Timings
Getting Ready – Bride & Groom.. (8 hours) I will arrive with the bride an hour and a half before the ceremony. I will shoot in a flattering approach when your hair and makeup is nearly ready. I will also shoot your details such as flowers, rings, perfume and invites. I need to leave 20 minutes before you – so that I can set up at the ceremony for your arrival, so please ensure you have time to put your dress on before I leave. I am not able to shoot the groom getting dressed too as I can naturally only be in one place at a time – so priority for the morning is the bride. However if the groom is getting ready at the SAME location I can sometimes pop over to him (if arranged beforehand) but ONLY if it works around the bride’s timings, in case the bride is running late to put the dress on. Instead I usually catch nice relaxed portraits of the groom at the ceremony location. However if you’d like the grooms full getting dressed/ready session covered, I can arrange to hire a second shooter for you (at a further fee). It is understood that a second shooter is not identical though as photography is such an individual style.
Getting Ready – Bride & Bride or Groom & Groom.. (8 hours) I will only be able to be in ONE LOCATION whilst you are both getting ready. Ideally you’d get ready in the SAME location (in different rooms) so that I can cover both of you (important for bride/bride weddings where often both brides would like full coverage) but you will need to be both at the same location, so if this is not your setup you might need to book some extra coverage to have me there for a couple of extra hours and one of you might need to get ready a couple of hours early. Or if a full session is required for both parties and you are getting ready at different locations, then I can arrange to hire a second photographer (at a further fee).
Ceremony and Reception.ASAfter your ceremony (if you are getting married at a church) it is best to leave soon after your ceremony finishes and mingle with your guests at the reception venue instead. That way there will be enough time at your reception before your meal for relaxed natural shots, family portraits, plus time to photograph your empty meal room before guests enter. A tip to leave your ceremony location in a lovely way, is to do a confetti walk (line of guests either side) towards the car and they wave you away.
Posed Family Portraits…… I only shoot the minimum amount of (any available) parents, siblings and wedding party. It is best to do these at your reception venue, rather than at a church as there is more open space and backgrounds, plus there is more time so it blends into your day better. My method to shooting stress-free line ups, is to shoot them towards the end of your drinks reception, around 30 minutes before you sit down for your meal. However, you must appoint a couple of people from your wedding party to take control of the gathering – as it is impossible for me to do so as I do not know who people are – plus I need to spend this time capturing as much other coverage, so cannot lose time searching for people.
Couple Portraits…… Ideally I will shoot these in the soft and flattering early evening light – this is usually after your meal (for summer weddings) but will depend on the weather. I will need to take you away for around 25 minutes from your guests. It’s important to work with good light if you want to get lovely photos. I will gently guide you into natural looking poses. Please don’t worry if you are nervous, I am used to putting couples at ease to ensure you feel happy, so I can capture relaxed and flattering photographs in the style that you see in my portfolio.
