A Week To Go .....and BREATHE!

A week before their Big Day, and Tori and I met up with Cassy and Paul for their pre-wedding shoot. This is part of our standard full-day package, and it includes an online gallery of edited images and a complimentary mounted print.

 

We normally do these shoots around a month before the wedding, but have learned to be flexible.....Paul's job restricts his availability, and the weather hadn't been co-operative, so we were, on this occasion, keeping fingers crossed that the shoot could go ahead. The gods smiled.....

The venue was new ground for all of us. I'd met Cassy for two planning meetings (again, a standard part of our wedding photography offer) and, when we were discussing locations for the pre-wedding shoot, she'd mentioned that she had something of a penchant for low bridges. Assuming that she wasn't referring to railways and roads, and knowing something of the geography of Hampshire, I googled the River Anton - a chalk stream/river that's a tributary of the River Test and which flows through Andover, close to the couple's home. Within a few minutes, I'd been offered Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve; as well as the river - complete with required footbridges - the reserve holds a pair of sizeable lakes, lots of autumnal colours and a variety of wildlife. It sounded ideal.

So what's the pre-wedding shoot about? It means different things to different photographers, but for us it's primarily about the couple getting used to us with cameras in our hands. On this occasion, only Cassy and I had met before, so it was also a way of the four of us getting to know each other. Don't under-estimate the importance of this; without this shoot, the first time we'd have met Paul would have been in his hotel room a couple of hours before the wedding. Not the most relaxed setting....

This close to the wedding, the occasion offered Cassy and Paul an opportunity to relax and take some time out from the stresses and worries of planning and organising their big day. As you'll see when we post our account of the wedding day, a lot of thought and hard work had gone into achieving their vision - they both deserved an hour or so away from it all.



And, of course, we might be able to provide them with some nice relaxed, informal engagement portraits.....





Tori and I both enjoyed stepping into unfamiliar territory. We're already talking about going back to do a nature-photo walk next spring. And we've got somewhere else to offer wedding clients for their pre-wedding shoots...

Related links: http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/resident/communityandleisure/naturereserves/rooksbury-mill-local-nature-reserve-andover/

Hannah & Paul: The Pre-Wedding Shoot

The pre-wedding shoot is included in our one-price wedding
package. As with today's shoot, with Hannah and Paul, this takes place around six weeks before The Day, and is a relaxed way for the couple to get to know Tori and me, and for us to get to know them and their photographic likes and dislikes.
 
As a rule, the shoot takes place either indoors or at a location of the couple's choice (within a reasonable distance of Basingstoke); today we were shooting in my outdoor studio (Down Grange, Basingstoke) which has a variety of locations within walking distance of each other, three car parks, and a Toby Carvery (with a bar!).

Otto regards Down Grange as his personal estate, so it was natural that he should come with us; it was equally natural - from Hannah and Paul's point of view - that he should appear in a few of the photos...can't guarantee that he'll be available for every shoot, but if a couple should want to include their own dog - well...don't see why not.

I was pleased with the series of photos we did in this mini-grove of trees. It was something I'd visualised when walking Otto over there, and, once armed with a vision, there followed a series of technical decisions concerning lens choice, optimum aperture, and lighting to turn that vision into reality.

Hannah & Paul - best wishes for the run-up to your wedding. We're looking forward to playing our part on the big day.