Wedding picnic in the grounds of Grouse Inn, West Yorkshire

wedding picnic sitting on hay bales

wedding picnic fun

perfect outdoor wedding party decorations

perfect weather for a summer wedding!

Great British picnic!

Summer wedding fun!

Just beautiful!

summer wedding picnic at The Grouse Inn in West Yorkshire

See more wedding pictures on Reel Life Photos site and Facebook Page.  

xx Elaine

As an experienced wedding photographer, I know that the first question EVERYONE asks is “How much? ”  Of course that’s important , and its what we all do when researching a product or  service online.  We recently needed to buy a new microwave, after the one we bought just months before ceased to work.  Crazy I know, but I spent hours and hours with my mental list of what was important to me, comparing products and prices.  The prices bit was easy, as once I’d chosen the make and model, it’s a like-for-like straight forward search.

Wedding photographers though are human beings, so each and everyone is unique.  OK you can compare “packages”, but even if the  album on offer is from the same supplier, the number of pages, the cover and the number of photos included, let alone the care  taken over the design – how many revisions – and any additional charges  and the style – could all result in a totally different vision.

One of my hard drives failed last week – but fortunately the client’s data was safe, as I always back up the original files shot .  However, even though I had only had the drive for three weeks, I learned a valuable lesson.  I had chosen the cheapest possible drive of that size!  When I contacted the data recovery company so I didn’t lose the extra work I had done, they told me that 75% of the drives they get sent, were all the same as the make I had chosen – (a Seagate Barracuda ) .   Had I spent just 25% more I could have avoided this situation and the extra my mistake.  If only I had checked the REVIEWS!  It turns out that 25% of all reviewers complained that their drive failed – and gave it 1 star only –  so the average rating was a mere 3 stars.

We all would like our wedding photographer to be the best we can afford, so the moral of this story is to check reviews of your prospective wedding photographer before even contacting them to check they have the date available, and choose the best rated that suits you!

SO…..

1-Check what others are saying about your wedding photographer before you book.  Do a Google search to see what you can find. about them.

2 – Check if the person taking your photos is actually the person you thought it was, as many companies use freelancers with varied experience

3 –  Check how long they have been in business, as most of the avoidable mistakes are made when the photographer first starts up.

4 – Have a look at samples, both online and in person – if at all possible – and not just the 20 best photos they have ever taken – but ideally the full spectrum of a complete wedding.  Bear in mind though that from the original photos taken, the personal choices of the couple may be different from what you might have picked from the variety of pictures taken.

I once received a phone call from the bride’s mother – who had been the one actually paying for the album – saying “I don’t like the album!” “Why”,  I asked – “what is it that you don’t like about the album? ”  “It doesn’t have any pictures of my sisters in it”.  I explained to her that although I had definitely taken several shots of her with her 3 sisters, that the choice of images was entirely up to the couple concerned, and that although I shoot everything and everyone – both natural and posed pics – the only thing I could do for her was to design a different album  – just for her – with the photos that she really wanted to have in it.   The result was an entirely different wedding album!  The style and layout were different too, so it wasn’t just in the choice of images, to reflect her personality and tastes.  She paid me separately for this of course, but at least I could make her happy.

The link below is from an independent blog post I came across on Linkedin today, and it clearly outlines all the points I  think are important to you.

http://www.theparty.net/theparty-blog/wedding-planning-questions-for-your-photographer.html

If you want to see some of my work – and there is absolutely tons to see look on our websites:  http://www.reellifephotos.co.uk

http://www.leedsweddingphotographers.com

http://www.weddingphotos-video.co.uk/blog

and over 15,000 photos on our Facebook Page

top table with flowers at Holdsworth House wedding – storybook pages 46-47

So cute the little ones shoes.

Natural black and white wedding photography – shows off the smiles and emotions.

the bride and groom leave the wedding in their horse-drawn carriage

Front and back cover of storybook wedding album

Love London weddings – even street scenes work well

Such a happy picture!

Bride’s father having fun with his granddaughter

My lovely Somali bride is laughing because I insisted on taking her photo her!

Time to dress up and have fun!

Touching black and white photo.

Bridesmaids jumping for joy inside Dewsbury Town Hall

bride and groom by sunflowers

bride in 1950’s wedding dress.

The belly dancer’s grand entrance.

happy belly dancer

belly dance performance at an Iraqi wedding

This is the second or third time I’ve seen a belly dancer performing at an Iraqi wedding.  Such a lovely idea for wedding entertainment.   We have over 15,000 photos on our Facebook Page too so hope you like looking at pictures!  If you are planning your wedding  get in touch with Elaine at Reel Life Photos . xx

The Grand Banqueting Suite in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury

This colourful display creates a grand entrance to the hall.

This was a winter wedding in Dewsbury, but the Grand Banqueting Suite is such a stunning Asian wedding venue, that there are still plenty of places in which to take creative and beautiful photographs.   See more Asian wedding pictures on our site and on our wedding app – Android – and Apple.   Then get in touch with Elaine for photography and Jorge for video at Reel Life Photos in Dewsbury.

Love the beautiful chandeliers inside the Grand Banqueting Suite

Children just love playing with the petals and confetti.

pictures of the wedding venue inside

The bride’s lengha looks lovely as her wedding shoes are exposed when walking up the steps.

View of the details upstairs inside the Grand Banqueting Suite

Asian wedding photography in Dewsbury at the Grand Banqueting Suite, showing the table layout upstairs

Spectacular wedding venue isn’t it! The tables and chandeliers look amazing in this wedding picture taken from the balcony.

Detail of the chandeliers at The Grand Banqueting Suite

The tables from above

The table here looks just like a flower, doesn’t it? As seen from the balcony at the Grand Banqueting Suite

A simple stage.

View through the glass front at the Grand Banqueting Suite

Bride’s family about to set off for the wedding

Bride is about to leave to go to the wedding

Time to fix on the buttonholes

Stretched Ferrari!

Inside a stretched Ferrari

Inside a stretched Ferrari !

Asian wedding stage inside The Platinum Suite in Leicester

Inside the Platinum Suite in Leicester

The groom arrives with his family

Entrance of the groom

Floating candles

Groom’s entrance.

The Platinum Suite in Leicester with all the tables nicely presented

This wedding venue is massive

Inside The Platinum Suite

The wedding videographer showing the bride some of the video footage

Bengali bride

Bengali bride’s bracelets

Bengali bride

Bengali bride’s bracelets

Detail of the bride’s lengha

Detail of the bride’s necklaces

Bride adjusting her earrings

Indian bride in all her finery

Bengali Taal

Bengali wedding food – the traditional taal platter

Indian wedding food

Indian wedding food

Asian wedding at the Platinum Suite

I lost count of how many guests there actually were.