Booking your photographer 

Booking a wedding photographer is a big part of your wedding planning and perhaps one of the most important. Your photographer will be freezing your day in time and capturing memories that you will hold onto forever so it’s important that you find the right photographer for you.

Make sure that you are booking a photographer that aligns with your style and you feel will fit into your day perfectly. For example, I pride myself in creating timeless imagery, with an analogue inspired style with a strong focus on natural documentary style wedding photography. So when couples book me, they can expect a relaxed, friendly photographer that captures their day as it organically unfolds.

Choosing the right photographer for your day can take time and I recommend arranging a zoom meeting with potential photographers so you can get a true feel for their vibe before you book them. This is a great way to get to know your wedding photographer and for them to understand the day that you have got planned. It’s also a great way for your wedding photographer to give you any additional advice you may need about the services that they offer and for them to walk you through the process of booking them as your wedding photographer. 

It's also super important that you allow yourself enough time to book your photographer. I’d recommend booking them as soon as you have booked your venue and have a date for your big day. We get booked up far in advance so giving yourself 12 months plus will guarantee you booking your favourite wedding photographer.

Prep

The morning of your wedding day is truly magical, exciting, but can also be a little stressful. Make sure you appoint someone in your wedding party to take the lead on the responsibilities so that you can enjoy a stress free morning. 

The location of where you get ready will play a role in your wedding photos. The family home or a wedding suite are usually the go to locations. From a photographer's perspective, choose a room that is large (especially if you have lots of people getting ready in the same space) and somewhere that has a lot of natural light coming into it. Also keep in mind that a clean and tidy space will look much better as well when we come in to take your prep photographs. There may also be some small details that you want us to capture, so make sure they are all together to help with your stress free morning. These might include earrings, a signature perfume, shoes, rings, necklaces, flowers and your invitations. You may also want to place your flowers in vases to keep them fresh and so we can photograph them beautifully.

Allowing enough time for yourselves to get ready is important, I will usually spend an hour with the guys and two hours with the girls. If you are getting ready in the same place, then brilliant, I may bounce between both sides of the wedding party. However, if you are getting ready in different locations, then I will need to factor in some travel time as well. This can all be planned in our meeting before your big day. 

Timeline

We need to make sure we are in the right place at the right time and no one wants the stress of confirming timings on the day. Giving your photographer a timeline of your wedding is crucial. A month before your day, I will send you a questionnaire to finalise some specific elements of your wedding, the timeline being one.

There are a couple of key timings that I will need to work within to be able to create your stunning wedding album. At the beginning of the day, I like to allow 1 hour with the guys and 2 hours with the girls. With same sex weddings, I will split my timings up 50/50 and if you are getting ready in the same perimeter of each other then I will bounce between both wedding parties a few times. I will then get to the ceremony 30 minutes before it begins so that I can capture your guests and wedding party arrival.

After your ceremony, it is useful to allow 30/45 minutes for your portrait session. We will take a walk around your venue and I will guide you into some candid poses, stepping back to capture the energy between you. You may also want to allow 45 minutes for your group/ family portraits (depending on how many you have, 5 minutes per photo). If we are gifted with beautiful weather on your day as well, then you might want to allocate some time an hour or so before sunset for us to go back out and capture some golden hour portraits. 

Please remember, that this is advice and I don’t believe in a one package fits all, so when we are discussing your day, I can help with any timeline queries that you may have.

Ceremony

Your ceremony is the most special part of your wedding day, it is also the most formal, so there may be some rules that us photographers need to be aware of. In some religious settings, there may be certain areas that we are not allowed to stand and photograph in, or moments during the ceremony where we cannot take photographs. There are no written rules and each celebrant conducts their ceremonies differently, so please ask your Celebrant, Priest, Vicar, Rabbi etc whether there is any specific information that you need to pass onto your photographer. This is also information that you may want to find out before you organise your ceremony so you are aware of any possible restrictions to your wedding photography during your ceremony.  

During your ceremony, you and your partner will be feeling a wild rush of emotions. Look at each other as much as possible and share this amazing energy as you ignite your marriage together. We will be busy capturing these emotions, as well as your guests who have all come together to celebrate your love. Once you have ‘tied the knot’, your celebrant will pronounce you a married couple in front of your guests and invite you to kiss each other. Relish this and take the time to have a moment with your partner to soak up the energy of your ceremony and enjoy a long kiss.  

If you wish to do a confetti photograph after your ceremony, it is also helpful to mention this to your celebrant. They can then inform and direct your guests while they have their attention with what to do once you and your husband/ wife have walked down the aisle as a married couple.

Unplugged

You may have heard of the concept of an ‘unplugged’ wedding or been to one yourselves. It is when you ask your guest’s not to take any photos or videos during the ceremony so they can be fully present in the moment. I would highly recommend this as you have paid a professional photographer and possibly videographer to capture all the moments of your ceremony so your guests don’t need to do that for you. You may also want to ask your guests to wait until you have shared your wedding photos online before they do so that you are announcing to your online community that you got married before one of your guests does. You will receive a sneak peek gallery from me 48 hours after your wedding, so you will only have to wait a couple of days before you receive photographs from me.

Portrait session 

Your portrait session is a truly unique and beautiful experience that I feel so blessed to capture. I tailor the shoot completely to you. I'm not one for getting you to hold poses for a super long time to capture every possible angle. My approach is gentle and candid, allowing you to take time to enjoy the energy of your day together. Usually, we will go for a walk around your venue, I would have already scouted a few locations where I think we should capture some beautiful moments. I will give you a few prompts, but ultimately, it is all about having fun and capturing your energy together.

I believe that your portrait session holds two purposes. It allows us to capture beautiful photographs of just the two of you looking stunning on your wedding day. Plus it gives the two of you some time away from your guests to enjoy and share a moment together where you can soak up the energy of the day. It is up to you when we do your portrait session, I usually recommend that we do it straight after your ceremony so that you can enjoy a moment together while you are still looking fresh (that's not to say you won’t be by the end of the day, but hey, it's your wedding and you are going to want to party!). It is also great to leave some time an hour or so before sunset so that we can capture those beautiful golden hour photographs. After your ceremony, the rest of your day is much more relaxed, so I am also happy to work our portrait session around how you are both feeling in the moment.

Shot list for group portraits

A shot list for your group portraits is super important. A month before your wedding, I will send you a questionnaire which will ask you about your group portraits. This is where you can tell me who you want in each of your group shots so that we can quickly and efficiently capture these images and not take too much time out of your day. I would recommend a maximum of 10 group shots including your wedding party which we can do something a little bit more creative with.

The dress 

Your dress might be one of your biggest investments for your wedding so I know how precious it is. In the morning, before you put it on, please have it ready for us to take some photographs of it. We will find a well lit area to photograph your dress and its details before you put it on. A wooden or white hanger for your dress will also be useful for us to capture it in a timeless and classic way.

Don’t stress about your dress

Unfortunately, there is no stopping your dress picking up a little bit of dirt, even if you are inside all day. You are going to look stunning no matter what, so please don’t stress too much about your dress. Another reason why I say this, is because we are most probably going to want to get photographs of you in areas where there might be some dirt on the ground. The best wedding photographs are when the dress contrasts the environment that you are in, so there may be a chance that we are going to be walking through a field or on the beach. It may also be useful to have a pair of flat shoes at hand, especially for the portrait session if we are going to be walking on soft ground.

Pre- Wedding shoot.

Not everyone is used to or even had their photographs professionally taken before so a pre wedding shoot is a brilliant way to get comfortable in front of the camera before your wedding day. Secondly it's a great way for us to find an epic location and capture some beautiful photographs before you tie the knot. The shoots are super relaxed and fun while also being a great way for us to get to know each other before your big day. 

I would recommend a pre-wedding shoot to everyone, they are fun and completely away from the high energy of your wedding day. The photographs also look awesome on your wedding invites, save the dates and wedding websites and can be a lovely way of photographically informing your friends and family that you are getting married. 

Trust us

It is my job to wow you with your wedding photography, you have done your research, you have seen our portfolios, now please relax and trust us to take care of your wedding photography. This is not only my profession, but it is my passion to create a beautiful and timeless documentation of your wedding day.