During the winter months, ButtercupBus VW campers HQ generally restore the fleet ready for the spring, along with taking part in lots of wedding promotional activity and events. We have been talking to lots of brides and grooms and know how much planning goes into that special day.
Today, we have a guest blog post from the super talented Surrey wedding photographer duo, Matt and Brenda at Foden Photography. Not only have they shared some of their stunning wedding photos with us, but also passed on some very wise words to couples planning their wedding. My favorite tip is number 5… check it out:
It is well worth investing in a good wedding photographer – you have one chance to capture that special day!
Post by Matt and Brenda @ Foden Photography
One of the really cool things about photographing a LOT of weddings is that you pick up a lot of tips about making your big day even more special. We’ve observed a lot of weddings, and spoken with a lot of couples about the wedding planning process and these are our top five wedding planning tips:
- Meet your suppliers– Ok, so it may not be possible to meet ALL your suppliers before booking them, but its absolutely essential to personally meet the key ones- such as your DJ, florists, photographers, videographers and wedding car suppliers. To give you an example, you may love the look of those flowers on a website, but how can you gauge the florists’ level of service without meeting them in person? Its important to book suppliers that are not only capable and professional, but also likeable.
- Trust your instincts- An analytical and practical approach to selecting your suppliers and organising your wedding is useful- most of the time. At other times, however, it can just get in the way. For example, when looking at a wedding venue it absolutely makes sense to consider practical things first, such as cost, venue capacity etc. However, at some point you really should trust your instincts too. When we found our wedding venue we knew instinctively that it was the right place for us. It was based on a feeling, an instinct. Your wedding day is one of the most emotional days of your life, so it’s very important to take your feelings, as well as practicalities, into account. Trust those instincts folks!
Trust your instincts!
- Spend a reasonable percentage of your budget on photography- ok, so as photographers we’re quite biased about this. I won’t deny that. But I genuinely think that wedding photography is really, really important. It’s your lasting record of the biggest day of your life. I’ve heard of couples spending tens of thousands of pounds on a wedding venue only to ask their Uncle Bob (a keen amateur photographer) to shoot their wedding photos for free. Most of the time such couples end up regretting this decision. Successfully shooting a wedding takes a lot of skill and experience. Please don’t leave this to chance. Invest in decent photography.
I know that my iphone would certainly fall short of taking a stunning picture like this!
- It’s your day– this is your wedding day, not your parents or friends. And whilst it’s fine to take into account the wishes of family, we really do believe that each couple should have the wedding that THEY want. Don’t feel bad about this. Don’t apologise. Be a little selfish J
- Take 10 minutes out of your day to be with your husband/wife– weddings are awesome. They’re fun. BUT they also go by in a flash. We’ve been at a few weddings now where the bride and groom have deliberately set aside 10 minutes to spend together on their own away from all their guests. It’s a great opportunity to just be together and reflect quietly on your wedding day.
Top tip: Take 10 minutes out of your day to just be with each other
About Matt and Brenda
Matt and Brenda Foden run Foden Photography, and shoot weddings across the UK in a style that combines documentary and fine art photography. They are based in Purley in Surrey.
Well, the ButtercupBus gang is really looking forwards to working with this lovely husband and wife dream team – we have both been booked for weddings in 2015. Smiles all the way!!!
How did they manage to capture this photo? Great work Matt and Brenda!