Wedding Photographer Snacks: Simple and Easy

Raise your hand if you find yourself on a wedding day with two granola bars and one bottle of water as your on-the-go wedding photographer snacks. Hours pass, then you suddenly realize it’s been eight hours and you haven’t stopped to eat or drink a single thing. Anyone?! I have totally been there, and truthfully, this isn’t sustainable to photograph one wedding to another with only granola bars, the vendor meal, and a slice of cake (if you’re lucky!). So, fear not! I have a few tips and tricks for wedding photographer snacks that will keep you energized throughout a full wedding day.

For those of you who don’t know, my background is in nutrition. Prior to being a wedding and elopement photographer, my title was Registered Dietitian. So before we dive in, I am going to break down a few nutrition basics to help you best create your own wedding photographer snacks.

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Macronutrients: how to make wedding photographer snacks

There are three macronutrients in the world: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Each one of them plays an important role in keeping you full and focused (Frosted Mini-Wheats commercial anyone?).

Carbohydrates

Carbs are your body’s front line of energy. What do I mean by this? Your body runs off of glucose, and carbohydrates are sugars (which includes glucose!). So, no wonder wedding photographers want that slice of cake at the end of the night! Your body sees the sugar and thinks, “YASSS ENERGY!”. Also, it is important to note that when paired with fiber, carbohydrates will be digested slower which keeps you full longer.

Simple Carbohydrates = no fiber

Complex Carbohydrates = with fiber

Protein

Protein is the building block for your body. Protein is made of amino acids, which are complex, so your body oftentimes will use these last when looking for energy. Protein helps build those strong muscles from holding your camera with a flash on it throughout the entire reception.

Fat

Fat is the most calorie packed per gram of all three of the macronutrients, and this is not a bad thing! Fat helps store energy, and keep you going throughout the reception dance party.

So now that you have the basics of what makes up the macronutrients, let’s dive into how carbs, protein and fat can be paired together for the perfect on-the-go wedding photographer snacks. When these three macronutrients are paired together, your body will commonly stay full for 2.5 – 3 hours. Why? Because when all three macronutrients are present, this slows down how fast your body can digest the food, which, in turn, keeps you full longer.

Have you ever heard the saying, “You should eat five to six small meals per day”? Well, if you break up your day into 2.5 – 3 hour increments, you will be eating five to six times per day. Crazy, right?!

Okay! Before we go any further, you may be thinking, “Oh, sorry Mollie I am not eating carbs so this won’t work for me.” And, if this is you (and it’s okay if it is you!), I challenge you to change that phrase to “I am not eating simple carbohydrates, only complex carbohydrates.” Because if you ate no carbs, that would mean you’re not eating any fruits or vegetables (these are complex carbs) and your body would be really sad it was not getting its vitamins and minerals it needs (and the dietitian would be sad, too).

Now we understand the macronutrients, why we need all three, and how they keep us full. So let’s get to the good stuff: simple and easy snacks for wedding photographers! Below are ideas of easy snacks for you to try out! I have linked brands that I recommend, as well, for convenience. Feel free to mix and match them as you please.

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Now we understand the macronutrients, why we need all three, and how they keep us full. So let’s get to the good stuff: simple and easy snacks for wedding photographers! Below are ideas of easy snacks for you to try out! I have linked brands that I recommend, as well, for convenience. Feel free to mix and match them as you please.

The major thing to keep in mind is: does my snack have a carbohydrate, protein, and fat? If the answer is yes, then you are well on your way to a healthier you for photographing wedding days! And, some foods have both protein and fats, such as mixed nuts, cheese and nut butters. Bonus!

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10 easy snacks for wedding photographers

snack combo one:

Apple | Raw Almonds | Beef Jerky

Plant based? Try this meatless beef jerky!

Snack Combo Two:

Trail Mix | Cheese Stick | Grapes

Snack Combo Three:

RX Bar | Mixed Nuts | Apple

Snack Combo Four:

Pretzels | Hummus | Carrots

Snack Combo Five:

Protein Muffins with Pecans | Apple

Snack Combo Six:

Grapes | Cheese | Trail Mix

Snack Combo Seven:

Protein and Greens Smoothie | Mixed Nuts  

If you are nutrition label geek like me, notice that there are no added sugars, meaning this smoothie only contains naturally occurring sugars of fruits and vegetables.

Snack Combo Eight:

Blueberries | Raw Cashews | Carrots with Hummus

Snack Combo Nine:

Protein Balls | Apple

If you use this recipe for energy bites, try adding this protein powder to give them a boost!

Snack Combo Ten:

Green Machine Smoothie

Recipe:

1 banana (frozen or fresh)

2 handfuls of frozen spinach or greens of your choice

1 cup frozen mango

2 scoops of protein powder

1/3 cup shredded coconut

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 – 1.5 cups of water

Blend until smooth and enjoy! This is my personal favorite wedding photographer snack because it contains all of the macronutrients!

Worried about your smoothie staying cold? I use this and a few ice cubes to keep my smoothie cold all day long.

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Taking care of yourself as a wedding photographer

One last thing! You now have the knowledge and tools to choose healthy snacks as a wedding photographer, but there is just one thing missing: the action step of actually doing this! Here are a few tips to making sure you follow through on healthy snack choices when photographing a wedding:

• Prepare and pack your wedding photographer snacks the night before

• Set reminders in your phone for every 2.5 hours during the wedding day to have a snack

• Give yourself a five-minute break to eat your snack. After all, by law, you should be taking a break as a contracted wedding photographer!