Beginner’s Guide to Wedding Photography

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Getting the photography right on your big day is so important. Not only do you want to remember the way you and everyone you looked on your wedding day in the years and decades to come, but brides and grooms are often so busy on their special day that going through the photos is a great way to share some of the moments you might have missed. It's a large part of your budget- typically about 10%, and unlike the dress, the cake and the venue, it's very difficult to try it out before the big day. This is one area where I would really recommend stretching your budget as far as possible- having worked with a lot of wedding photographers recently I can attest that you can really tell the difference, both on the day and in the pictures, between the two ends of the pricing spectrum.

While you generally can't try them out I would definitely recommend going through a lot of their work, including a few whole weddings, so that you have an idea of what your wedding gallery might like.

THREE BASIC STYLES

CLASSIC

Quick description- Classic or traditional wedding photographers are the sort who will take photos more or less how your parent's wedding album looks. Formal, posed group shots and a good selection of posed couple portraits. Generally the cheapest option, often wedding photographers start out shooting traditionally before finding their signature style.

Perfect for- Brides who have a set list of photos they want taken. If you're a pinterest addict and you like posing for and setting up pictures this might be the perfect style for you. Classic photographers will take as many group shots as you like, which is bound to keep your granny happy.

How to spot them- Often the best way is to ask friends and family. If you're less worried about the photographer's individual style, this can be a really quick and easy way of finding them. If you're on their website, look out for pictures of groups of people all looking at the camera, or the bride holding the bouquet above her head triumphantly.

JOURNALISTIC

Quick Description- Candid, journalistic or reportage wedding photographers aim to be as noninvasive as possible throughout the day. They will take group pictures if you ask, but in general will just follow your day from behind the camera taking pictures whenever they see them.

Perfect for- Brides who don't like to have their pictures taken and don't want to spend time away from their guests on the day. My sister used a brilliant photographer who took her for a 15 minute walk on the beach, and we barely saw him for the rest of the day, even though he was taking stunningly intimate pictures of us.

How to spot them- look for buzz words on their website like natural and relaxed. Their gallery should be full of people laughing, showing real emotion and looking super natural.

EDITORIAL

Quick Description- These are the photographers with really unusual visions for your day. Because they are often so diverse, it is difficult to lump them all in together- my personal favorites are fine art wedding photographers like Rachel Rose. They take more time than other photographers, but they bring their unique vision to your day and create beautiful images. Be prepared to have to get ready at least an hour before you leave for church to take posed pictures of you and your maids, and to take an hour out after the ceremony for pics with you and your husband.

Perfect for- brides who are willing to spend more time finding a photographer who's style suits them. Brides who feel relatively comfortable in front of a camera.

How to spot them- these photographers often promote their work through styled shoots on wedding blogs and in wedding magazines. Try your local wedding magazine or links from your dress designer or florist's photography and social media. Once you're on their website, keep an eye out for pictures where the light is incredible- it's often the best sign of a great editorial photographer.

The Small Wedding Guest-List Hack

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One of the biggest influences on how much money your wedding is going to cost you is how many people you're inviting. The average number of guests attending weddings is falling- in the US it fell by 10 last year to 140. But the average amount we spend per guest is still on the rise- up to £180 from £145 in 2009. Every couple on that list is costing you another £360. The cost of a big guest list is more than just the huge catering bill; more guests mean paying for a bigger venue, more decorations, more crockery, more table linens, more stationery, the list goes on. Often, people are invited more out of obligation than a genuine desire to see them on your big day. So I've come up with a cheat to help narrow down the guest list to only the people who really love you and really deserve to be there;

WOULD YOU LEND THIS PERSON £100.

It's going to cost you more than that to have them at your wedding, so if your answer isn't a resounding yes, leave them off the list.

How to find your bridal zen

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People often ask me “but how do you deal with Bridezillas”. And the easy answer is, I don’t. There really isn’t such a thing. No one gets proposed to and instantly turns into a mythical monster. Occasional tantrums are in fact a fairly natural reaction to planning the most expensive party of your life, for 150 people of all ages and interests, more or less completely alone, at which you are expected not to look like a frazzled amateur event planner but the most beautiful, calm and happy version of yourself. Almost everyone has some form of break down- from the small bicker with your mother in law (“I’m sorry Susan, but it’s my wedding and we’re serving duck because I said so”) to causing full blown family feuds. The thing to remember is that behind the tantrum there is a woman who was once a calm, reasonable, rational human, and the stress of her normal life plus wedding has tipped her over the edge.

My sister, always full of wisdom, was one of the most relaxed and happy brides I have ever seen. I've borrowed top tips from her before, so this time I asked how she kept her cool;

instabridalzen

Getting engaged is super exciting. You’re getting married to your best friend, the love of your life, and you’re having a big party with all of your nearest and dearest to celebrate. So far, so awesome. If you’re anything like me though, you have no idea how to even begin to go about organising said party. You want it to be wonderful and for everyone to have a good time. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend thousands of pounds that you don’t have, or end up so stressed out about everything that you don’t end up able to enjoy yourself.

So how can you make the whole thing easier for yourself?

Delegate

My mum and sisters basically organised my entire wedding with minimal input from me. This involves a certain amount of trust that they won’t mess up, but really if you insist on organising every single thing yourself you’ll only end up with a headache. If you still want to be in control, delegate specific tasks or ones that help without eliminating other options- ask your bridesmaids to make shortlists of local photographers, or ask them to find their own shoes and accessories.

Get things booked a long time in advance

Our engagement was just over a year and a half, which gave us plenty of time to book things. Venues, bands, photographers etc. can book up over a year in advance so if you book these things really soon after getting engaged, you’ll be far more likely to have your pick of dates and get the people you want.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

At a cousin’s wedding, the father of the bride stood up and spoke about the nightmare of wedding organisation from his perspective. For the place settings, they had gone to a beach and picked up a small piece of driftwood for every guest to use as the place settings. The thing is, until he said this, nobody had noticed the place settings at all! Yes, you want to have pretty little details and yes they do make a difference to the overall feel of your wedding. But just remember that what people are going to remember is how much fun they had and how happy you looked, not the font used on the order of service.

DeerParkstyledweddingshoot-LibertyPearlPhotographysneakpeek-20 — If these top tips fail, look at this cute animal picture by Liberty Pearl Photography

The Bespoke Process

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People are often a little intimidated by the idea of buying a bespoke wedding dress, to take the stress out of it I've outlined here the three basic steps towards having a bespoke wedding dress made for you.

I've got all sorts of tips on how to pick the right dress for you, from getting involved with the design to picking the right dress for your shape. The first stage of the process is picking someone you're happy working with and then having them design you your perfect dress. This is usually done in one complimentary meeting, but you may need a follow up to go over specific colour or fabric swatches, particularly if you're not getting married in Ivory or you're picking lace. Once the design has been finalised a 50% deposit is taken.

To me, this stage is the most fun part of the process but it actually scares a lot of brides off bespoke, and they end up choosing off the peg something that is almost exactly what they're looking for, or in the worst case scenario (like my sister) picking the least bad option available. My advice with bespoke is to stay the course and have a little faith- there will be plenty of opportunities to amend details as you go along.

The next stage is for me to go away and make the pattern for your dress, and then to make it up in cheap fabric for you to try on. This process gives me an idea of how much fabric I'll need to buy, lets me see how well the pattern I've made fits you and gives you the chance to really visualise how the finished thing is going to look on. When you try on the toile it can be difficult to see past the cheap fabric, but if there are any big problems (you've completely changed your mind about the neckline etc) now is the time to raise them!

I will require you to attend several fittings, usually in the 2 months leading up to your wedding. At the first, the dress is made in the final fabric in order to check the fit again. Often the stress of a wedding means brides change size slightly, and this fitting allows me to accommodate for that. Once we are happy with the fit, the final details will be added, such as lace applique or the scallop on your hem, and the dress will be ready to take away.