Planning a wedding in a place in which you do not actually live is a challenge at the best of times. However, more and more couples are combining the wedding and honeymoon by formalizing their union at a destination (such as Greece or Mauritius).
This is the ideal way to extend your wedding celebrations with those that mean the most to you. However, one of the major challenges arises when you, as a couple, need to plan your wedding photographs with your professional photographer.
On rare occasions, you may be able to pay a visit to the intended destination before the time to get an idea of where you would like your photographs taken. Even more seldom, the photographer may be able to accompany you to get a good idea of the layout. Alternatively, he or she may have worked there before and be familiar with some of the layout and possible backdrops. However, most couples will be facing a scenario of not having been to the destination for the purposes of deciding where pictures should be taken (i.e. they may have visited it on holiday a few years back, but not with the intention of having their wedding there someday). They will also likely hire someone with whom they are happy and comfortable, but who has never visited the location.
The most important way to ensure that your photographs are everything that you dreamt they would be is to communicate. Discuss your needs with the wedding venue or wedding planner at the destination and make sure that they understand what you want. Get them to send you suggested sites for your wedding photographs. They could send a collection of other couples’ wedding pictures to show the suitability of each site. Get a variety of options and show them to your photographer. Encourage him or her to put their questions in writing so that you can clear up any issues they may have with your contact at the destination.
Also, make sure that you are aware of specific things such as climate (for example, does it usually get very windy by the time of afternoon that you may be expecting to have your photos taken?), when the sun sets, whether many tourists will be frequenting the area while you are posing for your shots, whether you will be standing on solid ground, wet tiles or soft sand and so on.
You will need to find out where the nearest town is if your location itself is not within a well-equipped city. Your photographer may need leads, plugs, bulbs, etc… and may need to replace these during the course of your stay. It is important that a convenient outlet is identified and accessible. The photographer will need to be prepared, bringing all their equipment to cater to any conditions or eventuality. This may prove very costly but will be well worth it. Do not bank on the availability of stock at the destination as it may not be compatible with his or her equipment. It should only be used in the case of an emergency.
The alternative, of course, is to hire a photographer from the actual destination. This allows them to be complete au fait with the site and even suggest certain places that may be unknown to foreigners. The disadvantages in this situation lie in the facts that your photographer does not get to interact with you as a couple until you actually arrive, which may lead to generic pictures rather than personalized ones and that there may be communication barriers if he or she is not completely fluent in your home language. However, it is likely to work out cheaper and take full advantage of the stunning backdrops of your chosen destination.