Things are finally quietening down for us on the wedding front! After a truly hectic year it’s nice to be able to take a short break before our Xmas weddings. We always look forward to December weddings. Yes, the light is bad and the weather often atrocious, but there’s something really special about weddings at this time of the year. We enjoy the challenge of working in poor lighting conditions and get a fantastic kick out of creating beautiful images for couples in what can be really adverse conditions ( fog is probably the greatest challenge of all!) . That said,  it’s our job to get the best out of any situation whatever the time of the year so maybe December weddings aren’t really all that different in that respect.

I think it’s the guests actually that make Xmas weddings so rewarding. The Xmas atmosphere is felt by all and as December progresses everyone becomes more and more ready to party. The good venues like Branston Hall, Hemswell Court etc etc are all decked in Xmas decorations; often the brides colour schemes reflecting the seasonal theme and the mulled wine usually offered at Xmas weddings all combine with the warm, indoor receptions to create a truly memorable mood. All weddings are good, but Xmas weddings have an additional magic which we simply love.

So what are we doing in the run-up to Xmas? Albums of course! You’ve all seen our albums and how different they are to everyone else’s. That’s because we’re that much more experienced than other photographers in album design and know that, in order to be truly individual and reflect the changing mood of the wedding, they can’t be designed properly using the mass of cheap template-based software which other photographers use. Our albums take time and effort – often entailing over 100 hours’ work before we are fully satisfied that the album is ready for production. It’s hugely rewarding and is one of the elements which gives us our unique edge over the competition, but it is very, very time-consuming! This year’s unusually busy summer resulted in lots more orders than usual coming in just before the Xmas deadline. Thankfully, by working flat-out, we were able to finish all of them in time and no-one will be disappointed not to get their album by Xmas ( album-manufacturers permitting!).

Usually we we expect then to have time for a breather. Couples from later weddings know their albums won’t be started by the manufacturers until January at the earliest so they tend not to put their orders in until then.

But not this year. We’ve received a mass of orders from clients all trying to avoid price increases which are expected by our album manufacturers after January 1. We’ll work non-stop to complete the orders in time, but it will be a close-run thing and by the time Xmas comes we’ll be more ready than ever to chill-out and relax.