Its your day – no really it is!

As your photographers we don’t intend to steal the show – in fact we prefer to be as invisible as possible. Forget your traditional image of the bossy photographer, we much prefer to be quiet observers. Your day should happen your way and we’ll document it – simple! Well almost …

There are a few exceptions to the rule on this:

Although we hope you’ll agree that a documentary approach to the wedding day is best, we do see the merit in still having a few traditional family photos and having a photo shoot with the bride and groom. Below are some details on how and why we do them.

About the family photos. Standing in a line and looking at the camera is the only way to guarantee a photo of you and aunt Sally (we can’t promise we’ll spot you having a chat with her and get a candid shot – plus we haven’t got a clue what she looks like!). We are firm believers that these photos can be a true family heirloom and they are an important part of the wedding day. We also believe that spending your wedding day standing in a line saying ‘cheese’ is BORING for you and your guests! It is our recommendation to have about 10 – 15 minutes of these kind of photos. In that time we can give you about 10 different group combinations – e.g. bride and groom and immediate family, bride and groom and bridesmaids, groom and bestman, bride and bridesmaids etc.

The Photo Shoot. The photo shoot is great for two reasons: one we get great photos of you, and two, you get to spend some time together! We ask that this time is just for the newlyweds with no guests – it means that we get better shots because you have less people looking at you, and you get to talk to each other and hang out for a bit! We normally start the photo shoot by encouraging you to go for a walk which allows you to be out of earshot for a while and then we’ll approach you and instruct a little on how to stand and what to do etc. If you want practice on this before the wedding day then an engagement session is a great way to get to know each other and get used to the format of a photo shoot. At the end of the shoot we try our best to leave you behind and run ahead back to the guests – allowing you to have some time totally alone should you want to. The photo shoot can be anything between ten minutes to one hour long – we recommend about half an hour (or more if a lot of walking or driving is involved). If your timetable is looking stretched then we can do your photo shoot on a different day – this is known as ‘Rock the Dress’ or ‘Trash the Dress’ and is normally done immediately after honeymoon while you still have a tan!

Our tips about your timetable

Do make a timetable and plan your day – of course. But don’t be rigid! There will be some things which must run according to time such as the ceremony and the meal but other than that stay flexible – this way you are less likely to get stressed and factors which are totally out of your control such as the weather are less likely to cause problems.

We recommend having a Plan A and a Plan B – talk these through with us and lets have a back up plan in case it rains while we’re supposed to be doing your outdoor photo shoot. For example, Plan A involves family photos in the garden at 3.30pm followed by a half hour photo shoot on the beach at 3.50pm but it rains starts raining at 3pm and doesn’t stop until 5pm. So you move indoors and switch to Plan B which involves family photos in the garden at 5.30pm followed by an evening meal and speeches and a twenty minute photo shoot in the garden at sunset at 8.30pm.

Just so you know – we always carry at least four giant, white golf umbrellas and are fully equipped to take photos outside in the rain. We’re game if you are! In fact photos in the rain can be so much more atmospheric – although technically I stayed nice and dry for this one and just made the bride and groom get wet!