This is a page dedicated to all those nitty-gritty questions you are probably dying to know answers to.
Educating you in regards to planning the most exciting day of your lives. Coming from experience I can bring some ideas onto the table that you may or may not even consider prior to reading this. It’s only natural to have lots of questions… it’s not often that you plan a wedding.
Grab a cup of tea or coffee, and enjoy reading,
I am a new Mama! Luca was born in November 2021, and I actually went back to shooting Weddings only 10 weeks later. I am not meeting our couples face to face at the moment, but of course can meet virtually over Zoom! Things may change in late 2022 and 2023 so please reach out as your day approaches.
Unfortunately not. Wedding dates regularly book out on average 12 - 15 months in advance. I give priority and lock in those who pay a deposit fee. The deposit fee is a flat rate of $1000.00. I do my best to let you know when someone else is prospectively looking at booking your date. The only way to certainly book me in is to pay the deposit fee & sign the contract as soon as possible.
Not at all. You do not need to confirm which package you choose at such an early stage. I believe it's important to discuss and plan your schedule together. We can talk about what you think is the best coverage time for your Wedding Day. This does not have to be confirmed until 4-6 weeks prior to your date.
After you have chosen to have me as your photographer, I do my best to keep things nice and simple for you. There are a lot of vendors involved in your Wedding Day, therefore I am open to earlier payments, however, I will not accept payments after your Wedding Day. I require your final payment 2 weeks prior to your date. This will be discussed and confirmed in great detail, and in accordance with your chosen Wedding Package.
If we haven't met up, we will arrange a meeting. I like scheduling our meetings closer to your date, just so that we can chat through all the aspects of your day. If your Wedding is in 15 months from the time you booked me in, I won't meet with you until the 3 month mark. This includes meeting over Zoom.
I will send forth online submission forms that will help you fill out the information I need at a time that suits you. We will chat over email, to finalise your Run Sheet, Vendor information and Family Shot List. This is normally done 6 months before your Wedding.
2 weeks before your Wedding, we will schedule another phone conversation, just to touch base and see how you're feeling/going. After that, you will get an email from me the day before, and I will see you on the day!
I am very used to working on my own, and rarely do I work alongside a Second Photographer. Having said that, they come in handy if you have more than 120+ guests, as most of the time, I do not have a chance to pop down to photograph canapés, or guest portraits, as this falls during the time of our portrait location shoot. I do not allow my Second Photographers to shoot anything on their own, unless it is the above.
I like to capture the Groom & Bride preparation as well as the styling components of the Reception/Party and/or Ceremony myself. It is a requirement however, to book an assistant or Second Photographer for rural Weddings, or days where a lot of travel occurs. I always recommend getting ready as close to your venue as possible. From experience, this makes a huge difference on the day, to help with keeping things as relaxed and stress free as possible for everyone involved. A Second Photographer comes in two options as an add on & prices are highlighted in our Guidebook.
As a creative person, I love going into a wedding without having any expectations or preplanned ideas. As every wedding & couple is unique, I find that if anything is predetermined for your photos, we may miss the opportunity to create real moments together.
You also never know what the sun/weather/light is going to be doing at any time on any given day (especially in Melbourne). Somewhere you may have thought wouldn’t work well for photos, may have this amazing window of light at a specific moment, and vice versa. I tend to follow the light, and therefore it's easier to choose a generalised location, and trust me on the day to choose what is the best spot for the quality of your photographs.
Yes of course I do. These sessions are great because it gives us both a chance to get to know each other a little more before your wedding day. These usually take about 1 hour and the best time to start is just before the sunset begins. Or - as I call it - MAGIC HOUR. You will receive about 30 – 50 edited photos in high resolution, presented in an online gallery a couple of weeks after our shoot. This comes as an additional cost of and is highlighted in our Guidebook.
In short: Guys, about 30 - 45 mins. Girls, about 60 – 80 mins. GUYS: I will arrive when they are already dressed in their pants, and shirts. After we have said hello, had a laugh and giggle, I will get them into their ties/shoes/blazers/whatever it is they are wearing! We will capture these moments unfolding finish off with some formal portraits, and off I scoot to the girls.
GIRLS: I arrive usually at the tail end of the H/MU. I will say my hellos, and head into the room where all the beautiful details are. I will photograph your rings, the dress, shoes, invites - anything you'd like me to! From there, the H/MU should be finished, and we will grab some candid shots of the girls still in their dressing gowns/PJ's outside in the garden. After a cheers, I'll tell the Bridesmaids to get changed, as well as your parents if they're not already. After the Bridesmaids are dressed, I will pop into the room and you will start getting ready. This process is really fast, and non intrusive, I am looking for 'those' moments. It's around this time a few tears are shed, and you begin to realise that you're actually about to get married! Yippee! Off to the Ceremony we go!
I am ALL about simplicity and beauty in it's organic form. I highly recommend considering getting ready close by your Ceremony/Reception Venue. This makes the flow of the day a lot easier, and stress free. Unfortunately, I have been a part of a Wedding Day where the Bride was almost an hour late because her car broke down, and she got ready over an hour away. Although this instance cannot be predicted, you can definitely avoid the chances of this happening by getting ready close by, or at the Venue itself. You want to give yourself the opportunity to make the most of the moments during the day, and travelling may cause a lot of stress and set backs for everything soon after.
If you have been looking on Pinterest, or Instagram, the shots with the high ceilings, simple backdrops and neutral colours stand out. You really need to be aware of where you choose to get ready. Aesthetically, does it suit what mood you're going for? I can definitely work around a few minor elements, however I do not fix the colour of a wall, or furniture. Somewhere with beautiful amounts of natural light is great. A clean palette is all we need.
Yes. I do. This is the only 'shot list' I require from you for the day. It would be great if you could make a list of the specific combinations of family portraits you'd like, and I will use this on the day. It ensures I am aware of any family politics/conflicts as well.
I normally ask someone nice and loud in the Bridal Party to assist me during this process. I have a copy of the list and I do my best to get this done as quickly as possible for you. Usually it takes 15-20 minutes. I recommend portraits with your immediate family members, parents, siblings, grandparents and siblings' partners. We generally do this right after the Ceremony, as it's a great time before anyone has a little too much champagne and/or before we lose the beautiful light. From there, we depart for your intimate portraits with your Bridal Party (if you have one).
This totally depends on you of course, and the aspects of your day. If everything is at the same venue, we generally have more time to relax as there's no time needed to travel. I normally take you along with your Bridal Party for 15 minutes or so to kick things off. These photographs are always really fun and easy. They're also lovely to have as keepsakes later in life.
Choosing the right time for these location portraits is also fundamental in the success of beautiful imagery. I love working with you to define the perfect time and organise your Timeline. Generally speaking, it's always best to time your location portraits backwards from the time of sunset. Click here to determine the time of sunset in Melbourne.
Totally. Yes please. By the time this occurs, I am usually starving and ready to indulge in some nice coffee and food. In my contract, you will find that I am vegan. I usually eat with the other vendors/suppliers that attend the reception such as DJ, band, videographer, etc. If I have a second photographer/assistant with me, they will also need to be fed. I have also been lucky enough to sit with the Bridal Party on a few special occasions!
I love venues that understand the importance of feeding the suppliers as soon as possible. Some just don’t get it. It is the only time of the day I don’t take photos; taking photos while people are eating is not cool.
If you could push the venue to feed me from the start of mealtime, not 30 minutes after the bridal party, it ensures I do not miss any important moments. I really do eat my whole meal, and I don't need much time, only 20 minutes or so, the effort you go to does not go unnoticed.
Your images will be uploaded to a beautiful, user friendly online gallery for you and your family to view, download and share your images as you please. The gallery also has an online Print Store, that you can select and print any of your images from me. For more info on these, head to our 'Fine Art Print' page.
You will expect to receive your high resolution photographs 8-10 weeks after your Wedding Day. The images arrive without a watermark, as JPEG files. If you have purchased an album, this is designed solely by myself, and will arrive soon after your USB. I do my best to get them both finished at the same time, but as you know, albums do take some more time to design & print. I am happy to let you select which images you'd like in your Album, the quantity varies, however in the album included in my Guidebook, this showcases around 80 images over 40 spreads. In contrast, I can also choose the images for you - totally your choice. You can read more about this process at the bottom of this page.
I do not supply unedited ‘RAW’ files or every photo taken during the day to you. The selection and editing process is a huge part of my job as a Wedding Photographer. This defines my unique style and I hope you can respect that. I hope it played a role as one of the reasons you have chosen me. The way I approach shooting may not make sense to you if I deliver the images unedited or as RAWs. These files also only work in Photoshop and are not a part of my contract or process as a professional photographer.
You can expect to receive around 600 images for a full day coverage (8 hours). Although we don't like to put a number to it, as each day is different, it really depends on the package you choose to book. You will receive your images in high & low resolution format, approximately 8-10 weeks after your Wedding Day.
I will always send you a couple of edited ‘teaser/preview’ photos the next day, so you’ve got something to view and share straight away. On average, the rest of the edited photos will be supplied in an online gallery (or USB) around 8-10 weeks after your wedding date - most of the time, sooner!
I applaud you to read this absolutely beautiful blog called – I Cannot Make You Beautiful by American photographer, Anne Simone. The title sounds harsh at first – but it’s a really beautiful read. It's something I feel strongly about. I photoshop distractive elements in your images (such as a cat in the distant background, or an exit sign), however retouching of skin, body, face etc, is not included in any of my Wedding services or packages. It is not what I identify myself as pure/organic/real photography. I can airbrush for you at an extra cost, however I highly recommend against this.
I cannot express how important printing your photographs is. After studying Photography for 4 years full time, I spent a lot of time working on my printing techniques (2 whole years to be precise), building a relationships with printers and learning everything about paper stock and RGB fine-art printing.
PRINTS = MEMORIES.
They last for generations, and can be passed down as family heirlooms if well looked after. The paper my printer uses is museum quality, and cannot be found in Officeworks, or Kmart. It’s a completely different approach to printing. You can find further information about why I love prints in my Guidebook, and of course in person.
Could you explain to us a little more about your ‘fine art prints’? Well… where do I begin? It’s hard to define a ‘fine art print’, but here is my best try: A Fine Art Print is a term used to describe an extremely high quality print. Fine art prints are often printed from digital files using archival quality inks and onto acid free fine art paper.
Have you ever been to a Museum or Gallery? This is the paper & process they use. I work closely with a local printer (who I learnt alongside while I was studying). He works with his wife, and together, they run a very renowned print lab in the suburb of Fitzroy. They work directly with Photographers and Graphic Designers/Artists and not accept orders from the public.
This is how the process works. Firstly, you select which images you’d like printed, and in what size. From there, I do the rest. My process involves calling my printer, and discussing what files I will be sending through for print. He normally guides me with feedback if necessary, and I amend any changes he thinks will be needed for the best result. Usually, he has a 3-5 working day turnover, and he can also post them directly to you if that’s easiest. The process of payment for prints is simply Direct Debit Invoice. The prints arrive in a safe Print Tube, and are unframed.
Why should we invest in an album? It’s a wonderful feeling to sit together with your friends or family over a coffee and enjoy looking at your wedding photos, in beautiful, timeless print. It’s a feeling that can’t be replicated, turning the pages of something that you can touch and feel with your hands.
Viewing the images on a screen will never quite do them the same justice.
It’s something that should be cherished, esspecially in todays world. I recently sat down with my parents and we went through their wedding album together. Although it’s very different to the albums I design, it was so remarkable to see the moments of my parents wedding day unfolding in my hands. It’s something indescribable.
For all the finer information on our Fine Art Books, click here.
Thank you for getting to the bottom of this page. I hope it was helpful to you in some way. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’d like to discuss anything further.
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