I mentioned to my sister about a year ago how much I enjoyed designing all the stuff for my wedding, and that if she needed anything for hers to let me know...
So, save the dates, invitations, place names, seating plan, menus, signs, setting up on the day, and wedding photos!
I didn't really give it any thought or research as I was so busy leading up to it, my prep consisted of stocking up on memory and batteries and hoping it went ok, not ideal but I also didn't really want to shoe-horn into standard wedding stuff, they trusted me on my instincts (even though I've never shot people) so it seemed silly to follow a 'rule-book' of wedding photography. All they asked for was a short list of group shots, and to make sure I was in some photos (!)
On the day I was at the venue at 10am setting up all the bits and pieces, then I headed to the hotel everyone was staying at, checked everyone in etc, finally arrived at the venue just in time to get a shot of the grooms party before it all started.
The wedding itself was an utter whirlwind, loads of moments when I was just enjoying the fact it was my sisters wedding, then realising I should be taking photos as well! I set up the formals that needed me in them and handed over to one of the best men, so that covered off that potential issue. I 'officially' stopped taking photos after the first dance at 9pm, but I knew my sister would love some video, so I shot a bunch of video in the evening through till midnight...at 10am the next morning I was back at the venue clearing out as they shot off on their honeymoon!
From a technical view, I had with me a D600, D7000, Sigma 35mm 1.4, Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 AF-S and Nikon 85mm 1.8. The D7000 and 85mm were back-ups, the D600/80-200 combo covered the ceremony and speeches, the D600/35mm combo covered everything else (formals, details, evening etc). I was tempted to play it safe and buy a 24-70 2.8, but I'm really pleased I stuck with my much loved 35mm, some of the shots would have been near impossible without it. Going forward I would be more than happy with a D600/35mm 1.4 and D600/135mm set-up, but as Sigma/Nikon don't currently make anything around 135 that appeals (and 85mm alone is a bit short), the 80-200 will do just fine.
A few samples here...
http://www.chrisharrisonphotography.com/blog/2014/6/5/kim-john-may-30th-2014
Delivered 252 photos in the little package you see at the end of the blog post exactly a week after the wedding (when they got back from their honeymoon), 12 prints, 3 photo CDs, 3 DVDs with slideshow, and 2 memory sticks (one with all high-res pics, the other with all the video), to say they were pleased with it would be an understatement!
So, save the dates, invitations, place names, seating plan, menus, signs, setting up on the day, and wedding photos!
I didn't really give it any thought or research as I was so busy leading up to it, my prep consisted of stocking up on memory and batteries and hoping it went ok, not ideal but I also didn't really want to shoe-horn into standard wedding stuff, they trusted me on my instincts (even though I've never shot people) so it seemed silly to follow a 'rule-book' of wedding photography. All they asked for was a short list of group shots, and to make sure I was in some photos (!)
On the day I was at the venue at 10am setting up all the bits and pieces, then I headed to the hotel everyone was staying at, checked everyone in etc, finally arrived at the venue just in time to get a shot of the grooms party before it all started.
The wedding itself was an utter whirlwind, loads of moments when I was just enjoying the fact it was my sisters wedding, then realising I should be taking photos as well! I set up the formals that needed me in them and handed over to one of the best men, so that covered off that potential issue. I 'officially' stopped taking photos after the first dance at 9pm, but I knew my sister would love some video, so I shot a bunch of video in the evening through till midnight...at 10am the next morning I was back at the venue clearing out as they shot off on their honeymoon!
From a technical view, I had with me a D600, D7000, Sigma 35mm 1.4, Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 AF-S and Nikon 85mm 1.8. The D7000 and 85mm were back-ups, the D600/80-200 combo covered the ceremony and speeches, the D600/35mm combo covered everything else (formals, details, evening etc). I was tempted to play it safe and buy a 24-70 2.8, but I'm really pleased I stuck with my much loved 35mm, some of the shots would have been near impossible without it. Going forward I would be more than happy with a D600/35mm 1.4 and D600/135mm set-up, but as Sigma/Nikon don't currently make anything around 135 that appeals (and 85mm alone is a bit short), the 80-200 will do just fine.
A few samples here...
http://www.chrisharrisonphotography.com/blog/2014/6/5/kim-john-may-30th-2014
Delivered 252 photos in the little package you see at the end of the blog post exactly a week after the wedding (when they got back from their honeymoon), 12 prints, 3 photo CDs, 3 DVDs with slideshow, and 2 memory sticks (one with all high-res pics, the other with all the video), to say they were pleased with it would be an understatement!
