It was one of the hottest days of the year so far the day Sandra and Tim had set for their wedding celebrations at the Bowes Museum, near Barnard Castle, Teeside.
Attention to detail was the order of the day – not only from Verity and her team at The Bowes Museum but also from Sandra and the people who had helped her to prepare for her wedding day. Minor “details” became major features for Sandra and added a lovely “wow” factor to the way the wedding breakfast – taking place in the fabulous Music Room – looked.
Blue was the order of the day with everything carefully chosen and coordinated by Sandra. There were beautiful blue ribbons, matching blue favour bags for everyone, little birds, crystals and diamantes. What caught my eye though that summed up the details and whole feel of the day was the label on each of the favour bags which simply said “With Love”. Yes – this certainly was a wedding “with love”. A lot of love.
A relatively small wedding, Sandra and Tim had chosen to surround themselves with their closest friends and relatives for the day and the atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone was really happy and laughter filled the air outside as we took some fun pictures with Sandra, Tim and their friends. We had the girls “stepping out” and kids jumping for joy. It was great fun! But the pictures which for me say it all are those which show the love between Sandra and Tim. If the closeness isn’t there we can’t put it there – our cameras “only” capture real life. The love and affection between these two and their children is there for the world to see.
But what about Bowes Museum? What is that like for a wedding venue? Simply stunning is the short answer. Although it’s a museum which is open to the public they arrange the wedding rooms so that they are kept private on the day. The only time we came across the public – who were very keen to wish Sandra and Tim good luck – was at 2pm when the beautiful automated silver swan which the museum is famous for was wound up, as it is every day.
The ceramics galleries and large picture gallery made fabulous backdrops for some original and different photos. The sweeping staircase with its beautiful wrought iron balustrades also make for fantastic photos of the whole wedding party. The grounds outside with their fountains and little stone seats carved into the wall added to the grandeur of the facade – which is modelled on a French Chateau.
For a further insight into this stunning venue and to learn about its history and the love story behind it being built please see our previous blog post here:
We would always recommend that you try to schedule into the run up to your weddings the time to visit your photographer and have a pre wedding portrait (sometimes called engagement) photo shoot where possible.
Almost without exception every couple whose wedding we have photographed has said to us “I hate having my photo taken – I’m dreading it.” When you think about it this is totally understandable. Here you are in front of all the people in your life who are most important to you trying to look “natural” and show your best side almost “on demand” for one or two relative strangers. It’s a totally un-natural situation. Yet you know at the same time that these pictures are vitally important to you.
So what can you do to make it easier? Well you could employ a photographer who shoots in a totally photo-journalistic style with no intervention or direction given to you at all and simply records the day as it unfolds “fly on the wall style”. This is a good solution to those of you who really don’t want to pose for any pictures at all but there are only a handful of photographers in the UK today who are capable of producing simply stunning results time after time from this style of photography. It is an art in itself and requires a large degree of skill from the photographer in order to produce pleasing photos. Make the wrong choice of photographer for this style and your ensuing photographs may not look anything different from those yours guests have taken.
The other solution – which we would recommend – is that you arrange a pre wedding photo shoot with your chosen photographers. That way you get the opportunity to see what it feels like to be the focus of attention and your photographer gets to know if there are any “challenges” about photographing either of you that he/she needs to be aware of. Blinking as soon as the camera is pointed in your direction is a really common one. If you know this happens there are ways around it to avoid it affecting your photographs.
The pre wedding portrait shoot also gives you the opportunity to discuss with your photographer any worries you may have about how to stand, how to walk in your wedding gown and any worries you have about photographs you would like taking of your guests on the big day.
In addition to all of the above it’s also nice to record these last few months before your wedding day when you start a brand new chapter in your life.
So – having said all of the above here’s a sneak peek of some recent pre wedding portraits we have taken of Pip and Guy who are getting married in September. The sepia toned one is my favourite – which is yours?
We’re a little bit (well a lot actually!) behind with the blogging at the moment. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly we are right in the middle of what we call our “silly season”. Not only are we busy photographing weddings but also in the throes of album designs and orders and we are absolutely inundated with wedding photography enquiries – some for this year but mostly for next year.
I can honestly say we’ve never had so many enquiries at this time of year. I think some couples have sadly been disappointed with their wedding photography in the last couple of years and their friends, eager not to find themselves in the same situation are seeking out good and skillful photographers.
So I’ve been thinking about how we photograph weddings and including some more information about this in our literature for next year.
To us a wedding is all about the love between two people (call me mushy if you like but it’s true). By this I don’t just mean the bride and groom. It could be the bride and her father – weddings can be incredibly emotional for dads as they in effect pass over the care of their daughter to another man or it could be the pride and love between mum and dad as their children start a new path in their life, or could simply be the excitement bubbling over in little flower girls and page boys as they rush to pick up the confetti your guests have just thrown. Whoever it is we aim to capture and document that special moment, that special look or that special touch to enable you to relive the moment forever.
Photographing a wedding is a huge responsibility – and not one to be taken lightly either. It’s not as if you can repeat the day afterwards is it? We only get one shot (or two in our case if you count Andy and myself!) at getting it right and being in the right place at the right time.
We’ve heard this year of more couples than ever before relying on photographs from their guests or asking a “talented” friend or relative to photograph their wedding. To be fair some of the pictures we’ve seen are not bad at all and to the bride and groom they must be extra special because of who it was who took them. But we have also, sadly, had more than ever before couples approach us with photographs which are unusable in their native state. We have been asked “Can you fix these pictures?” or “Can you make an album like the ones you offer with these pictures please? We don’t know what to do with them.” The short answer is “no” – we can’t. In addition to this is it fair to ask a relative to have the responsibility of photographing your wedding? It’s a massive amount of pressure and the chances are it will impede them from enjoying the day fully with you. What if something goes wrong and the pictures don’t come out? How bad will your relative feel?
You may think this is an unlikely scenario but it happens to the best of us. I will never forget, years ago my sister was in a charity raft race down the River Ouse. It was a fancy dress race and she was dressed up as a red indian Squaw girl, little skimpy suede outfit, face painted, feathers in her hair – the lot. My husband at the time ran all the way along the river bank, at times hanging out of trees taking her photograph as she paddled her Indian Canoe along the river. We had some amazing pictures – or so we thought. When we came to rewind the film (this was an SLR before the event of digital SLR’s) it didn’t sound right. I had not put the film in correctly. To this day she has never quite forgiven me (or my ex husband come to that since he went to such effort to get his shots) for getting it wrong. Imagine if that had been her wedding day and I was her only photographer!
Strange things are happening in the wedding photography business at the moment. I believe that this year will see many would be photographers fall at the first hurdle. Already I have heard, via a photographer friend of mine that she has been approached by two different couples in her area (Lancashire) asking for help. Not only has the photographer (two different ones) stopped replying to any emails/phone calls or other communication but they have also seemingly disappeared – taking with them all of the unhappy couples money. This is before the wedding has taken place. In both instances the photographers they booked were not members of Professional Photography bodies (namely the MPA (Master Photographers Association) or the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photographers)) – via whom there would have been some recourse. Sadly for these couples it is unlikely that they will ever see their money again.
Then we have the email which dropped into our inbox last week from a very well-known, successful and respected photographer in our area. It seems they have overbooked (deliberately as it’s more money for them) many of the weekends this summer. The email had been sent to several other photographers besides ourselves. They wanted to know if we would like to photograph some of their weddings for them. Some were for one main photographer to work on their own, others for a couple such as Andy and myself and then they were looking for competent second shooters.
The couples who have booked will have seen a portfolio of work and booked on the strength of that portfolio thinking they have booked a very good photographer. The photographer who turns up to shoot their wedding on the day however will not be the author of the work they have seen and think they have booked. It’s wrong – very wrong. It is one thing to book a wedding for a couple whilst explaining to them that their photographer will be allocated to them nearer the time but quite another to show them a portfolio of work which they believe will be the one photographing their wedding if this may not always be the case. It should be made clear from the outset.
So a few words of wisdom when booking a photographer for your wedding:
Always ask to see complete weddings and albums and check that the work you are viewing is from the photographer who will be shooting your wedding.
Where possible book a photographer who is a qualified member of the MPA or BIPP.
Check the photographer carries both Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance.
Check the photographer has adequate back up gear should any of his cameras either fail or get broken (many don’t).
Take out independent wedding insurance and make sure it covers you for the possible failure of a supplier.
Choose someone who’s work you love and with whom you “click”.
If you have found a wedding photographer whose work you absolutely love then get them booked now before someone else secures your date. Judging by the way our diary is filling up many couples stand to be disappointed next year. From all your expense on your wedding day, the cake, flowers, cars and venue they only last that one day. The photography will be your only true lasting investment from your wedding and perhaps this is why you will find it being one of the most expensive.
A photographer friend told me the other day that he had attended a wedding where the flowers alone had cost £4000. He had been paid £2500 to stay until the beginning of the wedding breakfast and to include the speeches. To have him there for the evening to include the first dance would have cost the couple an additional £450. They chose not to book him for this and said on the day that one of their relatives was going to photograph that part of the day for them. Their album will not tell the story of the full day and the photographs from the relatives, no matter how good they are will not even come close to matching those my friend (who is recognised as being one of the top photo journalistic photographers in the UK) would have taken. He was, by coincidence, at the same venue the following day. The £4000 flowers were in the bin behind the hotel kitchens as he drove up. The couple had forgotten them, the venue staff were not allowed to take them home and the couple who’s wedding it was that day did not wish to see any flowers from another wedding. Nevermind – he made sure he had taken a picture of them for the couple to remember them by.
I saw quite a shocking picture this week. It was taken by a wedding photographer friend of mine during a church of England church wedding ceremony.
The Church in question had charged the happy couple a total of £670 to get married there and led them to believe that photography during the ceremony, from the back of the church would not be a problem. On the day however the Vicar turned the tables and banned any photography from the official photographers. This happens all to often and we always inform our couples that whatever happens at the Church we are in effect in the hands of not only the Vicar but the church warden as to what, if anything they will permit on the day.
So my redundant friend sat in with the congregation. Noticing however that several guests were taking photos using a variety of cameras from mobile phones through small digital cameras to more serious amateur cameras he decided it would do no halm to take a picture of the kiss after the couple were pronounced man and wife from his position in the congregation at the back of the church using a long lens with no flash.
A gentleman several rows in front of him also had the same idea. Whilst the lingering kiss was taking place the Vicar noticing the gentleman in front of my friend appears in the picture my friend took to articulate a “V” sign behinds the brides head. My friends shot clearly shows him glaring behind the couple – who were totally oblivious to any of this and putting two fingers in the air! How disgraceful is that? The Vicar had not requested the guests to refrain from photography and the guest concerned was naturally very upset at what had happened.
Whilst we’re on the subject of photography in church, allow me to share with you a letter received recently from a church in West Yorkshire who again had indicated to the happy couple that photography would be no problem provided it was without flash and from the back of the church. This letter was given to the couple to pass on to us two days before the wedding at their rehearsal:
Dear Photographer
We understand that you are to act as the official photographer at a wedding in our Benefice, and hope that this letter will give you all the information that you will need.
Before the marriage service:
1. The bridegroom and best man have been requested to see me (or the officiating priest) in church thirty minutes before the service begins. Please take any photographs of them before this time.
2. Photographs of the bridesmaids should be taken before they arrive at the church porch where they are due ten minutes before the service. They have been asked not to wait at the gateway for the bride.
3. The bride should be arriving a few minutes before the service, and only two photographs should be taken of her from the time of her arrival in the car to the start of the service. Other photographs can be posed afterwards. During the service:No photographs, except for two at the signing of the register, which usually takes place at the end of the service.
After the service:
No restrictions as to number. Weddings are usually booked at two-hourly intervals which means you should have time to take all the photographs you need.
We hope you find these notes helpful.
Yours sincerely
The Rev’d (name deleted for privacy)
Priest-in-charge
I should explain that it only takes one bad apple photographer to be silly and disrespectful in church to spoil things for everyone. We have heard horror stories of photographers literally crawling along pews and then popping up, flashing away to get their shot and then going off somewhere else like a ninja turtle. We’ve even been told of one photographer who took a picture over the shoulder of the Vicar of the passage in the bible he was trying to read at the time. Clearly this is unacceptable behaviour. We do not behave like this.
If we are lucky we are sometimes allowed to have one of us in the choirstalls or front of the church and the other at the back. We don’t use flash and remain as unobtrusive as possible – taking photographs during the hymn singing for example and of course of the first married kiss. We do like to take a picture of the rings being pushed into place if possible but do not click away during the exchanging of the vows. Some church officials can be like Rottweilers however…..
In the instance of the couple outlined above they requested that the brides uncle – who was higher up in the Church heirachy and from a neighbouring parish be allowed to marry them. Reluctantly and on the threat of the service being cancelled (so the church losing several hundreds of pounds they were gaining from the couple) the church agreed. It was deemed that I would be “allowed” to be in the choirstalls since the brides Uncle had sanctioned this.
On the day however the Vicar from the parish’s wife (hope you are keeping up here!) was determined our couple were to have no photography from the front at it “set a precedent for other couples”. So she literally shoved me in the back row, darkest corner of the choirstalls, totally hemmed in by the 3 baritones! By this time I had gathered that this church had in it’s congregation some of the most uncharitable “Christians” I had ever met.
I am a ley preachers daughter as it happens. I was brought up going to church 2 or 3 times every Sunday without exception. I am very respectful of the church and the solemnity of marriage. So this is how the conversation went between the Vicar’s wife and myself after she had “stuffed” me into the pew:
I asked her politely if I could move positions. “no – you go where I tell you she says and you will be staying there because there are three baritones sitting next to you. You won’t be able to move.” She was right – I couldn’t.
So I smiled sweetly and said “Ok then I’ll just have to sing.” “What do you mean you’ll just have to sing?” “Well, I’m in the choirstalls, as agreed to take a couple of photos of the marriage. Since you’re making it impossible for me to do that I will just do what everyone else in the choirstalls will be doing – sing.”
“You can’t sing” she says, horrified. “Why not?” I ask. “Well what are you? You’re in with the baritones. If you aren’t a baritone you will spoil all our balance.” “I’ve no idea” I say “…but I’ll do my best to sing very loud and in tune – help the congregation to get going. I know most of the words I hear them that often each week in church. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Will quite enjoy it being able to sing along with no pressure.”
She’s now going red in the face. “So you go to church every week then?” “Yes – more or less every week. I’ve picked up most of the hymns by now ” then I launch into the most tuneless rendition of “Lord of the Dance” you’ve ever heard. She looks mortified.
“You see – I take much better photographs than the way I sing but since I’m not taking photographs there’s only one thing I can do and that is to sing.” She looks very embarassed by now and visibly flustered. So I carry on…”It’s ironic really because my singing is much louder than my camera going off. Still as I said I’ll enjoy it.”
Before we get any further with our discussions the videographer arrives and sets up his excessively large tripod right in the middle in front of the altar.
“You can’t put that there…..” she starts. “Is he with you?” she hisses at me. “No – not at all so I’ve no idea what his singing voice is like but I’m sure it won’t be anything like mine” I say.
So she toddles off to sort him out.
Meanwhile I get myself into a slightly better position and do get some shots of my couple.
And yes – I did sing – all the way through actually.
Oh dear…..the busy season is beginning to kick off and I am behind with my blogging!
So here’s our next nominations for picture of the month.
Firstly mine – it’s taken from the wedding of Carole & Neil at Hazlewood Castle. There are so many pictures I could choose from Carole and Neil’s wedding, to me it was a really magical day with one of the nicest couples. But I can only choose one so, after much deliberation I’ve decided on the picture below.
The reason I especially like this picture is because it says everything about Carole and Neil’s wedding and the planning which went into it. Carole was meticulous with her attention to detail and on the day everything was just perfect but a lot of what made it so was in the details. We work at Hazlewood Castle a lot and we’ve seen their main wedding breakfast room dressed in lots of different ways and colours but when I walked in to take some pictures of the room set up before the guests saw it on Carole and Neil’s day it simply took my breath away.
The wedding was in winter in December and it was snowing outside. The candles on the table and the shadows they created which danced all about the room made it just look magical. I will never forget it.
Andy’s favourite this month is from the wedding of Phil and Charese. Their wedding took place at St. Oswald’s Church, Filey followed by Raven Hall Hotel. Raven Hall has a fantastic setting perched on the edge of a cliff top on the East Yorkshire coast. It’s grounds afford brilliant photo opportunities with battlements and ruins. We were really looking forward to making the most of them! On the day however it wasn’t just raining but actually lashing it down, umbrellas were turning inside out and there was just no way we could ask Phil and Charese to venture outside in such awful weather.
The inside of Raven Hall on the whole isn’t so inspiring. But this is where Andy really comes into his own. Sometimes I have no idea what it is he has envisaged when he poses couples for a particular photo. This was one of those occasions. We were in a corridor with a variety of different light colours (which makes the on camera metering go all over the place) caused by a combination of energy-saving, halogen and flourescent light fittings. It was a real mish mash! Andy asked Charese and Phil to pause a while just near 3 wall lights. Below is the picture he took, it’s also one of my favourites because it perfectly captures the special bond, intimacy and closeness that exists between Phil and Charese – another lovely couple we had the privilege to photograph.
We had the pleasure on Sunday morning of spending a couple of hours with Tracey and Simon at Ripley Castle taking some pre wedding portrait pictures for them.
I know I’m a bit of a romantic at heart but you can just see the love between the two of them. We can’t wait for their wedding to come round now later in the year. It was a little breezy on Sunday but the bluebells were a picture as you can see!
Wedding day timings…..what a subject this is! Do weddings ever run to time? Well yes, they do but only because of the intervention of one or two people along the way.
Even the best organised bride will lose track of time along the way whilst she’s getting ready. So the key to a successful schedule for the day is to know exactly (or as near as humanly possible) how long each part of your day is likely to take.
It’s never too early to start preparing things now – so if you are having a hairdresser visit you on the morning then have a trial of your wedding day hair and see how long it takes to achieve the look you want. The same applies for make-up. If however you are going to a salon then you need to have a trial but also a practise run on the same day of the week (& if possible time) as you are getting married. Traffic from your house to the salon will be quite different on a Saturday morning to a Tuesday afternoon for example. Also check that there is nothing happening locally (such as an “important” football match) which may affect traffic conditions not only for you getting places but also for people such a make-up artists, florists, hairdressers, photographers, cars getting to you. If you know of anything happening make sure you alter your suppliers because they may be unaware.
So….we’ve tackled the things you can do to minimise the chances of you being late due to outside influences but what about the basics of just now long thing are likely to take on the day? You’ve probably never organised a wedding before so from this point of view probably have no idea whatsoever what to expect. For example – would you have any idea how long it is going to take to get your 100 guests out of the church after the ceremony? (15 to 20 minutes is the answer to this one – could be longer if you have lots of elderly guest of young children).
So here goes with a (very rough!) idea to wedding day timings:
Bride putting on the dress, assisted by bridesmaids & mum: 15 – 30 minutes (this assumes all makeup etc. has been done first).
Bride putting on veil & shoes: 5 mins minimum.
Photographs with bride & dad at house or on way to civil ceremony: 5 – 10 mins minimum.
Bride exiting car and entering church: 5 mins minimum, add 5 minutes if taking posed photos exiting car and with dad and bridesmaids outside the church.
Church service: 45 minutes minimum – often longer for Catholic services or where there are a lot of readings.
Civil ceremony service: 15 – 20 mins depending on how many readings. Remember that the registrar will want to see you both individually before the ceremony and this will take around 5 – 10 minutes each).
Posed photographs outside the church – add 5 – 10 minutes on if you are having the bells rung as none of the guests or yourselves will be able to either hear the photographer or yourselves speaking. For one group of everyone 10 minutes to get everyone organised. Add around 5 minutes per additional group unless you have a very fast & efficient photographer (such as ourselves!) who with organisation can do this quicker.
From arriving at the venue to include the drinks reception you should allow a minimum of 1.5 to 2 hrs prior to the time you wish to sit down for your wedding breakfast.
Receiving line: this really depends on who you are having in your receiving line (as in just you two or you two + parents from each side) and how many guests but receiving lines can go on for an awful long time. If you allow 5 – 7 seconds for each guest to speak to each person in the receiving line you won’t be far out. This doesn’t sound very long but in reality receiving lines do add-on around a minimum of 1/2 hour to the sitting down time on the day. Some people will pause to talk longer than you expect whilst others will simply pass through. Receiving lines can be very boring all round. Most receiving lines are done for the benefit of the couples parents rather than the couple themselves.
Wedding breakfast: Of course this depends on the speed of the venue but an average 3 course + coffee wedding breakfast will take around 1.5 hrs, for 4 courses add 1/2 hour and 1/2 for each additional course.
Speeches – how long is a piece of string? Of course some people talk for England and some hardly at all. Average speech time from our observations to include Father of the Bride, Groom and Best Man around 20 minutes to 1/2 hour with the giving of gifts often taking up the most time during the speeches.
Turnaround time between wedding breakfast and evening reception (if using the same room). The venue will advise you specifically on this but most venues take around 1 – 1.5 hrs to do this. You need to allow extra time if a band is setting up in the room for the evening entertainment.
First dance – it should be noted that first dances very rarely happen at the time they are expected. So if you are booking your photographer on a set number of hours and you want the times to include your first dance you need to allow yourselves plenty of leeway on this one. We are very often informed that the first dance will happen at around 8.30 whereas in reality it is normally around 9.00 – 9.30. Lots of things can affect the time of the first dance, all of them will be beyond your control on the day to a large degree. For example: the venue may take longer to turn the room around (this may not be their fault – sometimes guests lingering in the room after the wedding breakfast can hold things up), often the band may take longer to set up than you or they expect, guests may disappear to freshen up and not return at the alloted time.
We hope this has been a useful little guide to your wedding day timings. Wedding days can run to time but it does require meticulous planning and a little bit of luck! Some key people on the day (such as the photographers) can keep an eye on the times and gently keep you to time with being quick and efficient with the posing of formal groups for example and not taking an endless amount of time outside the church. They are also likely to be the ones who are most aware of the time when you are getting ready – very few brides have a watch on or are clock watching. Bridesmaids can often be so chilled out and fussing around the bride that they lose track of time and don’t get their own dresses on in time!
The one thing that is for certain and which happens on virtually every wedding day is that after the day has passed the couple will say to us “We don’t know where the time went. All that planning and the day was over in a flash.” So our advice would be to try to savour every single minute as best you can and make sure that your photographer is the best you can afford and so they can fill in the gaps later with fantastic photos of moments in time you didn’t know or don’t recall happening. With the right photographers time really can stand still.
Ok - so we’ve had a couple of requests for more videos – so I thought I’d embed this one for you all to see. All our weddings are special to me but this one still ranks amongst my favourite to date. There are lots of reasons for that but the main reason is because of the people involved. By that I don’t mean “just” the bride and groom or even the bridal party. I mean everyone. I have never been to a more friendly wedding where literally everyone seemed like one big happy family.
But before I start telling you about the guests, let me tell you about the Priest – because I’m sure you’re all dying to hear the story behind the title!
We were honoured to be asked to photograph Bernhard & Celias’ wedding – they travelled all the way from Germany to see and book us, the one remit for their wedding being that they wanted “an English style wedding in Germany” and for that they also wanted an English photographer. They explained that although there are some very good photographers in Germany most do not stay late and cover the bridal preparations. To Celia and Bernhard these were very important – along with a family barbeque on the eve of the wedding. When we photograph a “destination wedding” (i.e. one taking place outside of the UK) we like to arrive a few days early in case of travel delays. Celia & Bernhard’s wedding was no exception.
We had arranged to meet our couple the day before the wedding in order to have a last-minute planning meeting and to drive the route from Schloss Velen where Celia was getting ready to the Church where the ceremony was taking place. The idea was also to meet the Priest. We were in for a shock! The Priest scheduled to conduct the ceremony had the previous week been on a walking holiday in Austria. Whilst on a hike a small avalanche had resulted in his skull being fractured. As the paramedics were carrying him off the mountainside he handed them a piece of paper with a name and number on it and said “Tell Celia and Bernhard to call this Father Andre – he will help them.”
Now you might think that it was above and beyond the call of duty for the Priest to do this but it was more extraordinary because Celia and Bernhard’s wedding ceremony was to be conducted in English and German! Father Andre was the only other Priest in the area who was fluent enough in both to be able to step in at the last-minute and take over. Amazing!
The wedding weekend was pretty amazing too – from the barbeque on the Friday night through to the time we left on Sunday. I have never known people party so hard. Maybe I’ve led a very sheltered life (my daughter says I have!) but these folks just got on with the job of enjoying themselves in each others company. There were people of lots of different nationalities – the couple were both from Germany, the best man was from the Netherlands, the best mans’ wife from the UK (she was fantastic helping us to translate where necessary!), the Chief bridesmaid was from Switzerland with guests from the UK, Italy, Spain and Austria to name but a few.
When we left the wedding celebrations at 2.30 am on the Saturday night/Sunday morning the band were still going strong! There had been an open bar all evening but very few people appeared drunk or disorderly. Everyone was just having a fabulous time celebrating a great marriage.
Just before I stop writing and let you see the video I must mention the venue. Schloss Velen is a watercastle. It dates back to medieval times and has a moat. It’s a fantastic place to celebrate your wedding. When night fell the driveway was lit by flaming torches – as you will see from the video. The whole thing was very magical and a wedding we won’t ever forget.
Oh and one last thing too – Shaun the Sheep came as a special guest star. We were asked by Koos, the best man to make sure we got a photo of him. There’s a complimentary portrait shoot at our studio in Boroughbridge for anyone who spots him and can tell me where he makes his appearance. A clue – there’s a close up shot of him and then a few frames later he’s in a long shot. I want to know exactly where he was when we took his picture. The most accurate answer wins – watch carefully you see him 2 or 3 times but he doesn’t move!
Now here’s a strange thing (or maybe not – depending on how you look at it) when thinking about what I was going to write in this post the first thing I wanted to get right was the title. I wanted to put across that when you “buy” your wedding photographers services you will more than likely do so in one of two ways – either it will be a service you “need” to buy in and a very calculated decision based mostly on the costs involved or it will be a “Wow I must have these for my wedding” type love affair where you fall in love with what you see on your photographers website. If they cost a little above your planned photography budget then you will find the extra somehow because you’ve just got to have them. So that was what I was contemplating whilst thinking of my title. Now here’s the strange thing….
As I was writing the title I thought about how we sell our wedding photography or perhaps more accurately how people buy from us. It may surprise some of you to learn that for us it’s also very much an affair of the heart and not a business transaction. That’s not to say that we don’t have a minimum price below which we are unlikely to book – of course we do – we have to make a living and we have to cover the costs of the excellent products and albums we offer. Second best simply isn’t good enough for us. But in order for us to in many instances stand out in the rain, deal with cheeky, often worse for wear guests sometimes difficult family relationships with tact and diplomacy, look after and almost pamper not just the bride but those around her all day long and then at the end of the day still produce our best work ever (because we are only ever as good as our last wedding) there has to be something more in it for us than money alone. I suppose what I am referring to is job satisfaction in its broadest sense.
So we start off with four people – you two and us. The relationship between us needs to be pretty equal in order for it to work on the day – i.e. we need to want to photograph your wedding as much, if not more, as you want us to photograph it for you. Think about it. Does the most amazing, special day of your entire life want to be just another mark on the photographers year planner until they have their quota filled for the year? Of course not! Ideally you want your photographers to be looking forward to photographing your wedding and spending the day with you because, believe me, if they are not then it will, no matter how hard they try on the day be reflected in some way in the pictures. The number of times we go just that little bit further, stay just a few moments longer, watch a little more carefully because we suspect something a little special is about to happen and are rewarded with some beautiful moments and expressions is high. Not everything happens just when you expect it to on a wedding day or just how you are expecting it to happen.
Take the signing of the register picture for example. One never to be missed at every wedding – with the increase in civil ceremonies and peculiar registrars it’s also one of the shots which is getting more and more regimented and unemotional to shoot. It’s a set up. A “must have” picture for the album. But do you know that virtually every time the couple kiss after signing the register as a set up shot as the photographer stands down and the guests are invited up to take their shots the couple nearly always 99/100 times have another moment when they kiss? They can’t help themselves. It’s an intimate moment between two people who for a nano second are the only two people in a room full of people. It’s one not to be missed.
Another example – the confetti picture. We get some great shots of this. But what happens immediately after the confetti has been thrown? Either one of two things – if not both – firstly some people will try to stuff the confetti down the front of the brides dress – this makes a good “fun” picture with great expressions. Secondly flower girls and little children from the wedding will start gathering up the confetti. They are drawn to it like a magnet. Now there’s two ways to capture this second photo opportunity if you are going to – the first (rather boring if you are not careful) is to simply take the shot, the second however is to get down to the kiddies level and take the shot from their angle – it makes a great shot and well worth the effort. That same principle can be applied to photographing kids anytime at a wedding. Get down on their level – see the world as they see it – you will be rewarded with some interesting pictures.
These are just two examples from the many moments that go to make a wedding day. I’m a romantic at heart and I very much shoot for expression – specifically the expressions of love and affection between two people. Now that isn’t just limited to the bride and groom. I love the moment when the Father of the bride sees his daughter for the first time on the wedding day for example. Nearly always tough men soften and you can see the love in their eyes. Nearly always the bride looks expectantly at her father as if almost seeking approval for one last time but the shot that many photographers miss is the mother of the bride watching all this going on. She loves them both dearly. She’s probably been a party to the bride choosing the dress and helping her to get dressed on the wedding morning. She’s as excited about her husbands reaction to his daughter as the bride is. This is mums’ moment too.
So now I’ve talked a little about why wedding photography is an affair of the heart for us what about you? What makes you consider a particular photographer over another? Is it a cost thing or is it a passion for what they do and offer? Without knowing the photographer can you envisage them at your wedding and imagine the pictures they may take of you and your family for you? Or do you picture and album made by a particular manufacturer filled with faceless pictures? They remain faceless until after the day because it’s simply another box ticked on the long list of things you have “to do” before the day. It’s not a reality even in your imagination.
Do you think that you might be able to “barter down” your photographer in price to photograph your day for you, sometimes to the point that, as in other wedding services you have bought in, it becomes a game of wills to see who will give the most before walking away? If you love the work of the photographer you are trying to negotiate with let me tell you this is a very risky game to play. You might end up with a real bargain but there’s also a great chance that you will end up with all of nothing.
Conversely do you simply love what they offer and if your budget will allow you’re going to have them? If you do this will come across to your photographer and there is a chance that even if they are slightly above your budget if they have any room to manoeuvre on what is included – say by decreasing the album size or number of pictures initially included then your photographer may be willing to try to compromise to an affordable price for you.
All our prices are at the time of writing shown on the information page of our website. We like to keep things totally transparent. I have very detailed analytics attached to our site which tell me the pages someone has viewed whilst browsing. Nearly every confirmed booking of late has browsed all over the site and then enquired as to our availability. Of the two couples we didn’t confirm this year both emails started “How much do you charge?” Not are you available, nothing about the venue or wedding day, the primary consideration from the outset was the price. I understand the need to budget but also understand, more than most, the need for this to be an affair of the heart.
John Ruskin – a much more intelligent person than I once famously said:
It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much you lose a little money.
That is all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing that you bought was incapable of doing the thing that you bought it to do!
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It cannot be done….
And if you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk that you run.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper.
And the people, who consider price alone, are this man’s lawful prey.
Ok so I think we are going to start publishing some of our favourite pictures from the many weddings we have photographed. Andy and I never agree on which is “the” picture from a wedding – he always has his favourites and I always have mine.
What makes a picture a favourite can be a number of things. In its’ simplest form it may be “just” the composition, the light or simply a stunning picture. In its’ more complex form it could be the circumstances under which the picture was captured, what was going on at the time or the post production we have done on it to bring out what we were looking for.
So here’s the first of our picture for the month.
My choice:
Kirstie follows the sun on her wedding day!
This picture has become one of our most talked about wedding photos. Brides to be nearly always comment on it. They ask for “a picture like the bride on your website as she’s going outside”. Each time we take it off the website someone asks for it to be put back! What the picture is hiding is that it was actually taken in a room full of people during the drinks reception. We have edited out the people and in doing so given the photo more impact.
Dad takes a bow after giving away his daughter at Hazlewood Castle!
The picture to the right is Andys’ choice. This is something we have never seen happen before. Andy managed to capture the moment perfectly when Christines’ dad, having successfully “given away” his daughter to future son-in-law Tom took a bow to the congregation in the little chapel at Hazlewood Castle, Tadcaster near York. If you click the picture it will take you to the album design from Tom & Christines’ wedding on our website.
Wedding day timings…..what a subject this is! Do weddings ever run to time? Well yes, they do but only because of the intervention of one or two people along the way.
