Destination Weddings - How do you get your gear there?

Jeff_Milo

As we jump into Wedding season hear is sunny So Cal it turns out that I have almost as many weddings outside of So Cal as I do in. I will have the good fortune of shooting in Hawaii, Alaska, New Hampshire, New York City, Connecticut, and Kentucky over the next 14 months. With the current state of Airline travel and charging outrageous rates for checked baggage (looking like upwards of $200) I was considering shipping my gear (everything except the camera & lenses) through Fed-ex or UPS.

Curious on how you guys get your gear to destination weddings?

heatherfeather

I always carry mine on and then check my clothes and things... I have a pelican soft sided roller that pretty much fits everything minus light stands. Good thing they aren't weighing checked bags yet......
I bought some really small lightstands to put in my checked bag, but I wasn't really very happy with them, so next time I do a destination wedding I am going to figure something else out.

Shima

For domestic destination weddings:
Think Tank Airport Security v2

For international destination weddings:
Think Tank Airport International v2

I check all my clothing and tripod in the large suitcase. So carry on for me is purse/laptop back (purse can be squeezed into laptop backpack if they force me to) plus the roller which is the camera bag listed above depending on where I'm going.

tenoverthenose

Definitely the Think Tank Airport Security for me. It hold just about everything I need inside the plane. I really couldn't imagine shipping equipment for a wedding - things do get lost and I'd hate to have to purchase new gear rushed in a new town. Part of the cost of doing business, maybe it's time to raise your rates to cover the cost.