CONGRATULATIONS to Blaire & David getting married in September 2012

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They will be receiving individually made fine chocolates presented in a handcrafted timber box for the entire bridal party – as well beautiful boxed Macaroon’s for every guest!

Well although it may seem like a very easy question to answer – it is often extremely difficult.  So many variables exist and can be easily overlooked;  Some of these could be:

Where is the ceremony?  What time is it being held?  How many guests?  Where is the bride and groom leaving from?  What time of the year is the wedding?  Is the wedding on a Friday or weekend?

These are just a few questions – my list can go on and on.

Most important to me – is to make sure I have enough time to deliver the images which are important to a couple.

As a photographer I need time to produce images. Wedding photos are a lifetime memory so it is important to do your research on locations and make sure they match your wedding theme.

Only advice I can give couples is to really think about the times because you don’t get a second chance.

It does not matter where you get married or what type of weather you end up getting – the most important thing is to have a good time.  Your photographer should have a good idea what will work in different weather conditions and make sure you have a plan B!

Over the years I have founded a deep appreciation for makeup artists and the skill they offer.  Many Brides I speak with don’t know the difference between everyday makeup and photographic makeup.  Admittedly I didn’t really understand either until I started photography professionally.

For those of you who are married will understand how fast the day goes – and even though we all want the perfect day weather wise, it cannot be guaranteed.

From a purely photographers perspective I always try to educate Brides on the value in getting a professional to do the makeup on their wedding day.  Nothing is worse for me when a Bride gets a friend to do her makeup or a professional make up artist who is not experienced…………and on location I can see it breaking up and becoming blotchy.  I am always placed in a difficult position, do I say something??????

Good makeup – and I am not referring to any brands, just makeup that is designed for the intended purpose, should last all day, should be water proof and be able to work in all types on weather conditions.

Also a good make up artist will match the base colour to suit the Brides skin tones.  Nothing worse photographing a Bride with a mask!

One bit if advise regardless who is photographing your wedding make sure you use a good makeup artist, do a trial and take photos!  A camera picks up everything and if it does not look good in your camera it will definately not look good in your photographers! What your eye sees is different to what a camera sees. Another point make sure you apply the makeup in the morning and wear it all day….like it was your wedding day.

I will probably be shot down for giving such advise. The importance of a wedding day can only be measured after it takes place and I know whenever I am asked to photograph a wedding, whatever I do for a couple with stay with them forever – so it is important to get everything right!

This is my very first blog, so go easy on me!

I recently photographed a great wedding however the morning was almost a disaster!

It started like this – I started to photograph the Bride getting into her beautiful Bridal gown by Raffaele Ciuca, with her proud mother doing up the dress; when the unthinkable happened……………the zip broke! As I looked on, almost speechless.  I watched her mothers face drop and almost burst into tears.  It was only 40mins before we would need to leave for the church!!!

So very calmly we got the Bride out of the gown and realised very quickly the zip could not be fixed.  So her brother jumped into his car and went off to Spotlight to purchase some hooked and thread.

The Bride was so lovely and calm and although I could sense how upset she was did not let the zip get the better of her and more importantly ruin her entire day.

Overall we ended up being only 30 mins late and I made time up on location – and the photos were great, which I will post some up.

The moral of this story – make sure you check the zipper before picking up the dress from the designer.

Please let us know what you think!