MULTIPLE SHORT PORTRAIT SESSIONS ON YOUR WEDDING DAY ARE SOMETHING YOU’LL BE SO PLEASED TO HAVE INCORPORATED
Your wedding day couples portraits are such a central part of your wedding gallery, and so often the images you choose to have printed on your walls. When during your wedding day we put some time aside for couples portraits varies from wedding to wedding, but a constant is that I always recommend having multiple portrait sessions.
Firstly, this means you’re not away from your guests for too long at any given time. Above all your wedding is a celebration of your relationship, and you deserve to enjoy every part of the day. Your first couples portrait session will often be during your drinks reception. If we were to have one, longer session, it would mean you were away from your guests for a lot of this. Instead, having multiple, shorter sessions it ensures you’re present to enjoy every part of your wedding day alongside your friends and family.
Secondly, it means you never feel like you’re in front of the camera for too long. I love having my photograph taken, and my wife and I are always looking for opportunities for some couples portraits. That being said, if couples portraits go on for too long, our energy levels start to drop a little, and this impacts the images. Putting a few, 10-15 minute portrait sessions at various points in your wedding day means that you have renewed energy for photographs each time, and this shines through in your final gallery! (Couples portraits are also an opportunity to have a few moments together, just the two of you – time and time again couples tell me how wonderful it is to have these moments together to take the everything in and make lasting memories together.)
Finally, having couples portraits at different times during the day means you come away with that much more beautiful a final gallery – we can choose different locations, with different aesthetics, which I always love. I will have scouted a handful of possible locations in advance, to make the most of each session. The light also varies hugely throughout the day, which means somewhere that we might not want to shoot during your drinks reception is perfect at sunset. Penny and Andy’s couples portraits are the perfect example of this: the main entrance and chapel courtyard at Bourton Hall is a beautiful location. However, during their drinks reception, the light was so harsh that we wouldn’t have been able to create the images you’ll at the bottom of this post. Instead, during their drinks reception, we chose to explore the gardens at Bourton Hall, making the most the shade from the trees at the back of the property. As you’ll see below, by the time the sun began to set and their guests were enjoying a drink in the grounds, the front entrance were bathed in soft, beautiful light – perfect for some romantic portraits.
As a little extra, keep scrolling in the second gallery below to see Penny & Andy’s incredible first dance. Their guests lined the staircase at Bourton Hall, showering them with confetti and they took to the dance floor for the first time as husband and wife…
Highlights from Penny & Andy’s first portrait session
Highlights from Penny & Andy’s second portrait session
Team:
Photography: Jamie Edward | Venue: Bourton Hall | Floral Design: Stemsations
