First pictures on the wedding day

I arrive at the house or hotel where the bride is getting ready, I often arrive about an hour before anyone even thinks about getting into the dress.
Why so early? Well I have to admit that part of it is down to wedding photographer's paranoia.
"I need an hour and a bit just in case something happens that I hadn't thought of"
(I think there is a good posting on this entire concept to follow soon)
Another reason is that everyone gets used to me being there, they stop reacting to me either by stopping and grinning at me or by bending forward at the waist while saying oops sorry.
The most important reason for being there is that I am allowed to get great pictures like these.

The Process of booking your wedding photographer 01

1. The initial meeting.
While most of my clients have seen me working at a friend's wedding or have at least been reccomended by someone they trust, this first meeting is still a new begining and can be a bit like a job interview where I meet the couple and find out about them as individuals and as a couple. I get to show them some of my work and get some feedback on what they like and what they don't like.
I want to know how they want their wedding to be. Quite often they don't really know what they want at this stage and it is important that I don't impose how I think their day should be, but listen carefully for clues. I ask lots of questions and quite often the question that I ask will lead to a set of responses that give me additional clues. An example would be when I once asked a bride if her mother would be wearing a hat? I asked this so that I could gauge the level of formality of the day.
The way she reacted to this question revealed that there was some tension between the bride and her mum which centred to some extent around the issue of the choice of hat. This led to a new set of questions about the relationship and set some clear guidelines as to who was my client and was calling the shots and who was not. The day was planned to perfection and while mums wishes were taken into account I was able to steer mum gently to allow me to fulfil the brides wishes.
The initial meeting often takes place at the couples residence although there is a lot of merit in meeting at the venue. It is great to get to walk around the real place where the wedding will be happening. We get to see the features together and I get to know why the couple chose this venue in the first place.
It is also a good idea to visit your venue on a cold and wet day because this can help to focus the mind and establish a workable wet weather program.
Quite often we find that the venue has so many great features that we could never be able to use them all but I feel it is very important that the couple have as many choices as possible throughout the day.

Small world

I was at a wedding yesterday and as I moved towards the back of the church I saw a couple waving at me.
I had photographed their wedding a couple of years ago.
There was another couple who had wanted me to photograph their wedding last year but sadly I was already booked for their date.
I had worked with the video man on a wedding at some point and the florist gave me a card and I knew that we had worked together before.
One of the ushers had been a bestman at another wedding.
The wedding was about quite a distance from home they were in Berkshire and I am in Surrey.
During the speeches there was a telegram from a couple who couldn't make it from Australia because they are expecting their first child any day now. I had photographed their wedding too.
As a wedding photographer it is great when couples like what I do enough to reccomend me to their friends and I do love to see them again.