My sisters old school friend stumbled across my Photography page and had “Liked” it. When she found out her friend Melissa was looking for a Wedding Photographer, she suggested that Melissa take a look at my page and not long after, I found myself sitting in Melissa & Steven’s living room discussing her big day!
Thinking back to the meeting, I cannot really remember how it all went. I just remember walking out of there thinking they were both very friendly and extremely welcoming to me. I also remember thinking “I hope I didn’t scare Lexa”.
A couple of months later however, the big day arrived!
I usually shoot Weddings by myself, but I had one of my friends who’s into Photography express a strong interest in shooting Weddings also. He asked if he could assist me and gain some experience of what it’s like in the field shooting Weddings.
Melissa & Steven were kind enough to allow Jason to take shots at their Wedding so he can gain some experience and portfolio work.
Me and Jason arrived around 1pm to grab some shots of the venue before the guests started arriving, and it was so strange as there were no guests there at all, and didn’t look like any were coming anytime soon. Usually I arrive a little earlier and find at least one grandmother hanging around. But this Wedding, I had no-one! I was seriously questioning myself if I had the right venue…
Me and Jason went around, knocked out a few shots, and then once the guests arrived, we felt somewhat relief knowing we were in the right place.
Steven is a very sociable friendly guy, and it was evident from the very beginning when I met him, but even more so now he’s surrounded by friends and family. What I love about Wedding Photography is capturing true emotion, which is why you’ll rarely ever hear me say “Smile!” at a Wedding (if you hear me say that I have just genuinely ran out of jokes, and I am not the funniest of people also, so if I end up saying that, I’m in trouble lol… at least for that moment lol). But Steven made my job so much easier as he was just genuinely happy throughout. He did not seem stressed at all, and moving from guest to guest with a big smile on his face, he was just awesome!
Melissa was arriving soon, so all the guests went in to take their seats.
As she pulled up in the Daimler V8, I see why Steven emphasised a few times he wants shots of this car. It was a beautiful car… But then Melissa stepped out and stole the show!
I find it funny as the first thing Melissa said to me when the car door opened was “What do I do?” lol… With how I shoot Weddings, I don’t like to direct too much. I just want to capture it. So literally just told Melissa to be natural, relax, and enjoy your day. The only time I need to direct is for the Formal shots, otherwise, I prefer people to just enjoy the day as it is their Wedding, and not a full day Photo shoot. After this, it all fell into place and Melissa walked down the aisle and enjoyed her day.
During the Ceremony, having an assistant shooter was great! With the help of Jason, we were able to capture multi-angle shots. At times he remained up top, and I stayed down below, and we switched occasionally also. It was strange however that despite already having discussed with the vicar about Photography, he made announcements during the Ceremony “No Photography”. This put both me and Jason in an awkward position as we didn’t have time to clarify if he was actually talking to us, however, all I knew is that Melissa and Steven had paid me cover the ceremony, so I carried on shooting. I was more aware and cautious of the fact the Vicar had made that announcement, so I set my camera to Quiet-Shutter for the first time ever, and then found out it’s not even quiet! It’s just slower in how it makes its noise :S
After the ceremony, we went outside and it was a ‘no brainer’ for where I was going to do the group shots. I had to do it right in front of the Church with the massive Pillars. I am a sucker for Pillars. There were also a few steps which would help elevate some people at the back to avoid any people being blocked by the person in front.
We knocked out the shots very quickly, surprisingly quick in fact. I had warned Melissa beforehand that it’s difficult to predict how long the formal shots will take, it just depends on how the guests co-operate. There have been Weddings where ‘Grandad’ has disappeared and no-where to be found and the shot cannot be done without him. Obstacles like that do slow things down. I only had a 30min Window to capture these shots as I needed time for a few Portraits of them after, but this Wedding went amazingly smooth. So smooth that we added more random group shots to fill-up the time.
I pre-visited the reception venue earlier in the week and had spoken to someone at the Venue, and they informed me that a lot of the outside areas would be blocked off. So there were not many options for Portrait shoot locations, so I decided to get as much as I can outside the Church Venue.
At this point, it was socialising and mingling for the guests. Jason and I were just trying to stay out of the scene and let it all pan out and capture all the candid moments.
During this time, me and Jason also went around capturing the details. I absolutely LOVE this Cake Topper! It looks JUST LIKE THEM! lol
The meal began, and Melissa & Steven graciously sat us amongst the guests. It was nice to be sat amongst the family and friends, with everyone being so welcoming.
When it was time for the speeches, it was time to get back to work! My god the speeches were funny…
As a Wedding Photographer, you hear a lot of jokes, but these speeches were hilarious! Probably a bit to crude for me to repeat them, but the one joke that sticks out in my head was the David Beckham Calendar lol! Anyone who was there listening to the speech will know what I mean lol… They rolled on this David Beckham obsession and brought out a life sized David Beckham stand. Btw, when I’m referring to a David Beckham obsession, it is the Steven that has this obsession. I know most of the readers will assume I’m referring to Melissa lol…
After a gorgeous meal, a couple of drinks, some funny speeches, they cut the cake and we went for some silly pictures outside with this David Beckham stand lol…
When it came to the first dance, their song came on, and my more youthful side wanted to scream out “CHOON!!!” lol… K-Ci & Jojo – All My Life. I am well-known amongst my peers that I am no doubt, and R&B head. I love R&B…
Melissa & Steven looked so happy during the first dance. I always shoot my First Dance pictures with a 50mm f/1.4G lens. First Dances are done in low-light, and when shooting at f/2 or faster, the Bokeh (out of focus areas) just looks so much more pleasing. It gives a nice separation from the guests surrounding them, and you can really focus in on the couple.
I always shoot them using the rule of thirds, so I throw the couple off to one side of the frame for a bit more of a cinematic feel.
Sometimes the first dance can be quite challenging to shoot, as they dance and move a lot in a circle, and it’s sometimes really hard to capture a smile from both Bride & Groom whilst looking at each other. Sometimes I can only get the back of the Grooms head whilst the Bride smiles. It just depends on what moments pop up and how much space I have to run around. With Melissa & Steven’s First Dance, it was challenging as there were kids sitting on the floor around them, however they made it easy for me as they were both just looking so happy throughout the entire dance.
I have since added Melissa & Steven on Facebook and we still keep in touch. I’m happy to see that we can keep in touch beyond their Wedding and I do now consider them friends of mine. I have seen some of the Wedding pics from their guests after I had left the Wedding and there was one funny picture of them all on the floor rowing the boat lol… I wish I got that shot! Lol
Both Melissa & Steven were very welcoming to me throughout this entire process. From the moment I was invited into their home to discuss their Wedding Day, until the moment I delivered the photos to them. You can tell they are both genuinely good people through and through and I am sincerely wishing them all the best for the future.
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