... and why it should be top of your priority list.
Jessie Copper :: Monday 14th October 2019 :: Latest Blog Posts
A little bit about wedding photographers. Not really my department, I know. But hey ho! I've never shied away from putting my opinion out there, so here's my two pennies' worth anyway.... :-)
Image by Philippa Gedge Photography
I don't want to put a downer on your day, but think about it this way. After the wedding is over, what have you got left?
The wine has been drunk, the food has been eaten and the guests have gone home. The dress has got mud around the hem, the stunning hair-do & make-up are a distant memory, and the Groom has spilt red wine down his suit which the dry cleaners can't get out. The flowers (sadly) have faded and finished and even the congratulatory wedding cards have been finally packed away in a box in the loft.
Image by Peppermint Love Photography
So I ask again, what do you have left? Great memories of all the above, sure. But let me warn you, those memories become faded. I was only saying to my husband yesterday that I wish I could go back 6 years to our wedding day because there's so much I don't remember.
Luckily, we have great pictures. Just glancing at where a selection of them hang in our hallway daily makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They remind me who was there, what the weather was like, how great the food was and how hard people danced.
Image by Linus Moran Photography
I shouldn't probably be saying this because really the only place to blow the budget is on your flowers (wink wink), but actually you also need to make sure you cost in enough to book a really great photographer.
I'm not going to specifically list all my favourite local photographers here as I'm bound to miss someone out by mistake and cause offence, but I know some great ones, so drop me a line if you need a recommendation. Here instead are a few of my favourite images from the past year or so, taken by some of my favourite capturers-of-memorable-moments.
So how do you choose? Photography comes in many guises, and everyone has their preferred style, so - just as you might browse a florist's work on Instagram - it's really important to get a feel for the work of the photographers on your shortlist.
Image by Sofie Michelle Photography
My personal preference is for a more relaxed feel, reportage in style, rather than the traditional formal line-up of relatives. I think the latter are less likely to be viewed again and again, although there is something to be said of having a visual reminder of EXACTLY who attended your big day, as - chances are, sadly - you'll perhaps never get to speak to every guest on the day itself.
Image by Laura Dean Photography
For this exact reason, our own wedding photographer Katharine Davies suggested that we should have one big group shot outside the church, just so we have a captured moment showing everyone present. This was great advice.
That said, I just love a photo of a couple on their wedding day that totally sums them up. I can't resist sharing this with you, which is our favourite shot from our big day. My fisherman husband hid his 'yellows' and net in the hedge as a surprise. I thought he was mad at the time, but clearly he had a great idea up his sleeve...
Image by Katharine Davies Photography
It's also important that you really 'like' your wedding photographer and that their personality doesn't jar with your own; they will be around you all day on one of the most important days of your life and - however much they will undoubtedly try to not be noticed - your ability to get on well with them is paramount.
Image by Leonie May Photography
Image by Malthouse Photography
This is especially true because many of the best wedding pictures are captured during that part of the day when the two of you escape from the hubbub and have some quiet time together. These are intimate moments, creating emotive images and you need to feel relaxed and comfortable for this to feel genuine.
Image by Anna Morgan Photography
Image by Aimee Joy Photography
As a wedding florist, I adore a great wedding photographer. They bring the flowers to life and allow me to show off my work in the best way possible. I can take studio shots of flowers before delivery until the cows come home, but there's nothing better than seeing the flowers in situ. After a truly epic wedding weekend I have been known to social-media stalk the photographer in question (sorry if this is you!) throughout the following week, in the hope of a sneaky glimpse that will show me how they captured the flowers while they were in use. I only use professional photographers' images of my flowers on my website, because they are the best. Full stop.
I love how the photos take me on a visual journey through the day and let me see how they have captured the true essence of the couple. It is the little hidden moments that no-one else has observed that are often the most special and thought-provoking.
Image by Joe Mallen Photography
And it's all in the detail. Those little things that make that wedding and those people different from every other wedding. The personal touches, the moments of tears and joy, of reflection and sheer happiness. As the bride, you will feel those moments but you won't see them, and so to look back at your own face as you felt something strong inside is very profound.
On a more practical note, florists and photographers often fall into a similar category when it comes to budget; couples sometimes can't understand why they cost so much. From a florist's perspective, what the client often doesn't see or appreciate are the early starts, the hours spent getting the flower ordering just right, the administration hours replying to emails and costing up quotations, the conditioning of the flowers, bucket cleaning, etc. etc. And that's even before you start making anything.
For a photographer, their job is not just what you see on the day. They will spend time in advance getting to know you and I certainly don't envy the workload afterwards; hours and hours of editing that would make my eyeballs roll back into my head.
And of course, in both photographers and florists, you are paying for something that money can't buy and even training often can't teach; you are paying for their eye, their ability to spot error where you would notice none, to make indelible something you might have missed, to know what looks good and what doesn't, and to capture what 'you' are all about even though they know you only very little.
These are all things that money can't buy, but as we all know, MasterCard can usually sort that out.
So take my advice. Don't scrimp on your photographer. You'll thank yourself in the long run.
Image by Linus Moran Photography