The Ultimate Wedding Photography Planning Checklist

JULY 20, 2022

Weddings

We have been wedding professionals for decades, and in those years have honed the perfect list of advice for making your wedding photography experience the best and smoothest it can be. Nothing makes us happier than knowing that we can help set you up for the most successful and stress-free day as possible. Trust us, we’ve got you and will be there on your entire journey to becoming a #wifeyforlifey. Keep reading for the best tips and tricks on planning for your wedding photography:

1.Schedule

We can’t stress this enough. Having a proper schedule sets the entire tone for your wedding. We love having an understanding and balance of the wants and needs of your big day and photography expectations. The timing for photography needs to be juuuust right and fit in with the rest of your day’s schedule flawlessly.

2.Travel

Travel might be the biggest thing that couples tend to let slip their minds when planning their photography and wedding day schedule as a whole. But we’re here to tell you that it is SUPER important to time your travel out, especially if your ceremony and reception are in separate locations. We encourage all of our couples to maximize the time allowed for shooting instead of favouring travelling. This is definitely a quality over quantity type of situation. Try to choose photography locations that are close to one another and are easily accessible. The last thing you want to do is venture on a 20-minute hike up the escarpment for a location when you only have your cocktail hour to take pictures!

3.Permits

Don’t forget to research, plan, schedule, and purchase photography permits! Some of the most popular wedding photography locations do indeed require a permit. If you’re making your marriage legal, be sure to make your wedding pictures legal too! Did you know that some locations even require you to book permits 1+ year in advance due to popularity? Make it a goal to decide on your photography locations as early as possible and secure those permits! Your wedding photographer can help you suggest cool locations that can work as alternatives if purchasing a permit isn’t possible for you. We always encourage couples to choose a location that is meaningful to them. This way you might not need a permit and it’s one less headache

4.Keep It Clean!

You’re going to be super busy on your wedding day, we totally get that! And in that wedding whirlwind, you may find your smaller/enclosed locations can get a little cluttered. The biggest culprit of this will be your getting ready location. It may be worth your while to appoint one or more of your bridal party members to be on tidy/clean up patrol while pictures are being taken. We can help too! We are dedicated to making each shot as perfect as possible, and sometimes that means moving/removing items from the frame. We pride ourselves on a clean polished photography style here at MANGO, and we take these extra steps to be absolutely sure you and we are both totally happy with the final product. Marie Kondo will be proud.

5.Back-up Locations

Sometimes there will be rain on your wedding day parade. But there’s no reason to be worried. If any component of your wedding day is planned for the outdoors, you NEED to plan for a weather backup location. A lot of venues these days will have on-site weather permitting locations for a low cost, or no cost at all. It’s definitely better to be prepared than to be scrambling for a dry photography spot at the last minute. You can also ask your photographer for local, indoor photography ideas. With years of experience, we know exactly what will work in a pinch. And lastly, I have to say though, some of my favourite wedding pictures have been captured outdoors during a little drizzle