- £1,200Price from
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Photography Style
Products and Services
Capturing Your Wedding Day, Just as It Happens
Based in Harborne, Birmingham, Simon Brettell Photography specializes in a relaxed, natural approach to wedding photography. Using a documentary or reportage style, Simon focuses on telling the true story of your day through candid, informal images that capture real emotions and moments as they unfold. This means you can fully enjoy your celebration with family and friends, without feeling posed or interrupted.
A Friendly, Unobtrusive Experience Tailored to You
The goal is simple: to capture the joy, laughter, and special moments while you focus on having an amazing time. Most of the day is spent photographing genuine interactions, but there’s also time set aside for stunning portraits of you as a couple and any family group shots you want. Simon’s calm and approachable style helps even the most camera-shy guests feel comfortable and relaxed, making the whole experience enjoyable for everyone.
What You Can Expect from Simon Brettell Photography
- Full-Day Coverage: From morning preparations through to the evening party, typically staying an hour after the first dance to capture the celebrations in full swing.
- Documentary Style: Your wedding day is captured naturally, focusing on authentic moments and emotions as they happen.
- Flexible Travel Options: Based in the West Midlands, Simon covers weddings across the UK and is available for destination weddings abroad.
- High-Resolution Digital Images: You’ll receive full-resolution photos via a secure, password-protected online gallery—perfect for printing or creating your own albums.
- Complimentary Pre-Wedding Consultation: A relaxed meeting to discuss your plans and get to know each other before your big day.
Message from the team
Experience
What is your most memorable wedding?
A music festival themed wedding in a tipi on Cannock Chase. It was bloomin' epic and featured a brass band, an opera singer, some rock, some roll and some heavy metal. Vintage cars, an ice cream van, a pie waggon, torrential rain, wellington boots, lots of smiles, love and laughter.
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Modern, creative, documentary, stylish and fun
What about your business are you most proud of?
Building my business from nothing in 2012 to become one of the most regarded wedding photographers in the space of a couple of years without any adverting, working purely on word of mouth recommendations.
What is your No.1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Don't worry about tradition, cultural norms or expectation. Do things your way with the people that are most important to you.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
I offer a free pre-wedding consultation to all couples making a wedding booking. This usually takes place a couple of months before the wedding so that the majority of your plans for the big day are already in place. This enables me to have a more detailed discussion of the wedding plans with you and allows me to work out the timings for the key events of the day. It's also a great opportunity for us to get to know each other a little better too. If you’re close to the Birmingham I usually suggest meeting up at a city pub for a drink and a chat. However; due to distance and timing it’s not always possible to have the consultation face-to-face so we can also meet virtually using Skype or Google+
I really love getting to know my couples and it forms an important aspect of how I shoot. I love to photograph weddings from the inside, capturing the bride and grooms groom's view of the day. I love to integrate my self into the day so that guests treat me as a fellow guest rather than an outside observer / supplier. This is one of the things that really helps with capturing true candid moments throughout the day.
What is the No.1 photo that you think every couple should take?
An epic portrait!
What is the most original photo you’ve been asked to take at a wedding?
The bride and groom stood between two septic tanks at their wedding venue!!!
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
A lot of bride and grooms have big concerns about what will happen if it rains on their wedding day, unfortunately the one thing that you can't control is the weather. For me, rain opens up a whole load of creative opportunities which can be used to add a more unique look to your wedding photos. Provided you're willing to come outside with an umbrella then we can still get some epic shots.
Describe how you got into photography.
I've always had a fascination with cameras and photography which is probably due to the influence of my dad when I was growing up. He was always brandishing his Canon AE-1 35mm film camera throughout my childhood. It was the first camera that I learnt to use and I still have it today. It's funny to think now that virtually everyone has a camera in their pocket these days but when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, in the pre-smartphone era, if you wanted to take pictures you had to carry a dedicated camera with you. I was the kid that always had a camera with them which has resulted in me now having mountains of photos and negatives filling up my cupboards.