Helpful Hints

Choose photographers you can trust, photographers with integrity, photographers who will be there for you on your big day.

When looking at their work, ask yourself, can the photographers create moments of fun and lightness and then capture them? Great photographic moments rarely happen by themselves. They are crafted by photographers. When assessing wedding pictures look especially at the facial expressions in the group shots. These emotions are a direct indication of the ambience created by the photographer at that time.

Look at a minimum of 2 complete weddings from start to finish then ask yourself: Do you feel that you were there? Were you emotionally moved by the pictures? Was the presentation and print quality to the standard that you are happy with? Is the style of the photography you are shown exactly what you want for your album? If not, choose other photographers.

The intimate but glamorous nature of the Perceptions shooting style is not for everyone. If you or your partner are uncomfortable being photographed, consider booking a reportage photographer who works in an unobtrusive, ‘fly on the wall’ way.

Photographers will always show you their finest photographs at the enquiry stage; judge their ability on what you see. Remember, it is easy to take 3 or 4 excellent pictures at each wedding. It’s a different matter taking 200 excellent and unique images at each wedding. With over 20 years’ experience, that’s exactly what you will receive at Perceptions. In fact the only complaint we’ve ever had (and we get it all the time!) is “there’s too many good pictures to choose from!” If you would like to be in this position, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

We have listed here a number of things to do to make your wedding day go just the way you always dreamed it would, free of problems that could have been avoided if only planned for ahead of time.

TIME:For the average wedding, plan for the location photography to take about 1.5  hours after the ceremony. This does not include time for travelling to/from locations, drinkies, and getting in or out of limos, horse drawn carts etc.
Without sufficient time scheduled, you will end up with important pictures that you were counting on, getting missed.

The guys should pick their tuxes up 2 days BEFORE, NOT the day of the wedding! Be sure they try them on! We have seen many tuxes that do not fit. Try on the shirts too, have the personnel at the tux shop show them how the buttons and the cufflinks work.

Hairdressers have probably caused more brides to be late than any other than any other thing I know. Make sure your hairdresser knows the time we need the photography to start, not the ceremony, which is two hours later! We recommend you have more than one hairdresser if you have several bridesmaids. A word of caution concerning your hairdo, some designs may be very elegant, but what will they look like in pictures? Long hair strands or curls covering your eyes can cast shadows on your face. Don't feel the need to drastically change your hairstyle from the way you'd normally wear it, this can lead to disappointment when looking back at your photos.

Make sure the florist knows the time schedule too! The flowers need to be ready and available two hours before the ceremony.

If you have very young children in your wedding party, we recommend an adult other than those in the bridal party supervise the children, and if they get cranky take them away from the area where your images are being created.

Let the limo driver know the schedule, both before and after the ceremony. Make sure they don't schedule another job too soon after your ceremony. Regardless of all the planning, there should be a little leeway in the schedule.

Have a backup plan for an outdoor wedding in case of inclement weather. Outdoor weddings can be lovely and we love to photograph them. Just one word of caution, beware of harsh midday sun, which can cast harsh shadows on faces with dark circles under the eyes. Natural light, especially late in the day, is often the most flattering for portraits. We also look for shady areas where the light is not too harsh.

We offer these suggestions because we wish your wedding day be all you dreamed it would be and as stress free as possible.

Eat!

Always make sure you trial fake tan prior to the day. Orange is not tanned.

Grooms don't change your shaving routine on your wedding day; this can lead to unwanted rashes.

Try to avoid dark lipsticks - as they tend to fade throughout the day.

Try not to overdo accessories/jewellery, as it can easily become a distraction… keep it simple!

Invisible bra straps aren't invisible.

Avoid chewing gum on the day - chewing photos are far from attractive!

Relax. Whatever will be will be.