What To Expect From Your Wedding Photographer: The Complete Guide

Understanding what to expect from your wedding photographer is key to ensuring a successful day. As you’ve just taken the first step by enquiring about your options, I thought it would be a great idea to give you a complete guide on what you can expect from me, should you hire me as your Mornington wedding photographer.

In this exhaustive guide, I’m going to tell you exactly what to expect before, during, and after the wedding from me. I’ve made sure to be as thorough as possible so you’ll truly understand what makes a great wedding photographer, but don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions.

Before The Wedding

Before the wedding is a fantastic time for you to understand what to expect from your wedding photographer. It’s also a great time for us to get to know each other and understand how I operate throughout the wedding photography process – after all, we’ll be spending a lot of time together on your wedding day!

Follow Me!

The very first step for any of this is that you have to stalk me. Yep, get all up in my Instagram, scour through my website, and watch all my stories. When you do that, you’ll get a great idea about who I am, my personality and how I operate. 

My number one focus for the entire day is to ensure you have the time of your life and that I capture those moments as authentically as possible. I truly believe that the photos I take during that time should reflect exactly how your day unfolded, not direct it.

Get In Contact

Once you’ve made the decision that I might be the right Mornington photographer for you, it’s time to get in contact. All I need from you is your contact details, wedding date, and venue location if you’ve already figured that out. After I get that, I’ll reply within 48 hours, and normally with a recorded video which will save you from reading a long email full of information.

Attached to that email you’ll find a PDF with my half-day and full-day package costs, as well as optional extras you may want to consider like engagement sessions and albums. Don’t let that take away from the main point of this stage, though. At this point, it’s crucial that you figure out if I am the right Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer for you or not!

Let’s Figure Out The Date

We’ve got a couple of choices for locking in a date here. If you’re 100% in and confident that I’m the right choice for creating some spectacular memories of your day, then I’ll send through some booking details as well as a $1000 deposit to lock in the date. 

That means I’ll block it out in my calendar and that date will be yours! If not, let’s have a chat first!

Fancy A Chat?

Sometimes it’s a great idea to have a chat to get to know each other at this point. If you fancy it, we’ll schedule a Zoom call during business hours (I also have availability one night per week after business hours, if that works better for you). We’ll discuss everything about your big day! Things like guest numbers, your biggest desires, and simply getting to know each other on a more personal level to ensure things run as well as they can do at your wedding.

Let’s Touch Base

After you’ve booked me in, it’s important for us to touch base a few times before your day to make the planning process go as smoothly as possible. It will help you get excited, and give you some inside information that’ll put any worry you may have to rest about your Mornington Peninsula wedding photography.

The Questionnaire

Another way I touch base before the wedding day is by sending out a questionnaire. This is the sign that things are starting to get real, and you’ve only got around 3 months left until it’s time to seal the deal. 

We’ll lock in a Mornington wedding photography timeline for the day, get your family photo plan sorted, and generally dot our I’s and cross our T’s so we know everything’s prepared. This way, I’ll know the plan for the day – as will your wedding vendors – and you can relax as things naturally progress.

During The Wedding

As you’ll already expect, the whole wedding day is about you! At this point, we’ve already discussed the plan for the day which will allow me to operate on autopilot, and help you fully enjoy your day with your family and friends.

It’s All You! 

Your big day has finally arrived, and you’re going to get my complete and undivided attention the entire time. Not only will I focus on the big moments, but also the small subtle ones that you didn’t even know happened. It’s the perfect way of ensuring your wedding photography captures the most authentic version of your day it possibly can.

Plus, it means you don’t have to worry about being in several places at once, and can just enjoy yourself in the present moment with the knowledge that I’ve got it covered! You’ll also get a mixture of stealth shots as well as up close and personal ones to really highlight the emotion of the day.

The Portrait Session

We’ll normally be listening to music during the portrait session on your wedding, and I’ve got a few prompts that will get you feeling and looking just as jaw-droppingly beautiful as you are. I’ll also make sure you’re still feeling completely relaxed and comfortable, an absolute essential on your big day. 

It’s a great time for you both to step back from the (positive) craziness of the day, and have a quiet moment together. It’s so easy to get swept up in everything during your wedding day that often people forget to live in the present moment. 

That’s why these sessions are so important. When you do both get that moment to yourself and things start to sink in, I’ll be there to capture that memory and make it last for an eternity.

After The Wedding

You can’t get rid of me that easily! Your wedding day may be over, but the fun is just starting. Now is the time for you to relax while I get all the photos I’ve taken ready for your viewing! 

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging for too long. You can expect more than a few photos very soon after your wedding day finishes! It’s the best way to keep the magic of the day alive for as long as possible!

Check Your Phone The Day After

It may only be one day after your wedding, but I’m incredibly keen to get a couple of BANGERS in your messages by the next morning. What a fantastic way to start the day after! 

Whether you want to post them on your socials or simply lie in bed as newlyweds and reminisce together, that’s up to you! While the day might fly by, the memories that wedding photography on Mornington Peninsula creates truly do last forever.

Check Your Inbox That Week

A couple of photos the day after is nice, but it’s never enough! We all hate waiting, so I’ll make it my mission to send you 50+ photos during the week after your wedding. A great selection of images that show the highlights of that magnificent day!

Expect Your Full Gallery Within 6 Weeks

It’s my promise to you that within 6 weeks of your wedding, you’ll have your entire gallery delivered. That’s over 600 high-quality photos ready to be printed, shared, and loved until the end of time. 

Why not invite your nearest and dearest over, crack open a bottle of wine, and relive that spectacular day once again?

Booked An Album? We’re Just Getting Started!

If you’ve decided to book an album with me as well, we’re just getting started! Now it’s time for me to design that album from front to back and send it to you for proofing as soon as it’s done. 

We’ll have a few back and forwards beforehand because they get printed and posted to you, but it’s 100% worth the extra effort to make sure everything is in tip-top condition. 

Quite simply, this is the best way to enjoy your photos. There’s no worrying about losing them when the next iPhone update happens, and as long as they’re stored properly they won’t age!

Got Any Questions?

The most important part of understanding what to expect from your wedding photographer is communication. If, during any part of your wedding proceedings you have a question, make sure to ask it! 

I’m here to help your dreams come to reality, and that means I’m always looking for ways to make your experience just that little bit better. There’s absolutely nothing off-limit, so ask away!

If you’re interested in learning more about the wedding photography process in a little more detail or simply want to chat with me about being your wedding photographer on the Mornington Peninsula, send me a message and let’s get this ball rolling!