A Day in the Life of a Minnesota Wedding Photographer

Take an inside look at what makes up a day in the life of a Minnesota wedding photographer as well as what my process is like!

Hi, I’m Chelsea! A high-energy fun-loving wedding photographer that is OBSESSED with you, your lover, and everything weddings. I recently put together an article that talks a bit more about me, and what it's like to work with me, but something was missing from it. A deep look into my process for a wedding day! Though many may think when it comes to a wedding day, I show up, I document your day, and then I leave, the reality is quite a bit different. There are SO many steps that go into a documenting a wedding day that you don’t always see, which is actually what prompted this article! Today we'll be taking an inside look at a day in the life of me, your Minnesota wedding photographer!

Prepping for Your Wedding as a Minnesota Wedding Photographer

Now I know I said we'll be taking a look at my process for a wedding day, but as anyone who's planned a wedding can tell you there is a LOT more to a wedding than just the day itself! That's why to get the full picture of what a wedding day with me as your photographer looks like, we need to start at the beginning. From the moment you book me I get to work in order to make things as simple and stress free for you as possible. After all you have enough on your plate already! So let's check out my preparation process, and work our way towards your wedding day.

Your Questionnaire and the Lead Up to Your Wedding Day

After you book me as your Minnesota or destination wedding photographer, I will send you a questionnaire as well as a handful of resources to help you start mapping out your wedding day! We will go over details that will help me to approach your wedding day with a plan and mutual expectations. This way you know what to expect the day of, and I know what you’re hoping for when it comes to your wedding day experience and photos!

About a month before your wedding day I set up a call for us to go over ALL of the details that go into your wedding. We will talk through a timeline that is customized to you and your wedding day. This is to ensure that we have enough time to document all of the important photos you want, and allow you to experience all of the things you want out of your wedding day!

In addition to this, I will also act as your guide through all of the questions you need answers to leading up to your day that you might not think of on your own. Questions like who will you have zip your dress? Do you want to have a first look? If it’s calling for rain, what is your backup plan for your outdoor ceremony? These are all important questions that I make sure to bring up with you so that you are prepared when your wedding day arrives!

Your Wedding Day Timeline

A week out from your wedding I'll reach out to see if you want to make any changes to the timeline that we created a month ago. I do this to give you as much time as possible to think about your day and the moments you want to experience on it. Crafting your ideal timeline together is SO important as it allows me to help you put together a wedding day that allows for the experience you want as well as the photos you've been dreaming of. From there I send over a finalized timeline for you to look through and then this timeline will be what I will use to guide you through your wedding day.

A Day in the Life of a Minnesota Wedding Photographer: Your Wedding Day

Gearing Up for a Wedding Day

Ok now for the fun part, your wedding day! Wedding days are a LONG HAUL. The other vendors such as the videographer and I are on our feet all day, which is why I always treat a wedding day like I’m running a marathon! I like to carb up the night before with pasta so that I am ready to be your ultimate hype woman for your entire wedding day.

On top of fueling myself, I also make sure all of my gear is in tip-top shape! I set up all of my gear the day prior. I check, and double check, my gear to make sure everything is working as it should be, and I make sure to charge all of my camera and flash batteries. Then before bed I check everything about 5 more times to make sure everything is working. Then once more the morning of your wedding just to be extra safe. Ok, maybe one more time when I pack my car just to be sure!

A Look at My Wedding Day Gear

So now you know that I like to be extra thorough as I prep my gear for your wedding day, but what exactly do I all need the day of your wedding? I keep things relatively simple when it comes to the gear I carry on a wedding day. I make sure to have a main camera with my primary lenses, a backup camera, and then a handful of extra lenses, my on-camera flashes, PLENTY of SD cards, a tool kit to accentuate details from your wedding day like your flatlay, and a handful of emergency supplies!

The Wedding Itself 

Once I arrive at your venue, I will pop in to say hello and check in on how you're feeling. From there I'll get right to work, gathering your wedding day details and putting together your wedding day flatlay to document along with other details like the venue's spaces, the décor you've set up, etc. After your wedding day details are documented I will be by your side more than your partner is throughout the majority of the day believe it or not! Knowing the plan that we put together leading up to your wedding day, and with my experience in weddings, I will help to guide you through every step as move throughout your wedding day, while also giving you space to exist in the moment. As your Minnesota wedding photographer, here are a few things that you can expect from me on your wedding day:

• A person you can lean on if you’re not sure what happens next.
• I will be the first person to cheer you on as you walk down the aisle as a married couple.
• Someone who can problem solve on the fly if it starts to rain during your portrait time.
• Someone who brings out the energy in your wedding party so you actually have a good time taking your wedding photos.
• A photographer who's not afraid to bust out some crazy dance moves on your dance floor to ensure I get the BEST epic photos of you and your guests letting loose.
• And last but not least I will be documenting every moment along the way, both big and small!

What You May Not See on a Wedding Day

As a Minnesota wedding photographer, there is a lot that goes on behind the camera that usually goes unseen! For starters, there’s not many opportunities for us to grab water, which is why I hydrate to the extreme before and after a wedding day! We are on our feet constantly with a LOT of gear attached to us, so the day after a wedding is usually a recovery day for me. We are also constantly 'on' during a wedding day, thinking about how to frame the next photo, making sure we're not missing any moments or details, and ensuring that we're sticking to the timeline we've created. While this does make my job sound pretty tough, trust me I would not trade my weddings for the world! I love each and every moment, challenges and all!

After Your Wedding Day

Once I get home from your wedding day I immediately back up your images into two different locations so that I can ensure your photos are safe. Until you receive your photos there will always be at least three different locations that your photos will be saved. Similar to how I like to double and triple check my gear, I like to ensure that I not only have backups to your images but backups to the backups as well!

One of my FAVORITE parts post-wedding is looking through all of the images and choosing some of my favs to send to you as a sneak peek as I start preparing the final gallery! I take my editing just as seriously as your wedding, curating your gallery so that it tells your story from start to finish in a way that you can relive your wedding day exactly how you remember it.

There you have it, a day in the life (and a little extra) for me as a Minnesota wedding photographer! I had a ton of fun putting this article together and hope you enjoyed getting this inside view as to what a wedding day looks like for me. Be sure to check out some of my other blogs or my Instagram for a look at more of my work. If you're looking to have me document your wedding day head on over to my contact page so we can get the ball rolling!