Using the Amazing Fujifilm GFX100s For Wedding Photography

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gfx100s for wedding photography

Using the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

As a passionate wedding photographer with a bit of a background in Landscape photography, the idea of having, and primarily using a Medium Format camera has always been a bit of a pipe dream until finally laying hands on the new Fujifilm GFX100s. That being said though, as primarily a wedding photographer, Digital Medium Format cameras have typically not been the best tool to produce wedding photos – so hopefully this little hands-on insight makes it clear why I chose the GFX100s for wedding photography.

I’ve always been a bit of a gear head – I’ve always tried to raise the bar in what I offer to my bridal couples when comparing what I offer with my competitors. This is evident in my early offering using a drone at weddings, also my used of virtual reality technology to record your day, even underwater drones for those of you who get married underwater! I just like my toys, and in my view a digital medium format camera was my personal gold standard of technological toys – they just weren’t viable as a working camera, until now.

A wedding photographer who uses a medium format camera is quite rare for a number of different reasons, hopefully I’ll help you understand why that is, but also why I’m now one of the rare ones using the medium format Fujifilm GFX100s for wedding photography!

Fliying veil at Alru farm wedding

What is a Medium Format Camera?

The name ‘Medium Format’ comes from the days of film where there were a selection of different sized films for use in different cameras. Those of you old enough to remember using a Box Brownie in their family photography would remember the film size being much larger than what came next in consumer-grade photography in the standard 35mm film rolls.

Basically speaking, most consumer film cameras would use 35mm film, while professional photographer-grade cameras would be using larger medium format film, and a few might even use large format for some applications. There is a marvelous true-story film about a photographer battling this stereotype of pro-grade camera with Vogue magazine in We’ll Take Manhattan, made in 2012. A really interesting movie.

The larger the film used meant larger negatives of images, meaning more detail can be captured with cameras using medium format film – therefore in theory – making better overall images.

35mm v 120 Medium Format

 

When considering digital cameras, the sensor where the device mimics the use of film to capture an image has until very recently been much smaller than what was available with traditional film – which is a center of any debate over which is better – film or digital photography.

Cheaper digital single lens reflex cameras, or ‘DSLRs’ tend to have a smaller sensor when compared to ‘pro-grade’ DSLRs who are said to have a ‘full frame’ sensor – which is really just the equivalent of 35mm film. I’m making a few generalisations here, but this makes things easier to illustrate a point.

So taking from this little photography history lesson – the majority of today’s photographers are using a format that was generally reserved for consumer photography – ie 35mm, or full frame format, and the only reason why medium format film fell out of favour was the technological limitations of digital imaging at the time.

All this being said though, digital medium format sensors are still smaller than medium format film, so there is still a little way to go in that regard. And also I need to point out that the Fuji medium format sensor is one of the smaller available digital medium format sensors – which is one of the main reasons why the GFX100s is cheaper than other digital medium format solutions.

Digital sensor sizes

 

 

Digital Medium Format Cameras are traditionally not great for Wedding Photography

Since the dawn of digital photography, digital medium format cameras have been developed and have been around for a while now – however have usually only been used in very niche areas that benefit from the high fidelity that such a format can produce due to a number of draw backs the relatively new technology comes with.

  • Digital medium format cameras are slow

Up until now, medium format digital cameras have been notoriously slow when compared with their film-based counter parts, or in particular digital full frame cameras. This is due to a number of issues related to technology. The processing power required to process and capture an image using a medium format sensor is significantly more than a full frame sensor, also the method of capture using these larger sensors tends to slow things down to a point where these rather large cameras were relegated to photographic applications where one usually used a tripod for every shot.

One wouldn’t generally be taking a medium format digital camera to something that requires a quick camera – like sports, or events like weddings.

  • Lens selection is not ideal

Another issue that comes with medium format cameras is the general nature of available lenses available. Medium format Lenses and even camera bodies for that matter are usually much larger than usual full-frame camera lenses, making lugging them around all day on a wedding day not an inviting prospect. It’s a big reason why mirrorless cameras have become so popular over the past few years being that they are so much lighter!

While talking about medium format lenses also, they tend to be quite a bit slower than full frame lenses. If you are a person without a photographic background you may not understand what the ‘speed’ of a lens means – basically it’s the amount of light that transits the lens and hits the image sensor. Medium format cameras often have to operate using a higher ISO sensitivity in low light situations to capture the same image as an equivalent full-frame camera – therefore having a reputation of producing too much noise in an image.

  • Large file sizes

Digital medium format cameras tend to produce images at a resolution not really needed for wedding photography. Many people consider 24mp images ample for wedding photography, while I personally prefer larger images but it’s all a matter of preference. The reason why having too much resolution is an issue with wedding photography is the requirement for editing thousands of images in post production. The higher the resolution of images produced, the longer it will take based on the power of the computer doing the editing.

  • Cost

Cost is also traditionally a huge factor in deciding not to go with a digital medium format camera with bodies often starting at $15k-$50k with lenses on top.

Bride and groom in the Inglewood Inn creek

What’s different with the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

So if all these negative aspects of digital medium format are such an issue, why would you choose the GFX100s for wedding photography, considering it is a digital medium format camera? Well basically the GFX100s has attempted to address all of these pitfalls traditionally associated with digital medium format cameras.

  • The GFX100s is rated at 5fps

First of all is the speed, my main work horse cameras throughout my wedding photography career has been the Nikon line up of full-frame DSLR cameras – the D700, D810 and D850. These cameras had 5, 5-7 and 7 frames per second continuous shooting speed respectively – making these cameras not super fast when compared to flagship DSLRS at 14fps or 30fps with mirrorless full-frame cameras, but I felt to be quite fast enough when in a situation like wedding photography.

The only reason why you would need a faster continuous shooting speed would be in high speed situations like sports.

Guess what the continuous shooting speed rating for the GFX100s is? 5fps. Now this is slower than my usual D850’s 7fps but still ample, particularly considering each image is a whopping 102 megapixel image! It’s just incredible it’s that fast! I had used digital medium format cameras in the past in the famed Pentax 645z which had a rating of 3fps and I found that overbearingly slow, but 5fps with the GFX100s for wedding photography is perfectly workable.

  • ISO handling is amazing

As for lenses, I tend to use the venerable combination of a 24-70mm f2.8 lens on my main full-frame camera, and the 70-200 f2.8 lens on my second body when shooting a wedding, so when looking at lenses for the GFX100s for wedding photography I tried to match that combination as much as possible, purchasing the 32-64 f4 lens meaning that this lens was not as fast as my usual go-to lenses.

Thankfully the GFX100s, and many modern mirrorless cameras for that matter, handle high ISO ratings amazingly well, allowing for little to no noise in low light situations. in fact since swapping to the GFX100s for wedding photography, I’ve used my hot-shoe flash much less often that what I might have with my Nikons.

This may be due to the ability of mirrorless cameras allowing a preview of the shot I’m about to take through the viewfinder I don’t know, but all I know is that my habits in this regard have definitely changed and I’m not afraid to bump the ISO up as much as needed.

Wedding photo in the alru farm greenshouse

  • Files are large, but not too large

This is probably the biggest issue for most when considering the GFX100s for wedding photography. As it packs a massive 102mp sensor, which is double that over the Sony Alpha1, and 3x the Nikon D850 which many professional wedding photographers swear by.

The fun thing is that when selecting a few options on the GFX100s, like reducing the bit depth to the lower 14bit (still huge) colour depth, and compressing the RAW files make the file sizes a quite reasonable 90-120mb and when compared to my Nikon D850 Raw sizes of 50-60mb that doesn’t seem too bad; particularly when you realise these settings don’t change much in image quality.

These file sizes are still larger of course which requires a beefier computer to handle them which may be a consideration for you – but for me the beefier computer in front of me the better!

  • Not as expensive as you may expect

Ok, cost is a big one – so many people out there just hear the phrase ‘medium format’ and get scared off immediately, and for good reason! If you’re in the market for digital medium format cameras you cay find yourself looking at AUD$20-$60k for a lens and body setup which is the price of a car.

That said though, those of you in the market for a new camera may be looking at the mirrorless full frame options out there, which is fair enough – but look at the costs carefully, the cost of a Sony A9 II body is $7k with the popular 7s III is $6k. Then there are the Nikon’s 7z II for $5.5k or the Canon famous R6 for $4k. This is compared to the hefty $9k for the GFX100s.

So, sure if you’re only buying a body having a GFX100s for wedding photography is pricey, but go price the lenses! The medium format GFX range of lenses tend to be quite a bit less expensive than the equivalent full frame lenses available. When pricing up a Nikon 7z II setup I found that the total cost for me would be $12k, when a GFX100s setup was $13k. What’s an extra $1000 when you can have the incredible ability of medium format in your hand?

Why I chose the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

I was thrown into a bit of a situation earlier in the year with the untimely death of my main Nikon D850 camera body which I managed to drop into a waterfall while photographing a wedding in Hobart, Tasmania. Claiming the camera on my insurance meant that I had to replace my usual workhorse of my wedding photography with something new.

I had always been a Nikon fan, ever since purchasing my very first DSLR in the venerable D80 while living in Japan – so my first port of call was obviously either a new D850 or join the mirrorless trend with the newer Z7ii.

I had been resisting heading into the mirrorless world as shooting stills with a mirrorless camera always seemed ‘off’ to me having no physical ‘clunk’ of the mirror when taking photos. Whenever I was asked why I chose Nikon over Canon I would always cite the main reason as being the satisfying ‘clunk’ noise that Nikons made over their more electric sounding Canon counterparts.

I had attempted to use mirrorless cameras for still photography in the past heading to presentations and industry nights where professional photographers are given pieces of equipment to try out for themselves. Never enjoyed the process at all and I had attended nights run by both Nikon and Sony.

On the other hand I felt as though taking the obvious choice and opting to buy a new Nikon D850 was an opportunity to upgrade lost. By this I mean that I had a chance to try something new and something astonishing had caught my eye in the new Medium Format Fujifilm GFX100s for wedding photography.

I had become familiar with Fujifilm cameras as I use a couple of X-T3s as my primary video cameras for my wedding videography which I believed was the best application for mirrorless cameras, but the whole idea of having a Medium Format Camera really appealed to my inner tech-nerd so I looked into it further.

First Impressions using the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

As of writing this little blog, I’ve shot 6 weddings using the GFX100s for wedding photography as my main camera – with 4 of them being fully edited, so I think I’m in a good sitaution to outline my thoughts of using this beast of a camera. The great thing about the weddings I’ve shot with it was that each of the weddings I covered with it were very different in regards to climate, theme and time of day so I could really test it out in all situations.

  • Build Quality

My first thought when picking up the camera was how light it was. I had in the past used medium format cameras, so I was expecting something rather hefty – particularly in the lens department, but I was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy it felt, and lighter than my Nikon D850! 900g vs 1005g for those interested. The lens I chose – the 32-64 f4 lens – was also very light at 875g vs my Sigma ART 24-70mm f2.8 I would usually use on my Nikon at 1020g.

The feel in my hand is really nice with a huge hand grip, and the LCD screen on the top that stays on with a battery installed is just beautiful. Weather proofing and materials used means I really can’t fault it at all!

  • Mirrorless Functions

A big reason why people are heading in droves to mirrorless cameras, other than the weight benefits, are the technological advances available to such cameras. These include live view in the viewfinder of the camera settings, eye tracking auto focus and the shutter release speed tends to be faster. These are all things I was brand new to coming from my Nikons, so using these things for the first time in a professional sense was quite novel.

  • Image Fidelity and Quality

Just holy crap. I had always had in my mind that I would swap to being a prime lens user when I finally made the change to medium format, and that was the plan due to the tendency for prime lenses to be that much sharper than zoom lenses, but unfortunately the selection of wider angle prime lenses for the GFX system isn’t great, hence opting for the 32-64 f4 lens.

Could not be more impressed with 102mp images if I tried, including in low light, high ISO setting. They might require a little bit of noise reduction, but there are some amazing bits of software for that these days.

To illustrate this I was lucky enough to cover a wedding at the same wedding venue with a ‘money shot’ everyone gets while there – in this case it was the Inglewood Inn’s Gollop’s Bridge, so here is an example of the same shot using my Nikon D810 and the GFX100s along with a 100% crop of each.

Nikon D810

Inglewood Inn Wedding Photo

100% crop

D850100

Fujifilm GFX100s

Gallop bridge Wedding photo

100% crop

GFX100s100

Hopefully this illustrates why I now love the GFX100s for wedding photography – particularly for money shots like this that are bound to be printed huge!

  • Ease of use

One of my fears of switching to the Fuji system for stills photography was my experience with the X-T3 cameras which I really don;t like using due to the retro dials at the top of the camera. When using a camera for wedding photography I like to switch settings quickly using my forefinger and thumb on dials like I had been used to with my Nikon systems.

Thankfully, using the GFX100s for wedding photography means it was a very simple transition to the Fuji way of using dials with the only slight difference being the way you select ISO settings which in some ways is better than the Nikon way of doing things – which was cool. I’ve also found myself using the Aperture priority setting much more with this camera, only reverting to my old way of doing things with full manual when I want to overexpose occasionally.

What I don’t like about the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

  • Lack of a physical shutter clunk

I really do miss the physical clunk of my Nikons, the poor excuse of the physical shutter sound on the GFX100s just doesn’t cut it, and don’t get me started on the tiny little sound it makes for the electronic shutter. makes me feel as though I’m not taking photos and causes some overshooting. This is simply something I need to get used to though.

  • Too slow for receptions

It’s a combination of my subconscious photographer’s mind relying on the shutter clunk to register that I’ve taken an image and the fact that it is a medium format camera when I find myself feeling as though I’m missing too many shots with the GFX100s for wedding receptions.

Also the fact that I have to use a slower wide angle lens when in lower light situations with medium format means I can’t use a faster shutter speed without bumping the ISO up a little too high.

I have been using my trusty Nikon D810 for reception photos as a result. Once a wide angle GFX mount lens is released I’ll probably be re evaluating this – but currently, having a 102mp sensor for candid, drunken photos is simply too much anyway. I might break it out for a pinup first dance shot, but that’s about it.

I Highly Recommend the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

I have certainly been enjoying my foray into using medium format with my new GFX100s for wedding photography. It really is hard to explain using a blog post to explain exactly why I’m enjoying using the GFX100s for wedding photography so much, but let me just say that I have been using this camera and thinking about my photography in the same way I had when first getting my hands on my first full frame professional camera.

I’m the type of person who gets inspired by using new technology in such as way that prompts quite a bit of creativity from me – it really feels as though I’m relearning how to take photos, but with all the experience I’ve had in the past as a foundation so it’s making taking so much fun!

Weddings I’ve used the GFX100s for Wedding Photography

Here’s some examples of work I’ve used the GFX100s for wedding photography as a main camera.

 

Camera Shy? 5 Tips to Achieve Great Wedding Photos

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Are you Camera Shy?

Not all couples who are about to get married are comfortable being in front of the camera. It’s only natural to feel anxious and camera shy – particularly as it’s not rerally something you do very often. However, you need to work through it; otherwise, you won’t have good wedding photos you can look back on.

Don’t worry; we will share with you some tips to have beautiful wedding photos. Let’s begin!

Some tips on how to get over being camera shy

Bride and groom in the sunny vineyard

 

Get Some Inspiration

Go on Pinterest, browse through wedding magazines and blogs, and check out real weddings. Do these things and more to get inspired. You can get a lot of wedding photography inspiration as well that will help you feel more motivated to strut your stuff in front of the camera. Moreover, this will help you know about the style of photography you want for your wedding.

When you’re inspired, the motivation can take over, which will help you overcome being camera shy more easily.

What I like to do with new couples is run them through a similar wedding – hopefully at the same wedding venue as they are planning to hold their own wedding at. This way you’re better able to picture yourself doing the same things that couple did – and may also give you some ideas for your own wedding!

Mollydooker Winery wedding photo

Work With a Professional

You need to hire a good wedding photographer to have beautiful wedding photos. And it’s not only that. A professional photographer knows how to work with camera shy couples or are anxious in front of the cameras. Additionally, the photographer can provide you with tips on how you can be more comfortable in front of the camera.

That is why you need to prioritise finding the best wedding photographer you can to ensure you get the best wedding photos and at the same time, feel comfortable in front of the cameras.

Find someone with many years of experience in producing good wedding photography as this can guarantee you that he or she knows exactly how to capture stunning photos on your wedding day.

intimate First Dance Photo

Have an Engagement Shoot

When you have found the perfect wedding photographer you’re really comfortable with and confident in their abilities, consider having an engagement shoot. An engagement shoot is an excellent way to overcome your camera shyness, and this will help you feel more relaxed with having your photos taken. Also, this is a great chance for you to get to know your photographer better.

Lifting her up silhouette

Trust Your Photographer

You didn’t choose your wedding photographer for nothing, right? So, trust them. When you trust your photographer, you will feel more at ease behind the lens. Let their creativity flow and go with it. By doing so, you will have stunning photos, and you will feel more relaxed while you and your spouse pose in front of the camera on your wedding day.

Ekhidna Winery Mclaren Vale vineyard

Communicate Clearly

There will be certain events you need your photographer to pay closer attention to on your wedding day. For example, if you have a fireworks display after the reception, or releasing butterflys – then you would want your photographer to be prepared and ready to capture the moment.

It’s crucial you maintain clear communication. This way, you will feel more at ease that your photographer will be there at the right times on your wedding day. In turn, you will feel more relaxed in front of the camera; plus, you already expect them to be there, which will give some time to prepare and get yourself together.

remember – your photographer should have experience at weddings, but there is only so much they know about you and your personal familiarity with your own family politics. A shot list may help here when it comes to group photos.

Seppeltsfield winery wedding photography

Cheers to Beautiful Wedding Photos

Posing in front of the camera for almost the whole day can be nerve-wracking for some. Unless you don’t want photos on your wedding day, then you just need to work your way through this. The tips we mentioned above can help you be more comfortable in front of the camera and have amazing photos you can look back on.

For the best wedding photography in Adelaide and around Australia, Sven Studios is here for you. You don’t need to be camera shy with us because our professional photographers will help you be comfortable behind the lens. Let us take the best wedding photos for you. Contact us today!

 

3 Common Wedding Photo Mistakes and How to Solve Them

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  • Wedding dress reflected in mirror

 

Wedding Photo Mistakes

One of the highlights of wedding planning is getting an amazing, creative guru to document your day. You get to have creative shots with your significant other and a dedicated team of wedding photographers to take candid and planned photos of the two of you. However, if you want to have a picture-perfect wedding, you have to be wary of common wedding photo mistakes and know how to address them properly.

Feel free to use this article as the beginning of your journey into wedding photography to ensure you fill up your album only with great, memorable wedding photos. After which, please do get in touch as there’s nothing I’d rather talk about!

3 Common Wedding Photo Mistakes and How to Solve Them

Mistake #1: Having no plan for group photos

Since you are inviting your friends and family to your big day, you can expect that most of them want to take pictures with you as a newly married couple. Therefore, a few photo opportunities should be readily available, especially during the reception, since that’s where most of the fun begins. You can start by indicating when your photo op will be with each guest, and it’s highly recommended to do this in groups for easier picture taking and to commemorate shared memories. 

The best way to ensure you have a seamless experience for your wedding photo op is to go about it by table arrangement. Ideally, you want people who know each other well seated together. This way, your wedding photographer can just call the group by table assignment (e.g., by number), instruct them on the appropriate spacing or framing for your picture, and give the finished product to friends or family members that appreciate who they are with in their photos. 

When it comes to family photos directly after your ceremony, making a list of must have photos is essential. This does not mean a list of individuals – but rather a list of groups who are listed by name. Your photographer will not know who needs to go where, and who is friendly/unfriendly with one another. It’s one aspect of wedding photography the photographer will 100% be looking for you to guide the photos as they don’t want top step on any toes.

Boys group photo

Mistake #2: Giving you and your partner no chance to have pictures together 

During your wedding, you and your partner are the highlights of the day; people will greet you and support your union as you look forward to spending the rest of your lives together. If it were up to your guests, you would be spending all day with them and celebrating your union – which doesnt sound like a bad thing, but you also want some stunning glamour shots to hang on your wall of just the two of you. That’s why you should always make time on your dayto go to some lovely location and have some taken.

If you and your significant other want to get inspired for your photo op together, you can go for a relevant theme to your relationship. For instance, if you fell in love with one another because of your love for Halloween, then you can have a spooky-themed photoshoot, or perhaps you got engaged in a forest overlooking the city? Head there!.

Just ensure you coordinate with your hired photographer to set your creative direction. Most importantly, just have fun and be natural when having your pictures taken. One of the most common wedding photo mistakes is that often couples are strapped for time, even when they allocate some time for a glamourshoot like this – try to take your time with it and make the most of your time together as a couple – it’s one of the only times on your wedding day that you’ll be able to do this away from the hustle and bustle of family and friends!

Smokey greenhouse

Mistake #3: Relying on amateur photographers for your wedding 

You cannot expect high-quality photos from a ‘friend with a camera‘, so why would you hire them for your wedding? Doing this will not only result in poor quality images, but also poorly timed images that don’t represent your big day well. A wedding photographer has been to hundreds of weddings beforehand, and knows by experience what to expect and be in position the majority of the time.

It also makes your wedding seem not as special because you and your partner just went for the cheapest cameraperson you should find. Worse, it may even affect how your friends, family, and children perceive your wedding. Also you’re paying someone who otherwise would not be a part of your guest list to attend your wedding to take photos so that your actual guests can enjoy the day with you – it’s not really fair on your friends to i ask them to work on the day that you’re also expecting them to have a good time.

With a professional wedding photographer, you can be assured that your photos are well-produced and edited to a standard you’ll be happy with. Some even have photo booth hires and videography services, allowing you to interact with your guests and make memorable pictures together. This way, you can always refer to your pictures to reminisce how exciting and romantic that big day was as you retell it to your children, and maybe even your grandchildren! 

Wedding disposable camera

Wedding photos are vital to any celebration of love being united. As such, there’s no room for wedding photo mistakes. Fortunately, you now have a better idea of what you should avoid when it comes to wedding photo mistakes. Just ensure you and your partner have the right plans and resources ready for that picture-perfect moment. Work on your picture-taking arrangements today! 

Are you looking for the best wedding photographers in Adelaide to document your big day? Book our team at Sven Studios. We can offer you high-quality photos, videos, and other documentation solutions to capture every magical moment. Download our price list and get in contact to have a chat! We’d love to hear about your day!

 

8 Unique Stay At Home Date Ideas to Spice up Your Relationship

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  • One Tree Hill Engagement shoot

 

Stay At Home Date Ideas You Can Use to Spice up Your Relationship

 

All over the world, going out for a date night is increasingly becoming a challenge for many. This is not about having kids who may insist on going everywhere you go. It’s about staying safe inside your home. More so, if you live in a suburb, driving to the city for a date night can be tricky. Staying at home doesn’t mean you have to forfeit your relationship or allow it to suffer. There are a lot of things you can do to spice it up even during a pandemic like COVID-19, but also for when all this is over and you just feel like having a date night at home 🙂

Whatever your reasons for staying at home; we have researched lots of options for cute stay at home date ideas. All these date ideas are budget-friendly and don’t involve much technology! So you don’t have to run down your credit card to give your date a treat during this time. So below are 8 easy-to-plan, enjoyable, inexpensive  stay at home date ideas you can try at home with your significant other. Stay indoors and have some fun!

  1. Play a Board Game

Game nights are fantastic ways to have a date while staying indoors. You can start it with a glass of wine, then bring out some cards, or set up a cheese board and begin the challenge. The truth is that you will find yourself engrossed in gimmicks, deep conversations, and funny spanks with your date as you have more time playing such games indoors.

Let’s not forget the series of little arguments that may arise when one person decides to play smart on another as the game progresses. Such can trigger the feeling of togetherness and forgiveness.

board game date night
  1. Pretend The Electricity Is Out

You might have tried this when you were a kid. It’s normal to find some kids switching off all lighting in the home and pretending as if the electricity is out. Then they begin to play hide and seek game or tell ghost stories. You can try this too with your date. Amidst the dark corners of your home, you can tell ghost stories, light candles, and play a guessing game.

  1. Have a Tasting Party

This could turn out to be one of your favorite stay at home date ideas. Just create fun tasting stations. You could organise any kind of tasting. From smoothie to wine tastings, the sky is the limit. Pick any theme of your choice, and it could be cookies, ice cream, whiskey, and even chocolate. Just ensure there are a lot of options available for you and your date.

Food platter
  1. Make Dessert or Dinner Together

Making dinner after a stressful day can be tiring. But not with the stay at home order. Ensure you both have activities cleared up for the day. And fix a time to cook your favorite meal together. It’s an excellent way to reconnect, especially if you haven’t seen each other for quite some time. The meal or dessert should be something you both haven’t tried before. Take pictures as you cook to make it fun and memorable.

  1. Organise a Romantic Quiz Competition

When was the last time you both laughed over a topic or the inability of one person to answer a question correctly? This is one fun way to spice up your date life. There are lots of “questions for couples” articles and books online. If you feel you and your date haven’t sat down and laughed for a long time, or you have trouble discussing anything that doesn’t end in an argument, then this tip could help. Make a list of interesting questions to answer over some glasses of wine or coffee. In the end, you will discover new things about each other.

  1. Turn Your Bedroom Into a Romantic Hotel Room

Staying in a fancy hotel room could make your date night as romantic as it gets. But this is not always within the budget. More so, you can transform your bedroom into a romantic scene for the sexiest date night at home drama.  Here are some ideas to help you:

  • Place a bottle of champagne or other drink in a bucket of ice close to the bed.
  • Turn on soft music and light some sweet-scented candles in different corners of the bedroom.
  • Sprinkle flower petals on the bed and make some chocolate covered strawberries.
  • Make your favorite dish, and serve your date in bed.
  • Watch romantic movies together in bed till when you both doze off.
romantic bed
  1. Paint With each other

When was the last time you both tried your hands-on painting? Perhaps, you can remember how romantic and fun it was for your relationship. But what if you haven’t done so yet, no worries! You can still make it a vital aspect of your staying safe at home date ideas.

Get some watercolor sets and a large paper. Then sit together and paint your favorite masterpieces and make a mess! It can be more fun when you both try to guess what the other party has painted. You don’t have to be an artistic genius to do it correctly. Watch some tutorials on YouTube and practice it together before setting the table for the real game.

As far as stay at home date ideas go, this is the one that will likely stay with you. Even if you’re no good at painting, just the reminder of this activity would be worth framing and putting on your wall forever!

painting
  1. Play The Role of an Interior Designer

This is a perfect date night idea you can organise in a budget-friendly manner. Research some DIY home design ideas together. Take notes of the tips and materials needed. You could redesign the living room, kitchen, or bedroom. Whatever you feel comfortable with, just make sure it suits your style and budget.

Hint: This at-home date idea will make you discover lots of fascinating things about your partner, such as favorite color, taste, and design style.

Stay At Home Date Ideas are fantastic for many reasons. It helps you and your partner to discover things about yourselves that wouldn’t have been possible on a regular date. Staying safe during a pandemic doesn’t mean you should put your relationship on hold. Try these tips and take your love life to greater heights! When we are all aloud outside again I’d love to go out and have a photoshoot together! 😀

The bread and salt wedding tradition

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  • bread and salt wedding tradtion

The Bread and Salt Wedding Tradition

I’ve been to a number of weddings now – near to 300 now as a wedding photographer and I’ve seen quite a few different wedding tradtions. If you consider the fact that marriage is the supreme bond of love and affection, and wedding is the ceremony of this holy union. Weddings give you an ultimate chance to proclaim your love to the entire world, perhaps most importantly, to the people that matter to you.

From the day you first met, shared your first kiss or proposed may forever be imprinted in your mind, not a single memory will come close to your wedding day. It is a day to enjoy endless luxury, happiness, enthusiasm, good food, champagne, and never-ending opulence, just to celebrate the one you love.

The epitome of any wedding day is of course the declaration of wedding vows. A proclamation that declares unflattering commitment, admiration, promises, and legally claims one another. This day is truly the day of days for all love birds, and for this reason, should be made meaningful and personal, and people like to do this by incorporating traditional wedding customs such as the bread and salt wedding traditon.

The Bread and Salt Wedding Tradition

The bread and salt wedding tradition is an European tradition usually accredited to Poland, but many countries in Europe follow something similar from Russia through to the UK. It’s basically a welcome greeting ceremony in several Slavic and other European cultures and in Middle Eastern cultures. As a welcome ceremony its a nice way to celebrate the coming together of two families and welcome the bride and groom’s guests to the ceremony.

Ukrainian Bride and Groom sharing the bread and salt wedding tradtion

What Is Meant by The Bread and Salt at A Wedding Reception?

For the bread and salt wedding tradition, the bride and groom meet both sets of parents at the wedding reception. The parents will have a loaf of bread, which will be sprinkled with salt and will also have a goblet of wine. The parents say a toast to the couple so that they have good luck during their marriage. It also symbolizes that the parents hope that their children will never go without and that they have an abundance of what they need. In more detail, this is what is meant by the bread, salt, and wine during the wedding reception:

1. The Bread

In the bread and salt wedding tradition, bread is a symbol that is sweet, and it is given by the parents to the bridal couple. They hope that the couple never has to want for much. It is their hope that they never go hungry and always have enough.

bread-delicious-eat

salt

2. The Salt

Salt usage during the wedding reception is so that the couple understands that life will not always be easy. This part of the tradition conveys that the parents want their children to know that life will have its difficulties at times, but the two must learn how to deal with and handle their struggles. It will make them grow stronger as a couple when they learn how to get through the harder times together.

3. The Wine

The wine is there to show that the parents hope that the couple never goes thirsty. It also symbolizes the wish for the couple’s life to be filled with joy and happiness for many years to come. The parents want the best for their children in all ways, and they are showing this through this tradition.

Woodstock winery wine bottles

 

 

Breaking of The Plate and The Glass

This occurs when the bride and groom each take a piece of the bread and sip of the wine and then throw the plate and the glass to the floor so that they are broken. The parents give each of them a kiss, and then the wedding reception carries on. It is to show the beginning of their life as a couple.

The singing of The Song Sta Lot

In order for the bread and salt wedding tradition to be final, the song Sta Lot is played. It means that the wishes for good luck to the couple last for 100 years. This a huge celebration and people really enjoy it as they watch the bride and groom begin their life together with all of their loved ones close at hand. Having all of their closest friends and family there to witness their vows and traditions for their wedding means so much to the couple.

Where Did This Wedding Tradition Originate?

The roots of the wedding tradition are part of Slavic, European, and Middle Eastern cultures. People love to see this tradition at weddings because they referred to it as sweet and they know that the parents of the bride and groom really want their children to be happy. That is why the symbolization of the bread and salt tradition is so important, and it occurs before the rest of the wedding reception begins.

The Type of Bread, Salt, And Wine to Be Used

In the past, it was a loaf of bread. In modern wedding ceremonies, it can just be a couple of pieces of bread, regular salt, and any kind of wine or champagne that is used for their tradition. They are merely symbols of the meanings behind the tradition, so there are no strict rules when it comes to what is used by the couple for the reception.

Making It A Point to Have This Tradition at The Wedding Reception

A wedding symbolizes the union of two souls and often the continuation of tradition. Although in modern times, this tradition may seem a little odd, having the bread and salt wedding tradition in a modern marriage can mark that day with a time to reflect on old ways that were handed down from generation to generation. They will never forget how much it means for their parents to wish them good luck during those moments of sweetness and tenderness at the wedding reception.

This is to many couples the most important moment of the entire wedding experience. Traditions create a bond that is truly unique and beautiful. And many couples cherishing traditions that stem from their cultural roots can put special imporntance on different things. Embracing the tradition of bread and salt in their weddings is one such way to celebrate the delights associated to their cultural heritage.