Best Of 2016 Wedding Photography
This year has been another whirlwind of adventures up and down and out of the country. We’ve photographed weddings in France and Italy, Aberdeen and all over the rest of the UK. We’ve continued our relationship with Disney Cruise Lines, performing as a duo on their ships and we’ve kept up performing as Suzy and Alex (Acoustic Duo) on land at weddings and events most weeks.
2016 was a year of playing catch up, improving the business and looking ahead to the future. At the beginning of the year our financial security was hanging on by a thread. We had bought our first house together in 2015 and after the costs of home improvements and enjoying day to day life our plans of literally cruising through 2016 came to a halt when that didn’t become a reality.
With only a handful of photography weddings booked in for the next year, necessity became the mother of invention and through trial and error but mostly through word of mouth, we achieved what we set out to do and got the work we needed for an amazing season of wedding photography in 2016.
Now that has come to an end and we look forward to a 2017 that is packed full of bookings, plans and new adventures. In many of the car journeys we share from home to wedding venue throughout the last year we’ve discussed what the future could hold and ways of improving the way we do business. We’ve talked at length about the type of wedding photography service we provide, how our brand’s identity has developed, indeed what our brand of wedding photography currently is and what we want it to be, and we’ve taken on board what our clients have had to say about us and used it to get a better understanding of what our unique selling points are.
Listed below are key points about our wedding photography business, giving an impression of what we are all about, after 5 years shooting weddings and what past clients have liked about us.
Timelessness - without doubt, we take photographs with the aim of making them stand the test of time. That is, in 20 years they will continue to evoke a sense of what the day was like in its natural setting rather than something first recognised by the fashion of the year it was shot in.
Creativity - whilst the colours and set pieces remain the same, our creativity is continuously evolving. We are unafraid to try new compositions and to go to new lengths to achieve epic photographs. This is where our passion for photography is at. In loving what we do, we produce better work year on year which is why we can rely on word of mouth for most of our business.
A relaxed portrait shoot - you can work us as hard or as little as you like but one thing is for sure - that we will get all the photographs we need to produce some beautiful portraits of our wedding couples and all without overly posing them. We tailor each wedding portrait shoot to the right level of adventurousness depending on each couple’s wants but if there is also a later scene or sunset (that would be a crime to not take advantage of) we always politely ask and encourage the idea of one or more portraits. At a wedding is it not better to go too far than not far enough?
Family photos matter - we understand that the least favourite part of the wedding day is often smiling for the camera for the family photos. If a bride and groom has attended any number of weddings before, they might be inclined to completely bypass a list of family portraits because it can be tiresome and time consuming rounding everybody up. However, we are of the opinion that family photographs matter. All our wedded couples will remember how easy it was for them and how efficient we were at taking these shots. Forget your ushers, toastmasters or overbearing wedding photographers of past weddings - we take 10-15 minutes max for the full group down to with parents and siblings. These are the photographs that signify who was in attendance at your wedding to witness such an important day in your life and the ones that live on the mantlepiece inside the homes of friends and family members. We say, if not for you, this part is for everyone else. We promise we’ll get it done in no time. Bish Bash Bosh!
Attentive and discrete - We’re no bystander to the course of a wedding day, instead we help where we can and subtly enable the day itself to run smoothly. We recognise our primary role is to photograph a wedding day however with equal measure, we work to make the entire experience comfortable and enjoyable. Of course we yearn to be like old friends with all of our clients but we also appreciate a relationship based on respect for our professionalism.
Age - for once age is on our side! Wedding photography may not be something we do forever but right now with us both being 27/28 we are at or around the age of many of the couples who are booking us and couples really like that about us. We simply have to be ourselves and an immediate rapport is made. It’s easy-going and comfortable for all parties involved and I think the fact that we’re professional musicians as well adds to our identity. We live through our creativity.
To round off this summary of 2016 we want to thank everyone who booked us this year and for all the great memories we shared. We honestly put our heart and soul into every single one of the weddings we photographed and left hugely satisfied with the work we produced, especially when all the wonderful comments came pouring in online. We know couples and their parents hope we left their wedding thinking “what a bloody great time we had” and we certainly did. We thank those who kept us well fuelled and watered, even on occasion giving us a seat at the table. Those who fed our vanity, made us blush and gave us mention during the speeches we thank you too. We have been truly spoilt. We feel hugely appreciated and many times it didn’t feel like working at all. You will always get our best and we will always be striving to give you more.
Here, a toast to every single couple we’ve photographed the wedding of. May you never forget that day and how special it was and may those vows you made and witnessed by all comfort and challenge you in the adventure of life.
Suzy and Alex x x
