Anybody else missing their career rn???? Same.

Let’s talk about what goes behind being a wedding photographer! It’s a heck of a lot more than just taking cute pics on a wedding day. Let’s fast forward past the whole marketing, instagrammin’, website making, facebook page managing part of it all and get right to the client booking process!

Step one: complimentary consultation! This is SO important. I show people exactly who I am on the internet, so when we meet IRL nobody is surprised that I am super extra. This means that the type of client I attract already matches my vibe. They are the type of couple that is chill, easy going, down to have a good time, doesn’t mind getting a bit messy for the ‘gram, super in love and comfortable with each other, and their vision for their wedding day is to celebrate and have FUN. I don’t turn down any weddings based on location/venue/wedding budget/style.. But I will not take on any weddings where it doesn’t seem that we will be a good match. I want everyone to have the best wedding day ever! And if this means finding a photographer who jives better with them than I do— Amazing!!!!!! I am happy for them and wish them the absolute best. I don’t want anybody’s wedding day to be awko taco because they don’t like me and are stuck with me all day LOL. If they read my captions on ig and think “oh my goodness we would totally be best friends” then that is a heck yes from me dawg.

At our consultation we talk about their love story, their vision for their big day, and what to expect from me! Plus a bunch of tangents sneak in there If they are down to clown, then I send over the contract and invoice. I do this all through the amaaaazing Honeybook. (You can get 20% off using that link if you are ready to get whoreganized)!

To be considered officially booked, my clients sign a contract and etransfer over a 50% nonrefundable retainer. This secures their date! With that Alberta weather, 95% of my weddings take place between June-October. So clients will often book their summer Saturday date 18 months in advance! It’s wild, I know.

I love having everything organised in Honeybook, but I also need to have all of my daily tasks written down in my agenda. I am obsessed with Ban.do agendas! I use an obscene amount of planner stickers and if I ever don’t have my sticker books with me, their agendas have ballin’ sticker pages. ‘Cause I’m an adult.

After my clients book, I send them a questionnaire to fill out before the wedding, a preferred vendors list, and a Canmore location guide!

Before their engagement session, I send over a What To Wear blog post that I wrote and plan out a spot that matters to them or matches the look they are going for! Engagement sessions are such a great way to get used to each other so you will have no nerves on your wedding day.

Two weeks before the wedding day, we confirm the finalised timeline and I forward it to my second shooter. The day before the wedding I charge everything, steam my dress/jumper, clear cards, pack my styling boards and props in the car, pack snaxxx, fill up two water bottles, check the forecast constantly, pack backup umbrellas and boots just in case, and wash my hair. It probably needs a good wash hahaha. I make sure everything is done the day before. I have a list on my phone to make sure I don’t forget anything! I screenshot the family photo list on my phone, all the notes I took during the consultation, their questionnaire, and of course the itinerary so they are all the most recent photos on my phone.

I arrive to weddings around an hour early just in case there are traffic delays/any car troubles. I might grab a bite while I sit in my car and go through their Pinterest board one last time to get a refresher of what their vision is. I look through beautiful wedding photos in a saved album on my phone to get myself inspired before I start shooting!

On the actual wedding day, people are probably thinking “did this chick snort cocaine before she got here?” hahaha nah this is straight up adrenaline.

This is when it gets LIT. I crank the #beatsbyJay on my portable speaker, run around taking fun photos, and dodge uncle Bob with his telephoto lens wanting to talk about camera gear with me. I got pics to take and memories to make, bruh.

I remind everybody to #hydrateordiedrate and check my watch often. I make sure we are on time (and even early)! I like my couples to have some time alone to relax and do any touch ups if they need to. I am telling the limo driver where to go, taking any couple’s photos that request it, and taking zero pee breaks. I will probably suffer later in life for what I have done to my poor bladder LOL.

I use a HoldFast Money Maker camera strap so I can shoot with two different cameras/lenses easily. I freaking love it and recommend it to everyone. I’ve had it for 5 years now and it is still in great shape. I also have an extra backup camera in my bag at all times!

Fun fact: I shoot with my left eye! Most people use their right, but when I was in high school, I didn’t want to get my nose grease on the back screen and I felt that using my left eye helped me keep my face farther from the screen??? Idk hahaha.

Fifteen minutes before clock out, I ask the couple if there is anything else they’d like captured and we all hug a bunch of times and talk about how much we love each other and I invite them to stay with me in California (even if we just met IRL for the first time that day hahaha). Then my second shooter and I BREAK IT THE FRICK DOWN on that dance floor. I remember graduating high school and being upset that now I couldn’t go to fun dances every couple weeks. Little did I know that my career involves fun dance parties every weekend!!!!! I don’t ever take it for granted. I practice my twerking skills for these opportunities.

I often post embarrassing dance videos on my instastories, and have a bunch saved in a highlight! You can check them out and cringe here.

When I get home from shooting a wedding, I immediately import and backup all of the images to a hard drive and a cloud. While they are backing up I take my first pee since that morning, wash my face, and fall asleep immediately. The next day, the only goals I have are getting some sneak peeks up on my Facebook business page and taking many naps.

Cash me here for the next few weeks!!!!!! In the summer I stay with my BFF Bush (MJay photography) and we edit together all day and night. I post a sneak peek blog post within two weeks of each wedding, and the final gallery is ready within 6-8 weeks! I always aim for four, but some months are crazier than others with 8 weddings. The sneak peek blog post with 100 images ties over my clients well while they wait for the full gallery!

I am a total night owl and edit until 2-3am almost every night during busy season. Bush and I use face masks as incentives for each time we finish editing a session. I also make frequent appointments with my chiropractor and massage therapist cause this job ain’t easy on the back!

Once I deliver the full gallery, I wait with severe anxiety until I hear back from my couple! It’s a cute look for me. And if they write a nice review online, there is a 169% chance that I will sweat profusely and cry. Then I will close my laptop and take a walk because I can’t handle that much kindness in one sitting.

Then during my off season I go through my weddings and highlight some cute pics from each wedding and put them on my phone for instagram! I then send out a Valentine’s Day gift to all my couples from the past year with some treats and prints, and send photos to their amazing vendors for their portfolios!

I freaking love this job of mine. It’s creative, emotional, exhausting, technical, and so much fun. My favourite parts are meeting so many incredible people, celebrating this beautiful life, and capturing photos that will turn into touching memories for years to come. It honestly fills my soul!

Now tell me, where there any parts of the BTS of a wedding photographer that you didn’t know about? What is your favourite part of your job?! Let me know!