Shooting your first wedding (part two)

Ok you have the gear, you have the bottle (No not the whisky! Dohh) And your all set to go, so what should you be doing.
Well a month or two before you should go and see the bride and groom, check all the details (things change all too often) finalise the package they want, and get any fees owning.
A week before the wedding, phone them and check again, you never know whats happened, also at this time you check out the venues, go to the church ideally the same time of day as the wedding (so the lighting will be from the same direction) and the reception venue. Look for places to shoot and things to avoid, now is also a good time to check the time it takes you to get from place to place. Don't do this ages before the wedding, about a week or less is best, to early and the builders might have moved in by the date of the wedding.
The days before the wedding, time to check you gear is all working properly and set it up to best quality or better still RAW (if your used to it) now is also the time to get fresh batteries for the flash and charge up your camera batteries (don't forget a spare set for both) charge your Mobile phone the same time
Print out the details of the wedding package, with all the addresses and contact numbers just in case you forget, check your cars ok and has plenty of fuel, a bottle of water or squash in case you get thirsty, and maybe a few energy bars for a munch, also pack a spare ironed shirt and deodorant, if it's a hot day and your running around you'll get sweaty, this gives you a chance to freshen up for the evening, and covers you if you get something spilled on you.
Next time on "shooting your first wedding" we talk about the wedding itself. Wayne