Last week I promised a look into what I carry with me throughout a wedding day. Here’s a brief overview of all the little things I have stuffed into my camera bag!
A Granola Bar – Wedding days can be quite long. Sometime I’m there from 9am until 9pm. My clients are super nice and provide a meal for my second shooter and I during the reception while everyone else is eating (because really, no one wants photos of people eating). So often times I eat a big breakfast and then won’t have lunch at all. Which is totally fine, I pretty much expect it – so a granola bar when there is a moment of down time before the ceremony could be a lifesaver!
Bobby Pins, Safety Pins, and Band Aids – After the hair stylist has left and we are taking photos of the wedding party and/or bride and groom sometimes there is a loose piece of hair. Whipping out a bobby pin when it is very much needed can make you the superhero for the day. The same goes with safety pins. I haven’t had to use them yet, but you never know when a dress may rip or something needs to be attached last minute!
Burt’s Bees and Mints – For the usual reasons 🙂
Tissues – Obviously the wedding day is a pretty emotional day and you never know when tears are going to start falling. These have also come in handy when I’ve been on the party bus or trolley. Unattended drinks tip over pretty frequently and having something to help mop up the mess when it’s heading towards my camera bag or the hem of the bride’s dress is so helpful!
Tide to go – White wedding dresses. That’s all I need to say.
Scissors – These are something that I never thought to carry around, but have come in handy so many times. Usually there are tags still on the wedding dress when I am getting it ready to be photographed. No one wants to be the one to rip the tag off the dress and potentially tear something!
A few pens – For obvious reasons.
Hair ties – you never know when it will be a super windy day!
Extra Batteries – I like to keep one set of extra batteries in my smaller camera bag, so if I need to change batteries quickly I don’t have to run across the room to my larger camera.
And a cute pouch to keep the little things in!
Some things that are not pictured that I also bring with me on the wedding day include:
A wooden hanger – Sometimes brides will have a nice wooden hanger but if they don’t, I have one with me. It makes a huge difference in the dress photo when you replace the cheap plastic hanger for a neutral wooden one!
A white trash bag – I usually stick a trash bag in my camera bag and keep it there for the whole wedding season. If the opportunity arises and I’m wanting to have the bride and groom sit on the ground or a not-so-clean bench, I can whip out the bag for a dirt barrier and all is good!