Planning journey + production guide

From first ideas to the anniversary.

See every checkpoint your creative team is thinking through, prepare for the final questionnaire, and understand what happens to the work after the last song.

Jessica and Corey of The Combs Creative with camerasPlanning, from behind the cameras

The client journey

Eight chapters. One connected experience.

The timing flexes with the event, but the purpose stays consistent: turn uncertainty into readiness without taking over your life.

01Before inquiry

Begin with the feeling

Choose three words for how you want the celebration to feel. Note the people, places, traditions, and sensory memories you cannot imagine leaving out.

02Proposal + booking

Build the right coverage

Match the number of hours and team to the real event shape. Your signed proposal confirms the booking schedule, scope, and payment terms.

0390–60 days

Create the framework

Confirm scope, venues, travel, privacy, accessibility, major restrictions, and whether an engagement session belongs in the story.

0445–30 days

Make it specific

Complete the final questionnaire, family groups, vendor list, addresses, priorities, and draft timeline. Confirm the payment checkpoint shown in your agreement.

0521–7 days

Protect the experience

Lock team roles, call times, meals, weather plans, travel buffers, permits, analog choices, audio needs, and the final call sheet.

06Wedding day

Live the day

We arrive early, scout, synchronize, and document without forcing. The plan holds the logistics so you can be present with your people.

0724 hours–12 weeks

Preserve the work

Cards and rolls are reconciled, backed up, processed, edited, color-checked, and delivered on the schedule in your agreement.

08After delivery + anniversaries

Make it tangible

Choose album images, order prints, share with family, revisit the film, and mark the anniversary with a print, session, or new chapter.

Behind the scenes

What production readiness actually means.

The invisible work protects the visible work. These checkpoints keep logistics, media, sound, people, and contingencies aligned.

90–60 days

Framework

  • Confirm scope, venue, planner, travel, accessibility, privacy
  • Review engagement-session and event coverage
  • Surface restrictions, permits, and payment checkpoints
45–30 days

Final questionnaire

  • Vendor team, family groups, addresses, priorities
  • Draft timeline, analog choices, drone restrictions
  • Confirm the payment checkpoint shown in the agreement
21–14 days

Production design

  • Team roles, call times, lodging, meals, childcare
  • Weather plan, travel buffers, permits, risks
  • Film, audio, and handoff plans
Final 7 days

Call sheet

  • Final schedule and exact locations
  • Family list, must-haves, emergency contacts
  • Audio plan, route, payment, and gear confirmation
72–24 hours

Readiness

  • Charge devices and prepare verified media
  • Label cards and rolls; check forecasts and routes
  • Confirm access, arrival, and team communication
Event day

Coverage

  • Arrive 30–45 minutes early and scout
  • Synchronize cameras and confirm restrictions
  • Document with direction when useful, without forcing
0–72 hours

Ingest + backup

  • Reconcile cards and rolls
  • Create independent backups and spot-check files
  • Send previews or updates when included
2–12 weeks

Post + delivery

  • Cull, edit, mix audio, color, and quality-check
  • Process and scan analog media
  • Deliver according to the signed agreement

Private planning notes

Think before the final call.

Your notes stay on this device. Use them to prepare for the formal questionnaire and planning conversation.

01

The feeling

02

People + relationships

03

Places + movement

04

Photo + film priorities

05

The reception + ending

06

Privacy + legacy

After delivery

The work is finished. The legacy is not.

A gallery link is the beginning of living with the work, not the final destination.

01

Download

Save the full-resolution gallery and films in at least two places. Give one trusted person access too.

02

Favorite

Mark the photographs that tell the whole story, including atmosphere, family, and the in-between.

03

Design

Build the album as a narrative rather than a greatest-hits folder. Leave room for quiet pages and transitions.

04

Print

Choose the frames you want to encounter every day and order family copies while everyone is still excited.

05

Share

Confirm publication preferences and vendor-sharing permissions before work moves beyond your private gallery.

06

Return

On the anniversary, open the album, watch the film, print a new favorite, or make a new portrait together.