Perfect day - perfect memories

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined... to strengthen each other... to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories."

George Eliot
English novelist (1819 - 1880)

Dear Kate,

We both wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for our beautiful wedding album and parent albums. They have definitely been the icing on the cake following our very special and awesome day. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face looking through the album as it brought back so many wonderful and happy memories. We were truly blown away by all the finishing touches...the case for our album, the calendar, the little book from you. Both of us said we were over the moon that we picked you as you really delivered well beyond our expectations. Thank you Kate, for everything!

All the best, Wendy and Wayne

"They are absolutely beautiful, I am thrilled..."

Another beautiful Queensberry Album delivered to its home, together with two digital copies for parents.
The digital copies - 7" x 5" - are faithful replicas of the Feature Album, covered in the same 'Baby Blue' Leather. Each one even features the flip pages which I designed to tell the story of the ceremony on one spread. Delivered in their own soft bags they are the perfect gift for parents.

There is nothing to beat Queensberry's quality. Expensive? Yes. But you get what you pay for. I guess I could offer my clients cheaper covers, mass market binding systems and standard size images and layouts. But I don't give my clients average quality work so why put it in an average quality album?

Close ups of the Baby Blue Leather cover - really soft and feely - embossed with my clients' names and wedding date; the Feature Album pages to show the page mounting of the photos (ivory mat on grey page); the first page, which has all the key details of the wedding day; the edges of the album pages, beautifully finished to last a lifetime of handling.

And also in my camera bag.....

It was INCREDIBLY hot on Saturday, and in south London - Dulwich to be precise - the heat was on and over 32 degrees by the time the suited and booted men of the bridal party had begun to gather at the church. The Best Man was mopping his brow almost as much as the nervous Bridegroom!

The humidity inside the chapel was very high and the beautiful orders of service were put to good use as fans by the guests.

It was not surprising to find that my camera bag was raided for a number of crucial items as the day wore on: water for the bride and groom after the ceremony, pain-killers (for dehydration headaches), sun tan cream, and last but not least plasters to cushion hot and swollen bruised feet!

The wedding was wonderful - an eclectic mix of Japanese, Scottish and English with guests from around the world converging on Dulwich College for the celebrations. The heat of the day turned into a balmy evening with a cool breeze and guests taking a break from dancing spilled out into the floodlit College grounds.

Latest Publicity - Wedding Venues & Services

Tilly and Christian's perfect summer tea party is featured in the latest edition of Wedding Venues and Services. Tilly is a professional Lady Golfer, so not surprisingly the tables had a golfing theme!


The wedding took place at the exclusive Buckinghamshire venue of Poundon House - in the open air. Tilly planned her wedding in only eight weeks, although I was aware of the date for a little longer, as I had photographed Christian's sister's wedding four years previously at Woburn!
Christian and Tilly can be seen further down in my posts under 'Capturing Perfect Moments'. That image not only headlines the magazine article, but will feature on the front cover of their album - currently in the final stages of production.

Latest Queensberry Album

I've just said 'goodbye' to my latest Queensberry Album. Absolutely gorgeous. Cover in Twilight Silk (the most vivid deep blue - stunning), ivory mats and delicate mist to surround the photos.

Hand-made to order for me in New Zealand - mine for a brief moment then - whoosh! - out the door, and on its way by courier to Chantal and Mark. Their wedding was in Shrewsbury Castle and was a wonderful day of laughter - even the formal groups were fun. This shot made the album!

Fun in Manchester

The Spring weather makes everything much more fun. Just returned from my second pre-wedding meeting of the week - this one was with Wendy and Wayne in Manchester.

After discussing the details of their day (Scarborough in August), we went out and about and found some great locations for their pre-wedding shoot. I think they enjoyed it as much as I did. Here's one of the shots to be going on with.

Really looking forward to your wedding, guys!

Advice on Choosing Your Wedding Photographer. Recent Publicity - Wedding Venues & Services

Featuring one of my favourite informal photos from Elissa and Michael's wedding, I contributed to a piece in this summer's Wedding Venues & Services magazine: Ask the Expert

What interested me most on reading it was that all five of us featured - some of the top names in the wedding photography world - gave essentially the same advice to prospective clients seeking to choose a wedding photographer:

See at least two complete recent weddings; you get what you pay for in photography - the better the photographer the more they charge;

see client testimonials as well as wedding photography; check experience, & whether the photographer is full or part time;

check they have client liability insurance (an absolute must have);

choose someone you get on well with;

look for passion and emotion in the images;

choose a reportage photographer with great care, not all 'reportage' images are flattering - make sure they can also take the other type of shots that matter e.g. groups, lovely portraits of the couple.

In terms of trends, each of us picked our own trend, but I agree with all of them:

1. Image manipulation - there is currently a fashion for heavily manipulated, fashion style images.

Whilst I think this can work well for a portrait shoot, for a wedding I offer this style to clients on one or two photos only from the hundreds taken. I prefer wedding photography to be 'real' rather than fake, to tell the story of the day. When I do show such an image I usually recommend that it is a stand alone image, rather than one put in the album.

2. The best of both worlds - Not just reportage or portraiture.

More Brides are realising that posed photographs don't have to be stiff and formal and that reportage shots aren't necessarily relaxed! The best photographers are combining both, I certainly do.

3. Trash the Dress - the big trend coming in from the USA.

This is becoming more and more popular both with my existing clients and with Brides who have used other photographers for their wedding.

4. The importance of the classic wedding album

Digital only packages are popular, but invariably clients realise that a wedding album is more than a collection of photos - it's an heirloom, and a repository of their memories of an extra-special day.

Funky fun!

One of the great things about a Love Your Dress shoot is that you can have a lot of fun trying out different 'looks' so that you have a wide choice of photos from the classically beautiful to the funky and fun.

I adore photographing weddings, but on a portrait shoot I also get the one thing I don't get at a wedding: plenty of time! On the wedding day itself, the most important thing is to capture the real day, and to spend time with the Bride & Groom judiciously so that they get stunning photos but don't feel that their day was turned into a full scale photo-shoot. Unless we can build in a lot of time prior to the ceremony, the portraiture time afterwards is usually about the couple, not the dress, so a Love Your Dress (or if you feel like living dangerously a Trash Your Dress) shoot is the perfect opportunity for us both to relax and have fun, without any pressure.

Recently, Emma and I had a fabulous afternoon doing just that at a variety of locations. We did some classic shots as a bit of a 'warm up' and then moved on to more adventurous pictures. Emma's stunning Vera Wang dress had the chance for another outing before being finally packed away.

She's still choosing her favourite photos which we intend to put at the end of an album with the photos from her wedding in Australia.

Recent publicity - You & Your Wedding

Lindsey and Adam were married in a stunning chateau in France, and although overseas weddings are on the increase the bespoke ones exporting a UK-based photographer (and in this case disco too!) are still quite rare. Not surprisingly, such an unusual day became a feature wedding in one of the UK's top Bridal magazines.

Lindsey and Adam were fantastic clients to work with - very organised with their preparations (essential if you're going to travel abroad to get married) and very calm throughout the action-packed weekend. Even the unexpected rain, which meant that the ceremony had to be moved inside at short notice left them unfazed.

The lovely thing about overseas weddings from a photographic perspective is the opportunity to take photos in completely different light to the type we usually get in the UK. A real treat!

The basic ingredients of the celebration are also a bit out of the ordinary - from the way the table is laid, the flowers arranged, or the cake is presented.

See more photos of the day in the wedding portfolio section of my site:

http://www.katehampton.com/wedding_portfolio.html

Choosing your wedding photographer

Congratulations, you're engaged! Most couples know what they're looking for when considering venues, the food and even any entertainment, but the choice of photographer can seem daunting as it's unfamiliar territory for most people. Photographers don't follow any set patterns when setting fees or 'packages' so couples often find it difficult to make direct comparisons. Here are a few pointers:

The first thing to do is to agree what you are both looking for at the end of the process. If one of you is expecting complete coverage of the day with all the details recorded but the other is just expecting a few group shots, then you need to do some talking before you start looking! Some couples want a professional, reliable record of the day but they do not want to spend too much time being photographed. For others, the photography is crucially important and an integral part of the day. Are you expecting a stunning set of portraits of the two of you (you'll need to allocate time out of your day for this), or is that less important than one or two nice shots as long as the emotions of the day are captured? Or, do you want both?

Once you are agreed on this, viewing photographers’ on line portfolios for quality and style is the next stage. However, galleries represent the photographer’s best work, so it is important to see whole weddings to see how their style is transferred across the different requirements of the day. Do this when you meet or ask to be sent a Portfolio CD if whole weddings aren't available to view on line. Wedding couples and guests are not on a photo shoot, but there to celebrate the day and party, so if you're looking for a photo journalistic style of coverage then you should check out the photographers' ability to capture those fleeting moments and your guests enjoying themselves.

Got your short list? Talk to them on the phone and meet if possible. You will be spending a lot of time with your photographer on your wedding day and so you should ensure you like them. Are they professional in their approach to you? Do you feel they will put you first or are you just another gig?

Finally you will need to think about your album, and of course your budget. The price of wedding photography often surprises prospective wedding clients, but wedding photography is a skill and the best can command high prices. Ultimately you and your fiance have to decide on the importance of high quality wedding photography to you, and consider whether it is a price worth paying.

The Queensberry Album

Why an album? Why Queensberry?

Having just come off the phone to a prospective client who was dubious about why they might want to pay for an album I thought it might be worth posting a few thoughts on the subject.

In this digital age almost anyone feels they can take photos - which is wonderful, as photos are perfect ways of reminding us of past events, emotions and friends. So it is with a wedding. However, these days photos often stay on the computer - hundreds and hundreds of them. But an album, especially a beautifully constructed wedding album will outlast the computers, to be passed on through the generations. It has a wonderful physical presence: just by turning the pages you can re-live the day quietly on your own, or share it with others.

I have included Queensberry Albums with my wedding packages almost from the beginning. There are many album suppliers on the market, and Queensberry certainly aren't the cheapest, but they produce bespoke albums of the highest quality. I can design a client's album around the pictures they choose - no preordained sizes for the photos, and each design is unique. The albums are classic without being traditional and most importantly for an heirloom that must last, durable and timeless. Their pricing also makes them pretty exclusive, but they really are worth the extra.

I'm in the middle of finalising this album for a lovely client who's wedding day I was privileged to record last year - mostly in the pouring rain! I'm at the ordering stage, having just been given design approval. It will be 15" square, with a Navy leather cover. The wedding invitation will be mounted into the album on the first page and the photos will be cut and hand-assembled in the album onto mist (cream) pages surrounded by an ivory mat. Stunning! A gorgeous permanent record of a beautiful day.

Love your dress - it's not too late!

Celebrate the beauty of your wedding dress.

At a recent wedding, one of the guests came up to me in tears. She was very complimentary about my unobtrusive style - her tears were for the photos of her own wedding several years previously. She hadn't taken as much care as she should have done in selecting her photographer, and the bolshy male she employed left such a negative impression that she couldn't even bring herself to look at the proofs, let alone order any prints. All they reminded her was of him. It's always distressing for me to hear such stories - unfortunately all too common. However, I do have a solution. The Trash Your Dress trend is sweeping in from the States. Not as drastic as it sounds, it is an opportunity to have the fashion style photos of you in your dress that you didn't manage to get on the day. My style is more of a 'Love your Dress' experience. It's never too late. This time, just enjoy wearing your dress - either with, or without your husband.