A widely held belief in our modern society is that your wedding day is one of, if not the best day of your life. Well, from our extensive experience of couples during their special day and the feedback we get, sometimes years later, this common wisdom is pretty accurate. The day is absolutely packed with memorable moments. In fact we would say to quote the title of this post, that your wedding day is full of peak experiences and not just for yourselves but the photographers too!
What does that mean? Well when we were looking back at some of the images we captured in the last year, we began to remember some of what we felt at the time. That’s when we thought it would be a good idea to write about how the photographer feels working alongside you.
It was almost as if the images themselves were re triggering these moments again inside ourselves. So we decided to showcase some of those wedding photos that made us feel great ourselves while we were taking them. In fact we believe if you are not feeling the excitement and specialness of the day as a photographer, then documenting what happens will not be fully expressed with your images either.
The best wedding photographers know when a moment is special and choose their angle, framing, camera and lens settings in a flash to reflect that. Anyone of course can take a few great pictures if they press the shutter button a thousand times. The mark of a professional is being able to make nine hundred and fifty or more of those images relevant, emotive and beautifully captured. Anything less is luck not technique. Semi rant over!
So where do peak moments come in a wedding? Well often right from the beginning. For example, the first time the bride’s father sees her in that fantastic wedding dress she spent so long searching for. The moment a groom sees his bride walking down the aisle. The looks of love and euphoria when a bride and groom are officially proclaimed “husband and wife.”
Your entire wedding party cheering and throwing confetti over you. The fantastic time you spend alone at some point in the day with your fantastic wedding photographers David and Joanna! The moment you enter your wedding breakfast to a standing ovation. Hearing those heart felt words directed towards you during the wedding speeches. Your first dance surrounded by friends and family, to name just a few peak moments.
In fact the featured image in the post is that exact moment in Rachel and Chris’s wedding where John Legend’s All of Me as the first dance literally exploded into the Tiesto remix. As I got covered in confetti myself I felt a peak of euphoria as I was taking the shots. It was literally wedding magic.
See many more of those peak wedding moments in our three dedicated galleries here: Wedding Galleries
Check out wedding after wedding through page after page on our Blog right here on the website.
By David Green
We always look forward to a big day as it is a creative thrill to capture and help create images that are going to be looked at and loved for generations.
So 7am on a Sunday morning our alarm clock rings, and it is time to grab a quick coffee and toast, and head into Marylebone for Barbara’s wedding prep at the aptly named Marylebone Hotel.
As Asia House was the venue for the civil wedding ceremony and it was only literally a few hundred yards around the corner, I improved my fitness levels by jogging between there and the hotel. I wanted to capture Andrew and his families arrival, but also keep an eye on how Barbara was getting on back at the Marylebone. I was definitely the best dressed jogger that chilly Sunday morning!
The ceremony took place on the first floor in what the venue calls “fine room 2” and it certainly was a very fine affair too! Barbara and Andrew during their marriage vows were what I would describe as a “photographers dream” in the sense that they were expressive, looked at each other lovingly, but also found time for laughter and interaction with their wedding party during the vows. Having said that, in terms of photography it still takes discretion experience and skill to capture unrepeatable moments well.
A special mention for the registrars, as we have consistently found with all central London wedding officials, that they were relaxed friendly and very good at what they did. It really does makes a big difference to the feel of a wedding ceremony to have sensitive and aware registrars conducting the proceedings.
The wedding party now made the fairly short journey across the centre of the capital past Oxford Circus to the reception venue Sketch on Conduit Street.
Sketch, what a venue, quirky, classy with a real variety of internal locations. Yet another fine example of an eighteen century classic London building. Speaking to the staff inside they say they are always trying to keep the look fresh and ever evolving. The venue is Time Out Recommended like ourselves. In fact Sketch is as much a gallery as a restaurant, and has the most amazing toilets! Now I don’t think we have ever mentioned toilets in a wedding day blog post before, but these are a series of white pods in a wonderfully futuristic space that we just had to photograph the couple in.
Food and service at Sketch was magnificent, and was a wonderful way to round off a lovely and memorable wedding day. Special mention to Barbara and Andrew’s friends and family who were delightful to work alongside and spend time with.
