Planning a wedding is daunting no matter how big or small your celebration will be. We chose to hold a destination wedding in Rome, and we wanted to be sure to capture every moment. Navigating all the photo and video options for a destination wedding can be stressful, so here are a few tips that should help simplify the process when choosing a destination wedding photographer!
1) Hunt on Instagram for destination wedding photographers
The first step is of course finding a destination wedding photographer that you are interested in hiring! Luckily, thanks to Instagram it is very easy to round up a prospective list. Start with friends and family that you know are recently married or engaged, check out the pages of their photographers, look at the style, the types of locations they shoot in, the poses, everything! But don’t over think it, you’ll know when you find a team that matches your aesthetic.
2) Invest in an engagement session
Once you have a wedding photography team booked for your wedding date, think about investing in an engagement session as well. Not only will this be another opportunity to capture this special time in your life, it is a great practice for the actual wedding shoot. You and your fiancé can get used to posing, being in front of the camera and just building a rapport with your photographers will make the wedding day go that much smoother and you’ll feel that much more at ease.
3) Use the destination wedding team for photo and video
Don’t skip video! Wedding videos have come a long way since our parents got married. They are no longer just a video recording of the ceremony. They are now dramatic films capturing the essence of the entire day. But be sure to use the same team for both photo and video so they can coordinate shots and setup.
4) Discuss shooting locations before the big day
Especially if you are having a destination wedding, discuss your shot list and shooting locations with your team before the wedding. If your destination wedding is in a city filled with lots of iconic sites, i.e. like Rome, be selective about where you shoot, don’t try to do it all. Go for maybe one or two iconic locations and then a few more low-key spots that are convenient to your ceremony and reception locations. Luckily, we had Cristen from Cristen & Co.to help us scout locations for our wedding in Rome! Can’t wait to show you guys all the amazing spots she found!
5) Have fun with your destination wedding photographers
Don’t stress over the photography! If you choose the right team and put in the prep work beforehand it will all go smoothly. We used Move Mountains Co.for our wedding and engagement photography and video. Josh and Brian from the team were amazing to work with! Both of my looks were created by Firas Yousif Originals and Drew’s tux is by Indochino and my makeup was done by Haley Navarro and my hair by Federico Salon Roma.
Lots more to come on our wedding! This is part of our wedding blog series where we share all the details of our big day! Continue reading all about my wedding dress process and our floral design!