Pre Wedding Shoot? Why?
Pre-wedding photo shoots are a session that you book with your photographer a couple of months before the wedding. In the last few years, more couples book a pre-wedding shoot, and they will often use their images to add an extra personal touch to their wedding.
It is also a chance for the couple to get together with their wedding photographer in the run up to the big day, usually at a venue of their choice, and to have some portrait photos taken.
So what is the purpose of a pre-wedding shoot?
There are a few good reasons, and here's some of them:
GET TO KNOW YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER
- You have the chance to get to know your photographer so you are more comfortable spending a large portion of your wedding day with them.
- You can talk to your photographer about your likes and dislikes and they can get an idea of how you work with the camera, and how subtle or intrusive they should be on your wedding day.
- You can experience your photographer in action and make sure you have made the right choice before your wedding day.
- You can have some beautiful and natural images taken of you and your fiance looking like yourselves rather than like a bride and groom. Your pre wedding photos can be taken in a more casual setting than your wedding venue such as your home, a park, or the beach.
SHAKE OFF THAT CAMERA NERVES
If you are not used to be in front of camera all the time, then you will have a small chance getting a bit nervous when it comes to doing couple shots. Suddenly, you are not sure where to put your hands, where to look, or whether how big a smile you should have on your face. Doing a pre-wedding shoot will allow you to get "comfortable" with your photographer, getting to know how each other "work", will secure a lot of great photos on the wedding day.
GET A HAIR & MAKE UP TRIAL
Brides often get a make-up and hair trial with the make up artist they booked, so it is no better time to actually test what the make up looks like on screen. You’ll get to see how you’ll look in professional photos, and advise your style team if you want any adjustments made for your wedding.
CREATE A PERSONALISED WEDDING GUEST BOOK
You’ve probably seen them before at weddings – a plain guestbook with ruled lines and not much else. Why not create a beautiful personalised signature guest book with images from your pre-wedding shoot? You can create a stunning hard-cover photo guestbook with images from your pre-wedding shoot, with your names embossed on the cover. I love watching the guests crowd around these at wedding receptions, writing their messages and flipping through the whole book. The signature guest book becomes a keepsake which you can flip through and remember your day and the well-wishes of the people who were with you.
DISPLAY AT YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION
You can make a selection of your most favourite photos printed out in display around the reception, or put in a slide show with some nice music in between a break time to keep your guests entertained, when you need to change your gown, or be away for a while to take the couple shots with your photographer.
PERSONALISED YOUR INVITATIONS & SAVE THE DATE CARDS
It makes a good keep sake for your families and friends to remember your special day, the special touch will surely impressed your guests. I do stationary designs too, so please ask if you are interested in them and I will bring some samples when we do our initial meeting.
Tips: Do the pre-wedding shoot a few months before the wedding, so you have enough breathing room before your wedding, so that you are not stressed and leave more than enough time to put everything together and into print for sending out.
GUIDE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER
Everyone works a bit differently, so it is a good time to show the photographer what you like and don't. So your photographer can focus on taking the kind of images you like on your wedding day. This will help ensure you get the photos you expected on the day.
TOP TIPS:
Here are three top tips on getting the most from your pre wedding photo shoot:
- Pre wedding shoots are usually booked for a weekday as wedding photographers’ time is at a premium at weekends. Try to take at least an afternoon off work so you aren’t rushed and stressed trying to pull the shoot in during your lunch break.
- Ask if you can have a disk of the images taken to use however you wish. I offer all the best shots with a link to download, and you can use however you wanted to. The photos can then be used on your wedding invitations, your guest book, as a slide show at your reception, or as a large canvas print for your guests to sign.
- See if you can have your pre wedding shoot at your wedding venue so the pictures are thematically linked to your wedding and you can use the time to seek out perfect photo locations and get to know the venue.
MY RATE
Our pre-wedding shoot price starts at £250 for half-day (4 hours), including 7 images with high resolutions touch-up. If you need more than 7 images to be edited, the first extra three images is £30, and extra single photo thereafter is £5 each.
