(Stuart and Ruth Haycox wedding)
As I’ve develop my photography business I have concluded that weddings are going to form a large part of what I do. But weddings have always scared the life out of me!
I remember back in 2008 a close friend of mine, Nicky, asked if I would take the photos at her wedding. I had never really thought of wedding photography before and the whole idea was a bit worrying. It’s a one shot deal, you can’t ask them to get married again if you don’t get the images first time round! But at the same time I did kind of like the idea so I suggested Nicky and Guy get a professional in and I would bring my camera to the wedding and take some photos too. This would allow me to take photos at my leisure without the added stress and responsibility of being the main photographer.
When I look back now considering the kit I had and how much I know now about cameras, light, lenses etc (and didn’t know then) I did okay. Nicky and Guy were really pleased as well – which was the main thing. I didn’t then go on to conquer the wedding photography world. Far from it I knew I needed more experience before I took the plunge.
A few years later, and what seems like a lifetime away, I returned from a tour in Afghanistan and picked up the British Army Amateur photographer of the year award. Thoughts of wedding photography were far from my mind. Then out of the blue I was contacted by Christine and Tony Fox, a lovely couple who were due to get married in March 2010. I explained I didn’t have much wedding experience, but they said they didn’t want an official photographer and they were going to collect all their friends’ images at the end anyway. So we came to an agreement and I covered their wedding – helping them out and giving me some much needed experience. As ever it is the results that count and they were over the moon with the images. My confidence grew and I then knew that I could do it.
So a few weddings down the line business is really picking up and I thought I would document the weddings I cover for two reasons. Firstly so potential brides and grooms can see my work and get a feel for how I work on the day (after all you need to be happy with the photographer you choose on such a special day). Secondly so other photographers out there or those considering making the move into wedding photography can also share everything I learn on my journey.
I will begin with “Struth what a wedding!”
First of all here’s what Stu and Ruth had to say about the day:
Mike was a really good choice of photographer. Before the event he took time to understand what it was we wanted – a relaxed casual affair full of fun not formality – and adapted his approach and manner accordingly. Although we’d asked Mike for a list of set photo’s he was at it all day and all the best pictures are the un-planned snaps perfectly capturing the occasion.
Mike’s relaxed mood got the best out of us, neither of us particularly enjoy being in front of the camera, and meant we could enjoy the occasion rather than run away and hide from all the attention!
I think our friend Naomi summed it up the best ‘”Loved the photos! There are some beautiful ones of you & Ruth! Think the photographer has done a great job of catching everyone’s expressions and the general happiness of the day!”
As with most weddings early on in any photographer’s career, the bride and groom were already friends of mine. Speaking with other photographers this is very common. Of course it’s still a stressful time for the photographer, but you do feel a bit more at ease when you already know them. My jokes always seem to go down better as well. Although maybe that’s not a good thing!
I knew Stu from work at BT, he used to be my manager and I had met his bride to be Ruth once before on a work night out. So when Stu approached me I was more than happy to take on the job. Although, as with any wedding, I still had to make sure my style of photography is what they want. It is absolutely vital that the bride and groom have seen your images and really like them, after all that is how their wedding photos will look and the last thing you want is a deeply upset bride because the reportage style images you took are not the traditional images she has been dreaming off for the last 20 years.
Before accepting any booking I always go and meet the couple, to make sure we all get on and my images are the images that they want. Having a good relationship with the couple is so important – you are being invited to the biggest day of their lives. I do think of it as a privilege to be involved and invited to such a personal day. You are being part of and recording segments of the day that some of their closest friends and family won’t see.
Stu is a very organised chap and sent out full information packs to all the guests with, photos, maps, graphs, spreadsheets, time tables, retina scans, in fact the works. This was most useful for me as this was all information I needed before the big day. As ever planning is the key to success and a smooth day. It is so important to make sure photography is included in the planning for the day. Trying to squeeze photography into a plan that’s already written is the road to disaster. I would go as far to say that you must insist on this with the couple and explain to them how long it can take to round people up and how stressful it can be for the couple. Also I explained that it is one day where people will do what they are told – no questions asked – so you just need to have a plan and timings in place.
Included in the information Stu sent out:
Struth – we’re getting married!
www.chicheley-cottage.co.uk
www.struth-wedding.co.uk
After getting engaged in Cornwall in summer 2009 we’ll be getting married exactly a year later on the 18thSept 2010 at St George’s Church, where we first met.
After the service at St George’s we’ll be heading to a lovely Georgian Manor (Cranford Hall) near Kettering for afternoon tea in the gardens followed by an informal Lincolnshire Hog Roast in the evening. We’re planning on making the whole day as relaxed as possible so don’t expect the traditional wedding but we hope it’ll be a day to remember! Pimm’s anybody?
When the day of the wedding came I needed to be in Stamford to meet the boys at the Perwig pub at 11.30am. The worst thing that could ever happen is to be late for the wedding! So with that in mind, allowing 2.5hours for the journey and adding an extra half hour for delays plus another hour to find the church and get some pictures before meeting the boys, I got up at 6.30am and left Shrewsbury at 07.30.
I found http://www.stgeorgeschurch.net/ easily, a beautiful church situated centrally in Stamford and surrounded by lots of old buildings, cobbled roads and side streets, all perfect for great photos! Unusually I didn’t have to meet the bridal party to get some pre wedding photos as Ruth didn’t want any, I am normally quite keen on these images as they really do start the story of the day off well, plus you can capture some really beautiful images during the bridal preparations. But it was her choice of course.
With no bridal party to meet I set of from the church where I’d been getting my bearings and introducing myself to the vicker and headed for the Perwig pub to meet the boys. I arrived to find everyone stood outside the pub. It seemed that Stu’s meticulous planning, pie charts, time tables and spreadsheets didn’t involve checking the pub opening times! Which provided some laughs and good photos whilst we all waited for the doors to open half an hour later.
After a few beers (unfortunately none for me as the consummate professional) to settle the nerves it was time to get the groom to the church.
Once in the church I had already spoken with the vicar that morning and figured out where I could shoot from and when I was allowed to take photos and use flash etc. This kind of early prep really does help as everyone has so much on their plate and they all have their own role in the wedding to worry about.
Ruth arrived and, in true bridal style, she looked beautiful. Another reason I like to get some bridal preparation shots in the morning is so the first time the bride sees you isn’t seconds before she’s walking down the aisle. Having a camera pointing at you takes a few moments to get used to so if she has had the morning to get used to it, that’s one less thing to add to her nerves on arrival at the church.
Into the ceremony there isn’t a lot of moving around you can do without causing a distraction – I try to be invisible! Just me, the camera and the limited church light. I think the key here is confidence – you are doing your job so just be confident and get on and do it. People expect the photographer to move around and filter it out – but don’t run around like a mad thing either.
Once the ceremony was finished and Stuart and Ruth were officially husband and wife! It was time to head over to Cranford Hall a fabulous Georgian Manour, on arrival you were ushered to the back lawn where a fantastic selection of canapés and drinks were laid out.
I found a great spot for the group photos, one of the most important lessons I learnt from this wedding was about group photos. Before the wedding I asked Stu to provide a list of the groups they wanted so I could arrange the groups quickly and efficiently, at this part of the day you’ve got two parts to think about, group photos and the couple portraits. Personally I think the couple portraits are the most important. After all its one of these images they are going to have on the wall to remember there special day for the next 20 years. During the planning we had arranged to do the groups first then once they were out of the way do the couple portraits. Once we started the groups it was all going well and half way through it started raining! I only needed 10 more minutes and the list would have been done! The rain may have brought a halt to the photos outside but as they say the show must go on. I always have some studio lights in my car just in case, I had checked with the staff at Cranford hall and they had a drawing room we could use, so I got the lights out of the car and set my self up in the drawing room to get the last few groups done. Once in the drawing room and I was set up the groups just seemed to keep coming and the time flew by and the light started to go outside. When you get married at lunch time you’re going to be slipping into late afternoon very quickly. I suggested to Stu and Ruth we really need to knock the groups on the head so we can get some quality time for their photos and they agreed, point to note always keep an eye on the light. One we got into the portraits we were done quite quickly, it was great having the old drawing room to use.
Once the speeches and cutting the cake were over, it was time for an amazing hog roast, not least because I was in need of some food. I had survived all day on a McDonalds breakfast and it was a lesson to me to pack some snacks. Then it was time for the first dance at 9pm and the last task for me. Once the dance was over that was my cue to get off and go home.
One last thing though – I needed to make sure all my images are backed up so I went back to my car and plugged the memory cards into a portable card reader. It is 300gb and you can plug any card into it and it backups up all the images. Sitting down while the card reader did its thing I suddenly felt very tired. A wedding makes for a very long day, up at 6.30am and on the go from the minute you see the wedding party until you’ve bagged the shots you need from the first dance – over 12 hours and your mind is racing the whole time. Well mine is – I suspect some seasoned veterans do it in their sleep but I’m still thinking a million miles an hour. My mind suddenly stopped whirring and I then had the 2.5 hour drive home, 20 minutes into the drive I had to stop for a cup of tea and I think it was the best cup of tea I’ve tasted!
Final point to note – any wedding bookings outside of Shrewsbury add in a hotel room as part of the package.