Maine & New Hampshire Wedding Photographer // Mentor Series: Pre-plan the Shit Out of Your Day and Set Yourself Up For Success

Listen up, photogs:
You can have the fanciest camera and the dreamiest presets, but if your day-of timeline is a trash fire?
You’re screwed.
Like, chasing-the-bridal-party-through-a-field-in-dress-shoes level screwed.

Let’s talk about how to plan ahead, communicate clearly, and not sweat through your nice shirt (or at least do it gracefully).

Pre-Planning: Do It Like Your Sanity Depends on It (Because It Does)

Here’s the truth: most couples have never done this before.
You? You’ve shot how many weddings this season alone?

So be the guide. Be the steady hand.
Help them plan it right—before the chaos kicks in.

• Build the timeline with them, not for them.

• Add driving time, parking time, and gear setup time—because teleportation is not a thing (yet).

• Include breaks. Buffer time. Hydration. Time to breathe.

And yes, do the family formal list ahead of time.
This saves lives. (Mostly your own.)

Communication Is the Whole Game

Bringing a second shooter or assistant? Talk to them.
Like, actually talk to them—not just a “you good?” text the morning of.

• Assign roles.

• Share the timeline.

• Make sure you’re not both shooting the cake for 20 minutes while the couple is having a moment and no one’s capturing it.

Same goes for your couple. Get on the same page about everything. Not in a bossy “I’m running the day” kind of way, but in a “hey, I’ve got your back and I know how this stuff works” kind of way.

Bonus tip: share the photography timeline with the other vendors.
That way, you don’t end up with five competing schedules and a DJ who thinks toasts are at 7 when they’re actually at 6:30.

Gear Up Before the Storm

I always try to hit the venue first, even if I’m starting at a separate getting-ready location.
Why? Because I don’t want to be setting up lights in front of 90 guests while the officiant is mic-checking and the planner is giving me side-eye.

Set up early. Test your gear. Take one chaotic variable off your plate.

Let’s Talk Sweat, Shoes, and Sanity

Okay, real talk:
Weddings are long. You may be contracted for 8 hours, but by the time you drive, load in, prep, shoot, and drive again? It’s a 12-hour day, easy.

You will sweat. It’s just science.
Bring a change of clothes or at least wear something that camouflages it.

And for the love of everything holy—wear comfortable shoes.
I don't care if they’re sneakers. As long as you don’t look like you just rolled in from a CrossFit class, it’s totally fine. Your feet will thank me by hour 6. Your spine? Even more so.

Control What You Can, Roll With What You Can’t

You did the timeline.
You talked to the couple.
You looped in the vendors.
You prepped your gear and wore the good socks.

Now? The day unfolds.
Maybe the officiant talks for 20 extra minutes.
Maybe someone’s cousin goes missing during family formals.
Maybe the best man forgets his pants (don’t laugh, it’s happened).

Roll with it. That’s the gig.

Because you did the work to set yourself up for success. And when you’ve built a strong foundation, the chaos won’t shake you—it’ll just make for good stories later.

Planning = peace.
Communication = survival.
Sneakers or my favorite, Combat Boots = absolutely wedding appropriate.

The more you prep ahead of time, the more you can focus on what you were actually hired to do: tell a badass story through your lens without losing your mind.

Now go out there and be the organized, timeline-owning hero your couples didn’t even know they needed.