Wedding Advice 003: Time Waits for No Man (or Bride)

Time. Waits for no man. And definately not for brides, although w've photographed a few that may disagree...there is not enough of it on a wedding day, that's for sure. The day will fly by, so there is a huge advantage in sitting down with your photographer (yes - your photographer - sorry, remind me who else knows the day from start to finish - florists, venues, vicars and cake makers only share part of the day, I'm with you all the way!) and plan the day. And as I write this (actually in a very lovely coffee shop in Bristol - I do love the fact that I can work on location!), I can almost hear you shout something to the effect that "we don't want our day to be planned - we want natural, fun, relaxed", etc. But it makes SO much sense - make a plan and then let other people to deliver it for you - that's the hallmark of great, relaxed, wedding day...

Anyway, advice number 3: ALWAYS overestimate how long everything will take. If your timings are correct, the worst that will happen from over-estimating is that you will have more time to talk to your guests; more time to look around and soak up the atmosphere. If you need the extra time, then its factored in already and it won't throw the rest of the day. Couples always worry that they need to ensure the day keeps moving, in case guests get bored... being positive, get a few mates and /or family (the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive) together and they can spend hours catching up - so a couple of hours spent with a pims on the lawn isn't going to be a great challenge - so don't worry! Or, put another way, if your guests are getting bored, maybe you invited the wrong guests?!

The reality is that there are too many demands on your time on a wedding day - so inevitably the day is a compromise, there is no way of avoiding this (well, there is, but you wouldn't like the answer so I won't go there), so plan the day, prioritise the parts that are most important and be relaxed about the rest. Give me a call if you have any queries about your special day.

Wedding Advice - 002: Virtual Weddings

Helpful Tip: Talk to your suppliers, don't just email!

When I started in wedding photography (back in 2000, not so long ago), a photographer with a website was considered 'cutting edge'. On-line galleries were just a twinkle in a developers eye and if couples wanted to find out more it really was a case of getting up close & personal - calling in to a high street studio, meeting at a wedding fair or calling in response to an advert. But one way or another, there was a personal contact that is missing now. Clients look on line, send 'copy & paste' emails to lots of suppliers and generally avoid anything other than 'virtual' contact to the last minute.

I understand the reasons why but once you have used the web to create a short list of three possibles, pick up the phone. We always advise clients to ignore the 'questions to ask' lists in the wedding magazines. Selecting your photographer comes down to just three issues: style (if you don't like what you see on the web its unlikely that's the photographer for you); personality and budget (in that order). This posting is focused on personality. A professional, experienced photographer will have a host of questions about your day before they can get to the prices. Yes, we have standard packages that set a framework, but most photographers can tweak their offer (I was going to say 'tweak their packages' but that may be open to misinterpretation...) to match your day - if we know what your day looks like. But don't view the call as waste of your time: how friendly the photographer sounds, how interested they are in your day (if they are not asking lots of questions how interested are they in your day - and if not interested, how creative will they be when the time comes?) and whether you come away from the conversation thinking "he sounded friendly" is all useful research. Our longest wedding shoot was about 14 hours, with a lot of that time spent with the bride - if we didn't hit it off it would have been a nightmare on both sides (fortunately we did and it was great fun but that's not the point!). So be brave, pick up the phone and talk to us. Yes, its kind of old fashioned but it is SO the best way!

Wedding Advice - 001

So where do you turn when you want advice about your wedding? I ask because I've just flicked through a very glossy,free wedding magazine targeting the south west and I'm really disappointed. It really is a case of the "same old, same old" so does that mean there is nothing new to say about weddings? I suspect that the problem stems from magazines wanting to enhance their advertising offer by promoting advertisers as experts; trouble is the advertisers that the titles attract are not always experienced / sufficiently recognised to produce quality articles or to have anything meaningful to say. Which takes me back to the original question, where do you turn when we want really useful advice? Do email me and let me know which websites / magazines / books / colleagues worked for you and I will share it via this blog.

In the meantime, over the coming months I shall be asking the suppliers I know and trust to offer some meaningful tips about how to make the most of your day. No hard sells, no fluffy sales pitches - hopefully just very helpful advice.

And if you have any questions now, mail them through to me: info@andrewjacksonphotography.co.uk and I'll do some of the research for you!

No More Recession - Hooray!

Yesterday's news that we are edging out of recession was welcome but there was a lot of hollow laughter among the photographers I know... still, since November last year there does seem to be many more bookings coming through and some dates this year we could have booked two, three even four times over. For some reason the most popular date of the year is 11.09.10 - and no, I've no idea why either...answers on a postcard please!

But one thing that is worth highlighting is that if you are planning a wedding, do book up your preferred suppliers earlier rather than later, as delaying might well mean you end up compromising your choice. Last year you could have left it quite late but I'm less sure that the same will apply so much this year.

And if you are planning your big day, have fun! Yes, there loads of decisions to make, but the day itself goes by so quickly, so think of all the shopping trips and meetings as all part of the big day and savour every minute!