What is your most memorable wedding?
It sounds cliche, but all of them! Every wedding I shoot is different and I love meeting all of my couples, hearing about their ideas and getting to know them. I stay friends with many of my couples long after their wedding day. I even went mountain biking with one couple ON their wedding anniversary, how cool is that?
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Adventurous, creative, outdoorsy, candid & fun.
What about your business are you most proud of?
That I can incorporate my love of the outdoors within my passion for wedding photography.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
Do what YOU want. Don't let friends, family, budget or anything else dictate what you choose. It's your day and one you'll remember for the rest of you lives.
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
Hard to pick between two cakes. The first was a chocolate sculpted figure of the couples pet dog, I LOVE dogs and this was so cute! The second was the groom has surprised the bride with a wedding cake which reenacted his proposal to her, complete with tent and the river where they were camping.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
After enquiring, I often schedule a consultation meeting where we will chat about your big day, dogs, adventures, hill walking, camping (I warn you, I've been known to convince couples to get a campervan) and lots of other great chat. Once you've agreed to book and the boring paperwork is out of the way, we arrange a date for your FREE engagement shoot. After the engagement shoot and 6 weeks before your wedding day, I send out a questionnaire for the finer details for the day. I then shoot your awesome wedding day and edit in my signature style. Once fully edited you will received your images in a personal online gallery. If you've opted for a wedding album, we then get to work on designing the album and sending it to print, once printed it will then be delivered to you for you to sit back and look through all the great memories from your wedding day.
What is the No. 1 photo that you think every couple should take?
I always advise couples to have their photos together. I know a lot of people don't like having their photo taken (I know I don't) but you will be so thankful to have some time alone with eachother, away from your guests and the busy atmosphere.
What do you recommend for a rainy day wedding?
To book me as I LOVE shooting rainy weddings! Jokes aside, I always tell my couples to have a positive attitude towards rain on their wedding day as it absolutely won't ruin their day. I have a blog on my website all about rain on weddings days - https://slp-photography.com/rain-wedding-day/
Describe how you got into photography.
I'm not going to sit and say it had been my dream ever since I was a small child to be a wedding photographer, because it absolutely wasn't! Don't get me wrong, I've always had an interest in art and photography, I played around with cameras during school and university but never considered doing it as a job. I mostly shot landscape photos and creative portraits and it was only when a friend of mine asked me to shoot her wedding (and after saying no several times and her insisting that she wanted no-one else) that I eventually agreed. It was stressful, tiring and I was completely overwhelmed, however the sense of satisfaction I got from it was amazing. I never expected to shoot another wedding but the word of mouth recommendations kept flowing in and soon enough I was shooting weddings regularly. I'll always be thankful to my friend for pestering me to shoot her big day as I wouldn't be doing this amazing job today, had it not been for her.