Local Leicestershire Wedding Photographer
When looking for a wedding photographer its always best to start with your local photographers and if you can not find what you need then start to look further a field as there are wedding photographers that will go anywhere in the uk for a wedding.
Keep it local Leicester. I prefer to keep to a Leicestershire weddings core area with hops into adjoining counties for Nottinghamshire weddings, Lincolnshire weddings, Northamptonshire weddings, Warwickshire weddings and Derbyshire weddings.
Keeping to a core area helps keep my wedding photography prices low as you are not paying any extra for my travel. Photographers who say they do not charge extra for travel may of already loaded their prices to cover travelling. Another extra cost is advertising in wedding directories. Typically it will cost extra per region that a photographer wants to appear in. I only advertise in a Leicestershire wedding area which keeps my costs low which I can then pass on to you.
Leicester Wedding Venue Experience
I get to visit each wedding venue many times through the year and so over the years I have shot weddings at most of the Leicestershire wedding venues in all kinds of weather and at all times of the year and at different times of day. So when it comes to your own wedding I already know the best places for the shots at that time of year without the need to spend time looking for them.
Here are two shots from Brownsover Hall weddings. One in Summer and one in Winter.
Having been the photographer before at wedding venues means that no time is wasted or photo opportunities missed. This local venue knowledge also means I don’t need a second shooter helping me. This then allows me to also keep a low profile and small footprint on your wedding day.
A good experienced wedding photographer should be able to arrive at any venue and achieve great results without the need to of been the wedding photographer there before but then not everyone that shoots weddings are experienced enough to do this.
Local Leicester Knowledge
Here is a shot from a wedding in Bosworth at St. Peters Church with a reception at The Tithe Barn. The church in the background is St. Peters. Because I know the area I also know that this shot is available to me so with the help of my local short-cut knowledge I was able to get in position ready for the couples white Jaguar wedding car driving up the path to the wedding reception with their Church in the background.
Other benefits of staying local to Leicestershire are that the local registrars for the Leicestershire wedding venues know me and trust that I will not become a distraction during the ceremony. I’ve even shot a wedding for 2 Leicestershire registrars.
For your Church wedding some of the local Leicestershire priests and vicars also know me too. Most run 2 or 3 Churches so I do get to meet them quite often in different Leicestershire villages. Here is Rev’d David at St Michael and All Angels Church at Brooksby Hall. Click here for a full gallery of weddings at Brooksby Church.
The staff at the Leicester wedding venues also know me so when I need access to parts of the venue that I will need keys for later they are happy to give me the keys before I need them. This saves me time rather than trying to find staff when I need the key which helps me to shoot quickly without a second shooter.
Other Leicestershire wedding suppliers may know me too. This can help when it comes to things like the wedding car because they know the angles that I prefer at each venue and so can quickly place the car ready for me whilst I am shooting something else and so saving time, like this big 4 car set up at Prestwold Hall.
Leicester wedding photography
Another advantage of shooting mainly Leicestershire weddings is knowing back the routes of the area so if there are any traffic hold ups I know the best way around them without a sat nav sending me into a field.
Unless I intended to end up in a field
Having local Leicestershire area road knowledge helps me get from any bridal preparations shots to the ceremony venue quickly. Then already knowing where I am going to park at the Church or wedding venue saves time too so that I am able to capture both the bridal prep shots and groom shots at the ceremony venue without the need for two photographers.
You can see some sample shots of bridal prep and then groom shots in my Bridal prep gallery HERE And my pre wedding groom photography gallery HERE
I will arrive at the Church knowing the best places to park so that I am not blocked in after the ceremony. I can then be sure that I will have a quick getaway ahead of the guests leaving the Church and so be at the wedding venue reception before the couple arrive.
I will be ready and waiting for a wedding car shot at the venue before everyone else arrives or shots of the drinks before they all get taken by the arriving guests.
Wedding at Sutton Bonington Hall
The below snippet selection are all shots from the same Sutton Bonington Hall wedding with bridal prep at Sutton Bonington. You will see that I also have shots of the lads at the Church, St Michael so it is as though there were two photographers, yet there was just myself.
For my full Sutton Bonington Hall wedding gallery click HERE
Leicester wedding photography best practice
You can also be reassured that if I had a wedding yesterday that I wasn’t on the road for 2 hours last night and getting back very late and then shooting your wedding with out enough sleep.
After I leave your wedding I am usually back in the office and backing up your wedding photos sometimes within 20 minutes.
Professional wedding photographers may have contacts who hopefully are able to step in at short notice. But the problems can arise when a wedding photographer is almost at the venue after a 3 hour drive and if something happened that meant they could not shoot the wedding any contacts they may have could also be 3 hours away so it could still be too late by the time the replacement shooter arrives. So I feel that travelling for hours to a wedding is adding unnecessary risk to my couples and I prefer to be behind a camera than behind a steering wheel.