Wedding Nightmares. Literally!

[James Manford]

I regularly dream about not being able to get certain shots or being stuck in traffic and being late which again means, I won't be able to get certain shots.

[David Barnett]

I dont think I've had a 'dream' about it, but I do tend to panic. Typically a day before, remembering all the charging I need to do (both cams, AA Batteries) grabbing my media cards, and the tripods etc. I'm pretty good about packing everything where it needs to be. And when leaving I make sure I have my main cam, media cards, tripod. The rest I've never forgotten but this way I know I for sure have the main ingredients so to speak. However then traffic fears kick in. Sometimes, especially in the summer, weekend travel can be bad. Esp for me when going into NJ, as alot of people in the area take trips down the shore, both for the weekend or the entire week with family. So the bridges can be very backed up. I check the local TV stations website for traffic cams, but still I have weddings in South Jersey now & then & I tend to leave 1-1.5+ hrs ahead for what can turn out to be a 25 minute commute.

OT - While the 'Wedding" dreams are more likely due to the field of work we do, a good dream interpretation website I've come across is Your Online Source For Dream Interpretations.

[Adrian Tan]

For some reason, I don't have wedding nightmares. Might be something to do with the fact I often get little sleep the night before.

On the actual day, there are things I say to myself that keep the stress down. Eg:

-- Like David, when I'm walking out the door, I mentally check I have the main bits of kit; and I know that, whatever else I've forgotten, at least if I have those, I can shoot the damn thing. (And I pretty much never forget anything anyway.)
-- I often tell myself "It's not possible to stuff up bride/groom prep", and I honestly don't think it is. I always spend generous amounts of time there, so I know that, whatever rubbish I'm shooting, there's bound to be enough footage to cut something usable together for the few minutes that part of the day appears on screen.
-- When rushing to church after bride prep, that's the make-or-break time of day, and stress levels are very high, but if I remind myself, "I've survived worse", that does help. Arriving at church last minute, looking for parking? Been there. Still setting up while bride is walking in? Done that. More than once. As Chris says, as long as you have that one camera rolling, then you're covered. That's what I think anyway.

But pretty much all my jobs are two-shooter jobs, so I've got nothing to complain about in comparison to you guys...

[Chris Harding]

Hey Adrian

I have a very strict rule and that is I leave the bridal prep venue 30 minutes before the bride does .. NO exceptions and I make sure she knows prior to my arrival too! Yeah driving up to the Church with the limo right behind you is the sort of thing that that can give you nightmares during the day!!

Now guys, how about nightmares that you really have when you walk into a ceremony venue and find that everything has been changed to what you discussed and it's almost an impossible shoot and the bride will arrive in 5 minutes ... now that's a nightmare!

Chris

[Adrian Tan]

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

For some reason, I don't have wedding nightmares. Might be something to do with the fact I often get little sleep the night before.

And then I just had one. But no wedding this weekend. I think it was mostly brought on by overheating and bad pizza.

Nightmare was: second-shooting for another company, arrived at groom's house. First shooter (my employer) asks me to do a ring shot. I realise I forgot to bring macro lens. I then realise I forgot to bring entire camera bag, because I was tired from a wedding the day before, and I grabbed the wrong bag. So, no lenses, no batteries. I start thinking about how to break the news to my employer, and whether I have enough time to get home and then meet him at the church.

But then I think: "No way. This can't be real. I'd never do this. What an awful dream." And I force myself to wake up. But I guess it goes to show that those anxieties are on my mind -- even, perhaps especially, on a weekend off.

Or maybe the dream is about something else entirely. Like: it's all a metaphor for sexual or relationship or ego insecurities or whatever, just expressed through the imagery of a wedding because that's familiar to me. Who knows.