Category Archives: Photographer

The Roaring 1920’s

Posted on by

Planning weddings that are themed around a particular era have become more popular as couples are looking to the celebration to reflect their style. The Roaring 20s are a big one. This decade is full of Big Band Jazz, Art Deco visuals, and intricately adorned ensembles—a theme that has been trending since the release of The Great Gatsby in 2013. Although the movie illuminated this classic style, there’s been an ongoing appreciation for all things vintage, and it looks as if this will continue.

 

​Here are some ideas for your 1920’s Wedding theme:

  • For a 1920s theme, a classic palette of black, white and gold is easy to achieve and truly timeless and elegant. For the bride, we love the look of a trumpet-style gown.

  • Bridesmaids can be styled in simple LBDs with the addition of headpieces or fascinators, and the groomsmen will look dashing in classic black tuxedos.

  • Champagne towers are making a comeback, especially in Roaring 20s-inspired celebrations. We adore the look of sophisticated black and white striped linens.

  • For brides preferring something a little more colourful, jewel tones are the way to go! Think of the rich shades of a peacock feather for inspiration.

  • ​With vintage ​wedding cars you can show up in style and use this classic as a prop in your wedding photos.

  • ​For wedding entertainment, try a unique performer like a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. With a comedic 20s era presence, Charlie can make your guests feel like they’ve travelled to a time of satire and silent films.

  • ​For your wedding photos, ask your wedding photographer about vintage overlay options for development. Your big day will be captured with a nostalgic 1920s look.

 

We wish you a happy marriage and roaring celebration!

Wedding photo ideas to inspire you

Posted on by

Perfect props

With wedding photo booths becoming more and more popular, brides these days know the importance of a funny prop! Moustaches, glasses, hats and wigs make for hilarious photo opportunities with all your guests, but make sure you get at least one with just you and the girls!

Getting ready

This one’s a classic, but a surprising number of brides forget it! Whether it’s a natural shot of you all prepping for the big day or a posed group photo of you all together (these work particularly well if you’re wearing matching robes, pyjamas or t-shirts!), make sure you capture the atmosphere of excitement and anticipation before the ceremony.

Pucker up

This one is easy peasy – apply lipstick and POUT! We especially like images like this if the bridesmaids are wearing a bright pop of colour on their lips, but it’s a funny, girly photo to have in your album whatever your maids are wearing.

Cuddle with mum

If you have tiny flower girls or if your bridesmaids have young children of their own, it’s nice to get a candid shot of the family having a quick cuddle, especially if the little ones are all dolled up for the occasion.

Drink up

This cheeky photo brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘group shot’! Although it may be more traditional to have a photo of the groom and his ushers enjoying a tipple in the bar pre-ceremony, we love to see brides and their girls partaking in a little Dutch courage!

Funky glasses

These days, many couples use their wedding reception as the opportunity to just have a brilliant rave-up with their friends and family. If you and your bridesmaids are serious party animals, don’t forget to dig out some funny photo props like novelty sunglasses and glo sticks!

Funny face

Having younger bridesmaids or flower girls is great for unintentionally hilarious photo opportunities. Get your little ones to goof it up for the camera for a sweet picture that you’ll love – and can bring out at their 18th birthday parties!

Looking back

This is a great opportunity to show off the back of the bridesmaids’ dresses if they have pretty details like bows or keyholes.

Give it some welly!

Let’s face it – in a British countryside wedding, there’s a very good chance that you and your bridesmaids will have wellies on standby whatever the season. Turn it into a positive – buy cool patterned or coloured ones and have a fun photo with you and your girls wearing them!

Swing out sister

Many country wedding venues have swings in their grounds, so use them for a photo opportunity! This is a particularly good shot for brides who only have a small number of maids but still want the fun of a group shot.

Finishing touches for under £500

Posted on by

With a little planning, you can transform your wedding with finishing touches for under £500 – here are some of our ideas!

Outfits with wow factor

If you’ve got a bit of spare money in your budget, consider adding a little something to your wedding day outfit to really make it pop. Splashing out on a finishing touch like a brooch or bolero means you can change your look from day to night without spending a fortune on another dress – genius!

Eat, drink and be merry

Many venues will ask you to have your menu and drinks finalised long before the big day, but there’s still a lot you can do with a spare £200-500 at the last minute. Serving canapés with the wedding drinks is one option, especially if you’re worried that guests might get hungry waiting for the wedding breakfast. Or, consider serving extra snacks during the evening celebrations, when guests might get peckish. There are plenty of other ways to make your choice of food more entertaining – why not try an ice cream or pizza bar and let your guests’ imaginations run wild?

Dreamy decor

When you walk into your reception room for the first time, you’ll want it to be magical – an extra £500 can help guarantee that you and your guests will be blown away by it. 

If you’re holding your wedding in a marquee, there are lots of other low-cost decorating options. Scattering lavender flowers on the floor and tables will not only look pretty, but also smell fantastic. Wedding signs are also a great, cheap way to add impact to your decor 

Musical treats

For £500, you can hire talented musicians to entertain you and set the mood for your celebrations. At the ceremony, drinks and the meal, a string quartet is a classic option for a sophisticated feel. Look around for an excellent vocalist – it makes such a difference having someone sing as you enter the church and it’s great for your guests while you are signing the register.

For a musical idea that costs nothing but will mean a lot to your guests, include something on your invitations asking guests to RSVP with song suggestions – playing them on the day will ensure you get the musical tone right and that everyone hears something they like.

Evening entertainment

This is the area where your money will make the most noticeable difference to the day. Everyone will remember the fab toastmaster, salsa dancers or casino that made your celebrations so much fun. If you are concerned about your guests not mingling, hire a magician, human statue or caricaturist to get people talking. Book them for when guests are due to arrive at the reception venue, to work the crowd as they arrive, when people are quite shy – later on, the atmosphere and alcohol will take over.

Lasting memories

At the end of the big day, all you will have to remember those special moments will be your photographs. For many brides, it’s worth spending a bit more to get your wedding photographer to stay all day, from morning into the night so he can capture everything, especially those more relaxed moments at the evening party

Alternatively, buy a Polaroid camera and lots of film! Ask guests to take their photo and write a message on the back for you to keep as an alternative to a guestbook.

Make memories you’ll never forget

Posted on by

After months, maybe even years, of saving, searching and planning your big day, it finally dawns. If there’s one thing our real brides tell us time and again, it’s that their wedding day goes by in a blur and that, if they could do it all again, they would do just that – relive it to treasure each moment. It’s all too easy for your wedding morning to be a haze of preparations, nerves, excitement and clock watching (you don’t want to be late!). To help you slow down and take your most special of days in, we’ve put together seven things to do on your wedding morning to make the most of every moment and make memories you’ll never forget.

Raise a toast

Sipping Champagne is a wedding morning must, but don’t forget to share a toast to your last morning as a single lady or gent! You’ll never get the chance to do it again, so clink your glasses together in celebration of your life and love so far and let those with you wish you luck for your next step.

Have something to eat

Yes, you want to fit comfortably into your figure-hugging dress and yes, you might well have lost your appetite a little as a result of big day nerves and excitement, but it’s essential that you still eat something. Sharing platters of nibbles are a great option to pass around and dip in and out of as you get glammed up for your aisle moment!

Wear special dressing gowns

This one’s a little lighter hearted, but here at Wedding Ideas we just love the photos of our real brides and their maids dressed to impress in coordinated dressing gowns! They’ll make your wedding morning photographs pretty and sophisticated and are a comfortable option for before you get into your gown.

Pamper, pamper, pamper!

Whether you’re doing it yourself or have a host of makeup artists and hairdressers knocking at your door on your wedding morning, take the time to relax and just enjoy being pampered. Everyone around you is there to support you and help you look and feel your absolute beautiful best, so indulge and enjoy!

Have a little fun

However, you define it, make sure you let yourself have fun on your wedding morning. Don’t spend it worrying about timings, how ready your maids are, or whether the reception décor will be exactly as you planned it. Instead, do something you love – one of our real groom’s played golf with his groomsmen the morning of his wedding and we think it was a great idea! Schedule in some time, however small, to do one thing together – it’ll make for wonderful memories and a lot of laughter.

Reveal the dress

You might have one of your maids there to help button your dress up or you might be keeping it as a surprise. Either way, don’t miss your big reveal moment with your bridal party. Have them wait at the bottom of the stairs or just outside the door, then surprise them in your gorgeous gown? Keep your wedding photographer on hand to capture the moment on film – you’ll love looking back at people’s wowed faces afterwards!

Let the little details go

Because brides tend to plan their dream day down to the teeniest of details, it’s very easy for something to go wrong and, however small it may be, the bride will notice. For the small hiccups and things that don’t go to plan – maybe your maid forgot her matching earrings or your shoes aren’t quite as comfy as you’d hoped – try to let them go. No one but you will ever know and, at the end of the day, what are mismatched earrings or a sore toe when you’re about to marry the love of your life?

Start as you mean to go on

Posted on by

Between the food, the event space, the wedding photographer and the band — you may have spent a large part of your savings on your wedding. If you were lucky enough to receive wedding gift money from friends and family, you can really make this money work for you. Instead of using your cash for a trip to the Caribbean or on a new car, consider the following suggestions:

Start an emergency fund. We know it doesn’t sound as glamorous as a spa package, but starting an emergency fund and help to combat stress when something unexpected comes up. Whether it’s a sudden boiler breakdown or car repair, this saved cash will help if times get tough. It’ll also make you feel better to know there’s a bit of a cushion. We recommend opening an account that offers quick access and storing away £1,000 — you can always add to it.

Pay some bills. You’ve just planned a huge event and you’ve paid your fair share for it, so don’t feel guilty about using some of your gift money for your monthly bills, or even prepaying your mortgage if you have one. If you’ve been carrying around some unwanted debt — credit card, or car loan — consider paying off some of it. Having trouble deciding which to pay off first? Start by paying off the loan with the highest interest rate.

Watch it grow. It’s a smart idea to save and invest a big chunk of your gift money — this way it can gain interest and over time make money for you. It could be your deposit on a home or a nest egg for retirement. A financial adviser can help make sure you’re putting your cash in the best account for you, whether that be a tax advantaged plan, like a traditional ISA.

Invest in your home. If you’ve been looking for a place to call your own, your wedding money may make a nice deposit payment. As you probably know, the larger your deposit, the less interest you’ll typically end up paying on the loan. 

Already have a nest? You could make updates and improvements to your current place, which can potentially increase its property value. 

Look into life insurance. Now’s the perfect time to take out life for you and your new spouse. Pushing a plan to the side any further will make it more difficult to attain. Thankfully, this isn’t a huge investment, just a smart one.

Capture your first kiss

Posted on by

Your first kiss as husband and wife at the altar should be romantic and full of love, so here are some things to remember.

As well as closing your eyes (an essential ingredient to a good first kiss) and not bumping foreheads as you approach each other too quickly, you should also keep the following things in mind.

Cringeworthy kisses

Don’t make your first kiss too cringeworthy or you will make your wedding guests feel uncomfortable. This is especially true if you are kissing in a church.

Intention

The best part of any kiss is its intention, so do it from a place of love and tenderness and this will come shining through and be reflected in your wedding photographs.

Avoid a quick peck

A quick peck on the lips can be seen as a bit cold and empty, especially when it’s your first kiss as a married couple, so linger a little longer to make sure your wedding photographer can capture that special moment.

Enjoy

Don’t be embarrassed, remember, it’s your special moment, so don’t feel awkward and if you remember the first 3 tips above your love will come shining through in the photos which will be a photo that you will cherish forever.

Book a professional

Posted on by

A wedding is a live event and we don’t get any re-shoots like in the movies. This is where the skills of a good wedding videographer come in handy. It is possible to unobtrusively film someone’s wedding, and create a film that is great to watch over and over again.

A good editor will be able to craft your story into an entertaining and watchable film that you can proudly share with friends and family. So many couples have their wedding filmed, and it ends up gathering dust on the top shelf. You really want to spend your money on something that you’re going to watch for years to come.

One of the most important questions you’ll ask yourself when picking your wedding suppliers is ‘how much does it cost?’ and ‘can I get it cheaper elsewhere?’. Like most budget-savvy brides you’ll be keen to know that you’re getting the best price. But when it comes to wedding videography, cheap and cheerful can be risky.

At the other end of the spectrum in wedding videography, you have the ‘film your own wedding video’ companies, an idea which originated from Shoot It Yourself in 2009. While this is certainly cheaper than hiring someone to film your wedding for you, as you don’t have to pay for a videographer to be there on the day, it is still a professional editing service and you get what you pay for.

Some people don’t really understand the concept; that whilst there is actually nobody present at the wedding, the company prep, maintain and deliver the cameras and go through all six hours of footage to find the best clips. It’s the same amount of time, energy, attention to detail and skill goes into editing a ‘self-shot’ wedding video as it does a professional wedding video.

On the other hand, there are those couples who are looking for something less formal, that captures the big personalities of their family and friends.

There are, of course, hundreds of wedding videographers to choose from but with so much time, effort and money spent on your wedding day, we would recommend that you choose a reputable company with a proven track record. Remember, there is no such thing as a good cheap wedding video and if a deal seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is!

Your wedding photography and videography are two of the most important things to get right on the big day, as they will capture precious memories that you cannot repeat again.

Reasons to have a photo booth at your wedding

Posted on by

Your guests will love it. The wedding photo booth will be the highlight of the night and everybody will be really pleased with the photographs.

Suitable for all ages

It will be great to have something the children and grandparents could join in with. 

Nostalgia

Back in the good old days we never had cameras on our phones! To grab an instant picture of you and all your friends you had to walk into town and squeeze into a wedding photo booth. Now the booths may look more stylish but the concept is the same. And, of course, there are some fun props to make it even more memorable.

Talking point

Want your wedding to have something a little bit different? Well a photo booth will have your guests raving for weeks afterwards. 

Fabulous favours

Why give a traditional box of almonds when you could have a fun photo from the day that guests can look back on for years to come? One nice idea is to give them an empty key ring with a note to go to the photo booth later! 

Theme it!

Are you having a theme on your big day? Whether you want a winter wonderland, day at the beach or even just a colour we can bring the props to match your theme. They can even customise your prints to match and – if the budget stretches – they can even customise the booth itself!

Share the love

Not only will your guests receive a copy of the fun wedding photographs on the night, they will also upload all your ‘clean’ pictures to your very own Facebook album! This helps carry on the fun for weeks after the big day as friends and family tag, comment and copy their pictures.

Cringe-worthy moments

Posted on by

While most aspects of planning a wedding are really fun and exciting, there are a few moments, which may leave you feeling uncomfortable. There are also aspects of the day that may make you feel a bit anxious. 

Telling your friend, she’s not your bridesmaid

Having to tell one of your friends that she isn’t your bridesmaid is probably one of the biggest hurdles in the planning stage of the wedding. The best way to let her know that you still care about her is to tell her quietly and ask her to do something else at the wedding, for example make a speech.

Inviting work colleagues to the wedding

If you don’t want to invite everyone in the office to your wedding day, that’s absolutely fine! It’s your day, just invite your closest work friends and be discreet. Ask them to keep quiet about it too and if you decide to invite everyone, try not to leave one or two people out.

Inviting your mum or mother in-law to the hen do

Inviting your mum to your hen do can be a hard decision. If you feel like you won’t be able to let your hair down, relax and have fun then don’t invite her. An alternative can be to do something a bit more formal to celebrate with your mum rather than taking her out with your friends. It’s important to make sure she doesn’t feel left out though.

Messing up the first dance

Every bride fears messing up the first dance, whether that means stepping on the groom’s toes or falling to the floor. It is definitely something that should be practiced a few times, it doesn’t have to be choreographed but take some time with it. If you really can’t dance, then just simply sway with each other and invite everyone to join the dance floor as soon as possible.

Going to the ladies’ room in your dress

This may be something that’s overlooked when choosing your perfect wedding dress, but essential on the wedding night. This is one of the main reasons you should be really close with your bridesmaids, it’s essentially their job to help you with potential problems like this on the night.

Photo angles

It’s a given that on your wedding day there will be hundreds of photos taken of you and you may be worried about not looking good. Try not to worry too much about this, you’ve paid a wedding photographer to take photos of you and they’ll know what angles look the most flattering on you. You can always have a chat with the photographer to ask for the photo you’ve always been dreaming about for the mantelpiece though.

Deciding between lingerie or supportive underwear

This can be a tricky decision because you want to feel the best on your wedding day but wearing tummy-tucking underwear with a non-VPL will be really forgiving when you’re wearing your dress. It’s definitely something to keep in mind; you’ll always have the chance to change quickly after the wedding reception.

Dealing with family feuds

Most of the time, relatives will be civil with each other at a wedding even if they don’t get on with each other. They love you and are there for you on your big day, they won’t be focusing on each other. If you are worried however, then make sure they aren’t sat on the same table or sat near each other at the ceremony. The more distance that can be created between them, the better.

What to do if it rains at your Wedding?

Posted on by

Unknown

If your wedding is just around the corner you’ve probably been refreshing the 10-day forecast every other hour. The last thing you want is bad weather on your wedding day, but sometimes it’s simply unavoidable and it’s important you have a Plan B.

This means if that dreaded rain cloud does appear on the weather forecast, you can still relax and enjoy your wedding day as you’ve already got a back-up plan in place. Note – this is much better than having a breakdown on the morning of your wedding because your ceremony is based outside and it’s pouring with rain.

Prepare your photographer

A good wedding photographer will have a back-up plan for bad weather. However, it’s always worthwhile showing them around the venue before the big day so they can see possible areas to shoot if photographing outside is impossible. This will save a whole ton of time on the day! Photographers can also take some seriously romantic shots in the rain if you’re brave enough.

Always accessorise

Stock up on some pretty umbrellas and colourful wellies! Supply your guests with a box of brollies (they might not be as prepared as you) and match the colours to the theme of your wedding day. This will also look fab in your wedding photographs.

Choose a summer wedding

If you know this is something you are really going to stress about, to the point where it takes over and you end up dreading your big day, choose to have a summer wedding as it’s way less likely to rain.

Have a back-up plan

If you’re planning on having an outdoor ceremony, always book a venue that has a back-up option if it rains. It’s extra helpful if you have the option to switching to an indoor ceremony at the last minute, if not, ensure there is cover if it does rain!

Avoid any make-up disasters

If you want to keep your make-up looking perfect for the whole day, including if it rains, set your foundation with a primer. Wear waterproof mascara and water-resistant foundation, just to be extra safe!

Embrace it

If it rains on your wedding day, there’s not much you can do about it so simply embrace it! Do not let it stop you and your hubby enjoying your special day. It also makes for some seriously romantic photographs in the rain…