WHY MY WEDDING PHOTOS
MEAN SO MUCH TO ME

I’m on the other side of the camera for once.

That’s Me with my wife Laura and stepson Milo at Kuipto Forest on our wedding day.

She looked so beautiful that day. She literally took my breath away. It brought the happiest tears to my eyes.

It was quite the experience for me, after having spent so long looking through the viewfinder.

Even though I’ve been taking photos of people on their happiest of days for the last 5 years I can tell you, on my own wedding day, I learnt so much more than I ever thought I would about wedding photography and why it matters so much to me and my clients.

On January 17th 2020, Laura and I were married in front of 70 of our closest friends and family in Burbrook Forest. We had the most incredible day. Seriously and wholeheartedly the best day of my life.

Laura’s Uncle & Aunt flew over from Northern Ireland, one of my best friends and mentor James and his family came over from New South Wales and celebrated with us. My good industry bud Mike Hemus shot the whole day for us. I’ll list the whole team of legends at the end but point is…

WE HANDED OVER TRUST SO WE COULD INVEST OURSELVES IN THE DAY

We had people offering help left, right and centre. It was amazing. I met our wedding band The Neapolitans at a wedding roughly 3 months before our wedding day and was hooked. So was Laura after I showed her them (I may have twisted her arm a little too!) Having James my mentor meant the world and I really wanted him to take some photographs of me and Laura on the day so he shot our Sunset photos. It made things very personal and meaningful to have him there.

Our reception hosts Lea & David from Clean Slate made that portion of our day completely unforgettable. They’re truly the best hosts I know. Without a doubt. Lea planted Sunflower seeds in her garden about 6 months before our wedding after hearing that Laura loved them. They were in full bloom by the wedding day. Next level.

HOW DID I FEEL ON MY WEDDING DAY?

Even though I’ve been an Adelaide Wedding Photographer for the past 5 years, there were still things that took me by surprise that I didn’t expect.

I didn’t expect to feel waves of emotion at certain points, partly because I’d seen things play out so many times before. Laura and I did a few things that might not be so traditional that I felt really counteracted what I feel can be considered the norm for a wedding day and doing these things heightened the emotion I felt for sure.

We got ready together in the morning. We wrote letters to each other the morning of our wedding and then read them across from one another moments before leaving for the ceremony. We had a first look together too. That was where I shed my first happy tears! The next lot came when I watched Laura walk down the aisle arm in arm with my Step Son Milo.

One of the big feels for us was being so humbled by the attendance of all our guests. I didn’t expect to feel as I still do now…somewhat speechless and unable to find the words to describe what a sight it is to see your tribe all in the one place, cheering for your marriage, supporting it and celebrating that we got together. Wild.

There was one thing that I knew was a given. The day goes by so fast!

how quickly the day goes

Savour every moment. If you’ve been married, you’ve no doubt heard these three words. I think it’s actually harder to do than most realise.

There were so many special moments that I think was impossible to take all of those memories in a hold onto them.

Within a couple of days, my memories blurred into one another. I was still pinching myself that I was married! What the heck! Some memories from the day were still clear as rain.

Like the time I saw Laura in her dress for the first time in front of the sunflowers. Or the walk she did with Milo down the aisle. Or when I may have dragged her down the aisle a little too quickly at the end of our ceremony (and the entrance to our reception. I’m a runner. She wasn’t prepared haha).

How sore my feet were at the end of the day. Being a wedding photographer, I know sore feet. This was a whole new level. That pain was quickly forgotten when Laura and I sat down at the end of the night and enjoyed two special trifles that my Mum made just for us. The best.

My cheeks were so sore from smiling all day. I can’t describe that pain either but you don’t know until it happens to you!

A day after the wedding James and Mike sent through some highlights from the day. Blown away. Beyond the wedding itself, those two messages we received from both of them, were perhaps one of the most incredible moments from our wedding.

THE SURPRISE

I still remember seeing that first photo of Laura. We had a whole bunch of photos from friends who took them at the reception but that first one I got from James of Laura, the strength of the memories instantly came back to me and I genuinely had no idea the power of the emotional impact seeing them would have on me.

That moment of getting those highlights from James and Mike, reliving precious memories was one of the best moments for me outside of the wedding day itself.

It wasn’t long before we had all the photos back from Mike and we were truly blown away. We sat through and watched our slideshow about 10 times straight!

What impressed me most

And of course, it was hand delivered with a nice little gift to go with it.

I’m a photographer myself so wedding photography was always going to be high on my priority list, but what I didn’t fully appreciate was the impact it would have afterwards.

After learning what I did experiencing my own wedding,  I want all of my clients to have the exact same feeling that my Adelaide wedding photographer allowed me to feel.

That feeling that my photographer understands what my wedding photographs will mean to me when I see them for the first time, and the many other times you will look at them in the years to come.

A bit of advice from me

So I thought I’d share my experience of my feelings, for both couples and photographers, and what I hope I can pass on to you about what photography really meant after the wedding.

First, to the couples looking for a wedding photographer.

Maybe you’ve read every photographers ‘about me’ page, that use the same stock words and phrases – ‘precious memories’, ‘treasure forever’, ‘candid and natural’.

Perhaps you feel a bit jaded having read them so many times, that it’s someone trying to cash in on something intangible like a memory, to panic you into investing and playing on your emotions and feelings purely for the purpose of squeezing money from you.

I totally understand where that cynicism grows from. But please keep looking until you find the photographer whose work you love, when you look past the stock phrases, and you see something special, something magical. 

Don’t Skimp on wedding photography.
you wouldn’t do that when you buy a new couch.

Don’t skimp on the photography. Don’t settle. Book someone whose work makes your heart skip a beat when you see a photograph because that’s what you want. Find someone who has an offer so packed full of value that it’s impossible to refuse.

Make sure you contact them early, as the good ones always get booked out early for a reason.

Beg, borrow and steal if you must.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you’ll only look at the photos once.

Don’t ask Uncle Bob to photograph your wedding.
He should be celebrating with you.

Don’t be fooled by people who try and make suggestions of quick and cheap ways to cut your photography budget in half or entertain offers to do it for nothing from friends or family members with ‘really good cameras’.

It’s certainly not crazy to want beautiful photographs of you, of your family and friends, of your day.

Don’t let people tell you it’s a waste of money or time, ignore them if they say you’re spending way too much on your wedding photography.

Having Mike & James there as our photographers was simply one of the best decisions I made (beside the words “yes” and “I do”). Had I booked anyone less brilliant, had I simply ‘settled’, I know I wouldn’t have what I have. They’d simply be “OK” or good enough.

The photos I have make it all real again, they’ve brought back those fading memories and remind us how damn awesome the day was.

I felt also the photos weren’t just for me, so my feelings about being in front of the camera weren’t as relevant as what they will represent to my kids in the future. 

These photographs are our legacy to our family history.

I’ve only ever read news articles about disappointed people who gambled on their wedding photography – and lost. I’ve personally seen this from a client whose photographer decided not to turn up and I came in to save the day.

I guess my last piece of advice to you is…

Go with your heart and make sure you love your photographers work, who they are as people, and if you feel you can connect with them then good photography will follow. I promise you that.

This is why my wedding photos mean so much to me

Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear them! 

Have a look at Mike Hemus’ work here

Have a look at James Day’s work here 

Go check out more of my work here

And here’s our dream team of suppliers who all helped make our day so special and memorable. I’d happily put my own name on the line when recommending each and every one of these fantastic businesses run by even better human beings.

SUIT – OSCAR HUNT
LAURA’S DRESS – THE BRIDE LAB (DESIGNER – WILLOW BY WATERS)
CEREMONY – BURBROOK FOREST
RECEPTION VENUE & ACCOMODATION – CLEAN SLATE EVENTS
FURNITURE HIRE – THE QUEENS QUARTERS AND MASE AGENCY
CATERING – PEARL EVENTS AND CATERING
PHOTOGRAPHY – MIKE HEMUS & JAMES DAY
CELEBRANT – JOSH WITHERS
TIPIS, DANCE FLOOR & RECEPTION LIGHTING – TIPI LANE
BAND/ENTERTAINMENT – THE NEAPOLITANS