I’m occasionally asked what do I do if I am the wedding photographer at a church or venue that I have not been to before? The answer is simple. If at all possible I never photograph a wedding at a place I have never been to before.
If I am going to be the wedding photographer at a new place I will endeavour to go and check the location out before hand and get familiar with it. Even if I have shot there before but it has been a while, I will go and take a look. Even for a destination wedding I try and get there at least a day before the wedding and take a good look around.
In a couple of months time I am photographing a wedding at Mullumbimby that is at a place that has never had a wedding before. This meant that last week there was a mass meeting of everyone involved in the wedding – aside from the bridal party and guests – so we could take a look at the property. There was the wedding photographer (me), wedding co-ordinator, the florist, the lighting guy, the plants guy, the caterer, the hire people, etc, all suddenly turning up swarming all over the place.
It’s going to be a great wedding.