What is your most memorable wedding?
Easy - the lovely Kelly & Justin at the Dovecliffe Hall Hotel. A great couple anyway but the horse and carriage and helicopter just makes it a standout one. The guests and the venue too all combined to make it a special day.
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Engaging, romantic, documentary, modern, flexible
What about your business are you most proud of?
The level of professional service we provide at an affordable cost. Two experienced photographers with comprehensive kit, fully insured full coverage on the day for less than £1,000 represents excellent value.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Book everything early - including us! Time flies by when you're preparing for a wedding and when we get together with our couples maybe a month before it's always the more prepared ones that are happy and enjoying the whole experience rather than stressing over the details.
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
It was actually a wedding I attended rather than photographed. At my god-daughter's wedding, the couple gave each couple a little pouch containing some annual flower bulbs that we would be able to plant and be reminded of them every year. A lovely touch.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
At the first contact we discuss the wedding overall and show some of our previous work so that the couple can appreciate our style and the products we offer. We then offer a pre-wedding shoot and arrange to get together a month or so before the big day so that we can fully understand the schedule, who needs to be where and when. Having scouted the venue(s) we attend the wedding rehearsal to gain an appreciation of the technical aspects of the job, including talking with the person taking the service. After generally a full day photographing the wedding, we post process the images and meet up with the client, usually but not always at their home to present our work. The couple can view the photos online via a secure website to select which images to go into the album. We put the album together in the agreed format and preview the final album with the couple before it goes for printing.
What is the No. 1 photo that you think every couple should take?
I believe every wedding couple should take half an hour out with just their wedding photographer, not only to get 'that photo' that everyone loves and wants a copy of but also because it gives the happy couple a moment's breathing space after the ceremony to be just with each other (and us!). There is always so much for them to talk about and we often get some great informal shots of just the two of them away from the masses. There is usually a signature full length photo opportunity for the couple at most venues - a fountain, a staircase, whatever, that we take because it's the one that stands out in the mind. I've had my own in my lounge for 20 years, just replacing it for my anniversary because it had faded so much. Good job we were still in touch with the photographer!
What is the most original photo you’ve been asked to take at a wedding?
Photographing a couple at Twycross Zoo (yes, they do weddings there) with elephants in the background was pretty original! I've not done that before or since but would love to go back there in anyone's up for it. The penguins are next on my list.....
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
There's a saying at our local Scouts that if it's raining at camp then plan B is the same as plan A, except wetter! Seriously, if you're still up for it then we are. There are some great photographic opportunities available in the rain and I always tell people our gear will put up with worse weather than you or we will! However, of course when we are scouting the venue we have rainy backup locations in mind too. You'd be surprised how many people you can fit into a relatively small space if you're prepared to climb a ladder to get everyone in shot! It's partly why we ask how many people are invited on our wedding form.
Describe how you got into photography.
I've always been a keen photographer although mostly just for my own amusement but I had shot weddings for family members in the past. Andy had photographed weddings in the old film days (sounds scary now!) and we got together after discussing a mutual friend's wedding I had been asked to photograph so much that Andy's wife jokingly suggested we set up in business together - so we did! Our first job (after our friend's wedding) was to photograph and video something like 14,000 bikers doing a charity ride so don't worry about coming a long with a mere couple of hundred! We've both always been people photographers and it's been great to work with various charities and event work but our first love remains wedding and portraits.