Getting Married in 2025? How to Pick a Photographer

Your wedding day is one of the most significant moments of your life, and capturing you in all your current glory is essential so that you may have fond memories when you look back at the imagery in years to come. As you plan for your special day in 2025, one of the most crucial decisions you will make is choosing the right photographer. In a saturated market filled with options, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. However, when it comes to timeless photographs that reflect the true essence of your love story, quality should always trump quantity. I feel it’s important to capture every moment of a wedding day - in a candid and natural style, ensuring that your organic and natural moments and memories shared on the day, do last a lifetime.

Why Cheap Isn't Always Best

In the age of social media, it's tempting to rely on Instagram and other platforms to find a wedding photographer. However, while scrolling through countless feeds may provide some much needed inspiration, it's important to remember that cheap work is not likely to be the best work - and whilst a quality wedding photographer may seem expensive at the time, your wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and cutting corners on photography could mean compromising on the quality of your memories. Money where my mouth is, I believe in investing in excellence - cutting back on things that don’t matter and investing in the things that do matter to you. Ensuring that every photograph you receive tells a story you'll cherish for years to come.

The Power of Reviews

Don’t be mistaken, when it comes to choosing a wedding photographer, word of mouth reigns supreme. While Instagram may showcase curated portfolios, the best photographers rely on recommendations and referrals from satisfied clients. Take the time to ask friends, family, and colleagues for their experiences and recommendations. Personal endorsements offer insight into the photographer's professionalism, creativity, and ability to capture the unique essence of each couple's love story. This is why reviews are so important! Again, Quality over Quantity. Let Google be your friend!

Contracts and Follow-Up Meetings

Once you've narrowed down your options, it's crucial to establish clear communication and expectations with your chosen photographer. A detailed contract outlining the scope of services, timelines, and deliverables is essential for peace of mind and clarity. For my company, I like to stay professional, and I prioritize transparency and dependability, ensuring that every aspect of our partnership is outlined and agreed upon from the outset. Additionally, follow-up meetings provide an opportunity to discuss logistics, shot lists, and any special requests, ensuring that your vision is brought to life flawlessly. Despite what people may say, your wedding really doesn’t have to look like the Bride Wars movie.

Personal Touches and Attention to Detail

A high-end wedding photographer understands that it's not just about capturing moments; it's about creating an experience that reflects the unique personalities of the bride and groom. From the initial consultation to the final delivery of your photographs, personal touches and attention to detail are everything. I know I go above and beyond to forge meaningful connections with my couples, ensuring that every shot is infused with emotion, authenticity, and intimacy. If it doesn’t feel like ‘them’… it’s not!

Booking Early for 2025 Weddings

In the competitive world of wedding photography, early planning is key. With 2025 weddings expected to be in high demand, it's advisable to book out photography at least six months before your wedding date. This allows ample time to secure your preferred photographer, discuss your vision, and finalize details without feeling rushed or pressured. By planning ahead, you can rest assured knowing that every aspect of your photography is in capable hands.

Quality Over Quantity

In today's digital age, it's easy to get caught up in the allure of hundreds of unedited photos. However, when it comes to your wedding day, nobody should want to receive 1000 unedited photographs. If a photographer is advertising a number of images as the main event - they are probably not confident in their photographs. I always deliver a carefully curated selection of images that tell the story of your special day and I try to do this in its purest form. I have a meticulous editing process that ensures each photo is as good as can be, to be worthy of being displayed and cherished for generations to come.

Key Takeaways

As you embark on the journey of planning your 2025 wedding, remember that choosing the right photographer is an investment, not a cost - and that your grandchildren and children will value the memories for generations to come. With me, as a Director of Good Times at your wedding, I hope you can trust that every moment will be captured with precision, passion, and unparalleled commitment. From the first consultation to the final delivery, with my Lens On Backwards (kidding!) I am committed to exceeding your expectations and immortalizing the magic of your love story. Don't settle for anything less than extraordinary. Book me and let’s have some fun!!

A Great Wedding: How you feel, not how you look!

Weddings are one of the biggest; financial, emotional and spiritual events a couple will plan on their long-lasting journey together. However, photo nerves are real. And wedding day anxiety is really no joke. You might be wondering if I can make you look like Jennifer Lopez? or Brad Pitt? or even just your cousin. Instead, I just want you to be you on your wedding day.

I'm hoping this article helps you to remember that when you're worried about not having a six-pack in pictures, there will be pictures of you after the wedding, too. Your children and grandchildren will come to know you as you are. So you might as well be the person they recognise on your wedding day. Those things said, below I’ve listed 5 ways to ensure you become a badass on camera!

1. Be present

First things first, good photos require presence and presence requires you to be feeling a wealth of emotions. My advice to all new Brides & Grooms is to worry less about how you're going to look on the big day and worry more about how you're going to feel on the big day. Retain some ounce of confidence that your perfect and absolutely banging body will do just fine on camera!

2. Embrace the engagement 

If I had one piece of advice, I would say, don’t let your wedding day become bigger than you. Be yourself. Your body, mind and soul are beautiful enough for somebody to choose to spend eternity with (willingly) - so you don’t need to make big changes to your body, mind or soul for any 'big day'. You already know, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded. Everyone has an opinion, but the only opinions that should matter are yours and your SO. Grooms, please express your thoughts. Brides, please share your thoughts as well. Let every day of your engagement be as big as the big day - a beautiful chapter of your life that is sometimes so short and fleeting, you blink and it's gone. Celebrate it! Often, looking ahead at the wedding, you forget to be present, so stop, take a moment. Being present is the most romantic thing you can ever do! 

3. Compromise

This isn’t Instagram. And if it was, it would be grateful to you for sharing such authentic, real, content. The flowers you want might not be in season, your budget might not stretch to that of your friends or families. Your final cake may not be what you had in mind. Your family might decide things you wish they didn’t. You may feel shame, and embarrassment, even anger sometimes. However, in the end, all that will matter is - that you made financial, emotional and spiritual boundaries together - which set you up for a lasting marriage. A good photo is made by the moments that are filled without regret. Choices will be made throughout, and you will both need to make peace with them. The picture of a blushing bride and the Dashing Groom you had in your mind may be holding you back. Life isn’t Instagram. But if it was, your final wedding is a dream somebody else will have to compromise. Embrace it. 

4. The tough ones & traditions

Sometimes relatives and relationships are more complicated than we’d like. Messy. Non-idyllic, downright wrong. And sometimes they’re just missed. And when we don’t have the person walking us down the aisle that we’d envisioned, or the friends to fill the space or the shoes of a Best man or groomsman, we can have an identity crisis. You might get upset that you’re not where you thought you’d be in life at this stage or feel selfish being happy when there has been death or disease present in your life. You might have lost the support of people closest to you and it’s easy to lose trust in yourself, or your partner, or feel like you’re not ready for the marriage ahead, with a head full of doubts. However, on your wedding day, it’s important to remember that you’re deserving and you’re the decision maker. You can ALWAYS say no. You can also tailor your special day to exactly what you need it to be and change the format for your day. Write your version. Traditions can be made by whoever decides to make them, and existing traditions that might have made sense years before don’t necessarily make sense for you today. Think about it. 

5. The big day, YOUR way

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there’s a right and wrong way to do things. Trust your gut. It’s the boundaries in your marriage that you’re fighting for. So let this big day go YOUR way! If you don’t want to go into debt to have everyone eating food they won’t like, don’t. Organise a BringYourOwn picnic or brunch. If the venue charges too much for corkage, toast with orange juice or mocktails. Having pictures like everybody else's won’t matter as much when you look back on your album and all you can remember is how much you hated champagne, but paid £3k for everyone else to toast with it and not drink it. It's hard not to, but don’t get caught up in a game of Simon Says. Instead, do what you’d do. If you don’t have £5k to spend on a watch for your husband’s present? Don't. Gift manuka honey to your honey-loving husband, with a note saying ‘you’re sweet’ instead. If your best men don’t wear cufflinks, get them a personalised bottle opener from Etsy. It makes more sense. The people who support you will emerge. Other people might scoff, some might clap, some might be inspired, and some might be jealous they didn’t think of that! But when you look back at your photos, you’ll remember the details that you decided for yourself, and your confidence and conviction in your decision-making will show in the pictures. Everyone else will be there to celebrate you, so you should be too!

Doing this may not be a cure-all for anxiety, but it can certainly help you live your best life.

If you have any questions or would like to change an aspect of your day, send me a message. 

Go get ‘em!

Amber 

xoxo