Great to hear you point of view!

Best,

Zoë

Nice article, but I disagree totally.

As a professional photographer, when I meet with prospective brides across the country, the vast majority nowadays worry most about being away from their guests for too long at any part of their big day.

Years ago (and occassionally nowadays I hear) the photographer kept the guests and bride and groom hanging about for hours on end while he / she ‘performed’. Everyone was desperate for a drink, starving hungry, dying for the loo, freezing cold / boiling hot….

Thank goodness, the majority of professional creative wedding photographers dispensed with that years ago ……

My own ‘groups’ photography takes a maximum of 10 minutes, and often just 5 minutes. My time with the bride and groom, on our own is for a maximum of 15 minutes, and (almost) always between the ‘down-time’ between the celebrations of the day and the evening.

By then, they have relaxed, they have the speeches and the ‘structure’ of the day out of the way, and they are chilled, receptive and happy to set aside some time for themselves, and the opportunity for the bride to top up her make-up and for the groom to straighten his tie is always welcome.

There are, of course, some couples, and some photographers who deserve each other, who want to spend a couple of hours preening and massaging each other’s ego’s, but for the majority of my brides and grooms, they wish for professional, creative photography, captured naturally, with no real pauses or breaks in their day where their main aim nowadays is chilling out, having a fantastic, relaxed wedding celebration surrounded by family and friends.

That’s how I can create outstanding images, blending in with everybody and capturing the atmosphere and fun of the ocassion.

I believe that arranging any formal photography at the beginning of the day is un-necesary and an additional burdon on the bride and groom and their families, who just want to get on with their great day.

Dirk van der Werff