All the final preps are done, guests are taking their seats and you’re about to get married. Wedding ceremonies are amazing – a tumult of emotions, mixed with formality, nerves and joy.
We’ve seen a huge range of wedding ceremonies over the years – civil ceremonies, Church of England, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish. All types of wedding ceremony have their own unique elements and mostly follow a similar pattern.
The most important part of the day and whether a civil or religious service, we’ll be as inconspicuous as possible. The ceremony will fly by and you’ll be married before you know it! So, take a breath, savour the moment and take it all in.
Remember the faces of those around you, remember the words and remember the fragrance of the flowers. Be in the moment.
If at all possible, we love to be at the ceremony venue a tad earlier than is strictly necessary. This is the first point in the day where everyone comes together and there’s some great little moments happening. Ushers handing out the order of service, old friends and family greeting and catching up. It could be said that this is where the wedding truly begins.
Due to the natural time constraints that tend to happen, the point where people arrive is a part of the day that definitely benefits from having the two of us.
Sarah will likely be at the ceremony location first, so as well as photographing more of the arrivals, and she’ll try and find the vicar, priest or officiant and talk through how we work, find out which positions we can use.
If there’s enough space Robin is usually at the front and Sarah at the back of the of the ceremony. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves – we never use flash and minimise moving about and our cameras will usually be on stealthy silent-mode. If the officiant has any concerns we’re always happy to chat with them on the ‘phone in advance.
If you’re booking just Robin then he tends to stay at the front of the ceremony if at all possible.
We’re happy to say that it’s rare that we run into difficulties, but some officiants still have a negative attitude towards photography and have arbitrary rules which make little sense.
Although we’ll always work wtih the officiants, negotiating with them is something that should be done before the big day. There is very little we can do once we’re there and you’re about to arrive.
If you meet with any resistance for photos, ensure you stress to them the importance of photography to you, but also that we’re experienced, discreet and respectful of the solemnity of the service. We are professionals and act in a professional manner. We just want to melt into the background to capture your wedding ceremony at its best.
Leah & Amelia, Matara Centre
What we really love to capture are the bits that aren’t planned, the imperfections and the unexpected sweep of emotions that can overwhelm people as they go through the marriage service. It’s the looks, the glances, the little pauses during the vows – a catch of the breath. It’s also the joy and the laughs. The things that matter.
We’re always on the look-out for the little extra moments that happen during the service. Although our attention really is on the people getting married, sometimes it’s just good to let the cameras wander away from the couple for a moment and capture the expressions from others, or perhaps close in on a little detail which helps tell the story of the ceremony.
A kiss, a hug and maybe a punch in the air. The guests all clap and there’s smiles everywhere. The wedding ceremony is complete and all that remains is to sign the marriage register.
One of our very favourite parts of any wedding day comes immediately after the ceremony. After the formalities are complete there is usually a rush of people hugging and congratulating the couple. An amazing, intense few minutes of unguarded moments.
Plan for time – it can take a while for everyone to exit to the church or ceremony room and to congratulate you as they leave. Unless the guest list is really tiny, it’s usually at about 10-15 minutes but is often longer. The more guests, the longer it will take. The longest we’ve seen was about 45 minutes!
This is the first chance guests will have with you once you’re married, so let the moment breathe. There is nothing that takes a higher priority at this point, so don’t let staff or anyone else try to whisk you away. Anything else can wait. Take our word for it.
