anything other than the shot I’m taking. So if you’re like me you should absolutely pop a spare outfit in the boot of your car in case you get grubby or tear anything, totally possibly for me!
• Go through the timeline
  I am a big lover of making photography timelines for my couples. They are based on their questionnaire answers (more on both coming up in future posts) and they are super helpful both for the couple, their bridesmaids/ushers and if I have a second shooter or assistant with me. If you too do the same it is good to swot up the night before to remember names of the key wedding players! It is so much more friendly to be able to use names.
• Text night night
  This sounds random, but trust me on this one… the night before my wedding day it felt like I spent a big chunk of the night dreaming of my suppliers not turning up! It was my biggest worry. A simple text to say night and that you’re looking forward to photographing them the next day will reassure any brides who may be fretting like I was.

* or so!

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