How To Transform Your Wedding Photos Into Fun Family DIY Crafts
Photographs are visual representations of various vital memories in your life. That’s why many households frame and display them where guests can also view those moments. But there are other ways to turn them into arts and crafts that you and your family can create. For instance, you can transform your wedding photos into more eye-catching and dramatic ones. Here are craft ideas you can have fun making with your loved ones.
Some ideas to transform your wedding photos!
Diamond Painting
If you’re unfamiliar with diamond painting, it’s an excellent time to get introduced to a fun and easy crafting experience that even older kids and teens can enjoy. Diamond painting is much like painting by numbers, where colors have corresponding numbers. With diamond painting, patterns come with symbols matched with colored resin rhinestones. It’s similar to cross-stitching but with different materials.
You can turn any of your wedding photos into a personalised diamond painting set. Websites that offer this service allows you to upload your favorite wedding photo, choose the shape and size you want and place an order for the pattern along with the tools. Once you have everything, you can start diamond painting and allow your family members to try it. It’s a fun and engaging hobby that anyone in your family can do. You can also frame the finished product and hang it on display.
custom_diamond_canvas_kit_img_2
Glowing Photo Luminaries
If you like to light scented candles at home, you can create a luminary using some of your wedding photos. Luminaries are decorations made of paper that have candles inside. An example is a white paper bag containing a candle that makes a simple but elegant visual. It invokes a feeling of peace and serenity, which is likely why homes have it.
To create this project, you must print your favorite wedding photos from a barn-themed or winery wedding on vellum paper. You’ll need four different pictures to create a box-like luminary. Trim vellum photos to smaller sizes.
Source four picture frames and ensure they are the same size and design. Remove the frame backing because you won’t need them. Add the trimmed printed vellum paper onto the back of the frame, and then add the glass cover. Do all four frames. You can choose three frames instead of four to create a triangular-shaped luminary.
Use industrial glue or a glue gun and attach all the corners of the frames, ensuring that the sides with the glass will be facing inwards. The glass protects the vellum paper from the candle flame. You can also substitute a battery-powered flameless candle as a safer option.
The fridge door is one area you and your family see daily, making it the perfect place even for your wedding photos. You can create fridge magnets that your kids can do in as short as 30 minutes. You’ll need wedding photos, bottle caps, strong glue, and small circular magnets.
First, print your wedding photos. You’ll need to print them smaller since you’ll put them on bottle caps. Trace the bottle cap around the areas you want to fit into and cut them. Get some glue and attach the pictures inside the bottle caps. Then get the magnets and glue them at the back of the bottle caps.
You can use these magnets to hold receipts and notes while your wedding photos are in perfect view.
DIY Photo Tree
A photo tree is a unique way of using natural materials to display your wedding photos. You can source small dried branches. However, if you can’t find one, gather twigs and sticks, and make your own. Get a vase and place them inside. Doing this can also double as an outdoor activity for your kids as it creates a good excuse to get them walking around in nature.
You can glue loose ribbons at the back of the photos and tie them to the branches. Make sure to spread them around to make them more aesthetically pleasing. You can place this inside your living room with the rest of the family photos.
white wall with photos of the family in various photo frames
Modge Podge Photo Coasters
Transform your wedding photos into beverage coasters. You can ask your kids or other family members to apply the mod podge glue. It’s easy to do, and it doesn’t take long before you can use them immediately.
You’ll need 4 x 6 inches of printed photos, unfinished coasters with grips, Modge Podge glue in the finish you like (matte or glossy), scissors, and a sponge or paintbrush.
Trace the coasters around the area of the photos and cut them. Using a brush or sponge, apply the glue onto the coaster and stick the picture. Then apply the glue onto the surface of the photo and let it dry.
Printed wedding photos with the bride and groom, a vintage black camera and woman hands with photo. Cropped image
Wedding photos don’t have to be kept inside a photo album. You can print out copies and transform your wedding photos use them to make crafts with your family. You can turn them into a diamond painting kit, luminaries, fridge magnets, or a photo tree. There are many more DIY craft ideas that you can find online to make with the rest of the family. Proudly display your wedding photos in different forms that your whole family can see as a reminder of your union.
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.
You may have noticed on my socials, or on my website a new logo popping up about the place? Well this is part of the SvenStudios Rebrand – a simple refresh on what SvenStudios is all about and how we go about things.
I have been shooting weddings for over 16 years now – I’ve shot over 350 in Australia and around the world and over this time I’ve developed a bit of a unique mentality when it comes to shooting weddings. More recently my wife, Luisa has joined me primarily shooting the videography while I’m taking the photos – which is a bit of a change on how I would otherwise operate.
With a clear vision on what SvenStudios is all about when it comes to wedding photography and videography, and the changes in our underlying business model, the ‘SvenStudios rebrand’ was born!
First up is the new SvenStudios Logo – our new logo is representative of all the things that SvenStudios believes in and gives an insight into our goals when shooting at a wedding in an abstract way.
Old Logo
OLD LOGO
The old SvenStudios logo was modelled on the typical ‘camera iris’ motif that was quite common to use as a photographer’s logo back when I made it about 16 years ago. Back then my primary focus was landscape and travel photography – so I transformed the iris into a bit of a landscape scene.
If you look closely you can see me on the lower right standing with a tripod on a beach. Directly behind is a lighthouse, then a bird makes up the top of the logo, and finally a wave crashing into the beach where I’m standing. This creates a bit of a narrative for the viewer based loosely on how the fibonacci spiral works in the composition of photography – telling a story within an image.
As you can see the logo has undergone a radical simplification – making it more modern and simplified – but hidden in it’s simplicity is still quite a bit of meaning, just a bit more abstract than my old logo.
SvenStudios Logo Meaning
New Logo
NEW LOGO
I wanted the new SvenStudios logo to represent our past, but also what we are all about now. The past is represented in the new logo by keeping the circular shape – representing the camera iris. The center of the new logo is also still white showing that the attention to detail and development of stunning works of art in our photography is paramount.
There are two major factors in what we focus most on when producing our work, and that is the landscape surrounding us, and the married couple. These two factors are represented by the top section and the bottom section of the logo, which come together to make an ‘S’ for SvenStudios.
Here’s a bit of an animation illustrating this thought process.
SvenStudios Rebrand – Greener
It’s the focus on the landscape and producing works of art within the context of a wedding that has caused the development of our unique style of wedding photography – it’s an important part of why we have been so successful.
To show our connection to our surrounds and show it respect, we realised that we needed to preserve what we have.
SvenStudios has always been carbon neutral by offsetting 3 tonnes of carbon per year while also donating to the Australian disaster relief fund, while also giving discounts to members of the CFS and emergency services – but now we have become a member of 1% for the Planet.
This means that a minimum of 1% of all sales through SvenStudios is to be donated to an Earth Friendly charity.
1% for the Planet
This amazing initiative is geared towards businesses of all sizes across the globe and it’s a small price to pay for preserving what we have, and what we use to make a living – ie our surrounds! To date, the initiative has given over US$435 million in environmental solutions, and now SvenStudios – with your help, will also be contributing.
Every step of the wedding planning process can be a daunting one. From saying yes to the dress to building your bouquet, selecting a wedding photographer is yet another task you’ll want to get perfect. You only get one shot at capturing a gone-too-soon flurry of memories, and you won’t want to regret the outcome. As a wedding photographer, I may be a bit biased but selecting a wedding photographer is possibly the most important selection you make besides your wedding venue.
Tips on Selecting a Wedding Photographer
Shopping for a wedding photographer who suits your budget, aesthetic, and schedule is challenging. After narrowing down your shortlist of contenders, don’t forget to ask yourself the following questions.
Sometimes, professional wedding photography is a must. Other times, it’s merely another box to tick. The answer to this question will likely dictate your decision to compromise your budget to accommodate a pricey wedding photographer or vice versa.
Have a think about how you are going to use all these amazing photos you’ve had taken of the two of you. Are you going to be seeing them every time you open your front door, or will they stay stuck on the USB you’ll be given?
Perhaps also weigh up how much appreances mean to you in your social circles, maybe you want to pay for for a photographer who you know will make you look amazing, despite your lack of experience in front of a camera?
In amongst the trees 2
Question 2 – How Much Extra Cash Am I Prepared to Shell Out?
As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to select your wedding photographer amongst the first 3 suppliers as soon as possible. The other two being your venue and celebrant – and perhaps your videographer. The best wedding photographers book out at least a year in advance and if you love their work it’;s best to lock them in as soon as you have made your choice.
An average wedding photographer in Australia according to the annual Easy Weddings survey of bridal couples is just shy of $3000, so pricing of photographers should be around, or just above that figure for someone who truely knows what they are doing and who you can trust.
Thera, Santorini Wedding
Question 3 – How Long Do I Need My Photographer to be Around?
Some photographers offer whole-day packages or more affordable hourly services. Consider events you need to have documented. Is it the wedding itself? The reception? Both?
I’d personally suggest having a photographer with you all day, as if you consider your wedding album as a storyline – then the preparation photos are the beginning of the story, the ceremony the middle then the photoshoot and reception the glorous happy ending 🙂
The longer your photographer is with you the more they can gel with your personalities and create work that truely speaks to who you are. A similar option to better cater to this is to have an engagement shoot done before your day.
Bridal exit under bubbles
Question 4 – How Comfortable Are My Partner and I With Being Photographed?
Some couples will hire a wedding photographer simply because it’s custom to do so. If you’re camera-shy, having a photographer hover around you all day might take away from the overall experience of becoming a newlywed even though a good candid and natural wedding photographer will do their best to become invisible during the day.
On the other end of the spectrum, some couples love being photographed and might even consider an engagement shoot. Which category do you and your loved one fall under?
This all being said however, If I had a dollar every time I heard that a couple is not good in front of a camera I’d probably be on a yacht in the bahamas somewhere.. The trick to taking nice candid photographs is simply having the couple do something while you’re taking your photos.
Bride and groom on Maslins Beach
Question 5 – What Other Products Do I Want from My Photographer?
Nowadays, wedding photographers offer more than just their service. They’ll also print your photos in an album, provide a photo booth for guests, produce wall art, or even offer hybrid shooting where they also produce a short highlight video so you save money on a separate videographer.
Think about what products you must have versus those that are merely nice to have. Alternatively, you might be entirely satisfied to receive a digital copy of your photos—nothing extra. Selecting a wedding photographer that offers exactly what you want is important. You don’t want to be stuck with albums or prints you’d never use, but it’s also important to select a wedding phtoographer that do offer such things as an option.
Digital Deluxe Album
Question 6 – Have I Received Any Recommendations?
If a married friend is suggesting their previous photographer, it’ll likely be for a good reason. Look into their portfolio and give them a call—you might even get a discount thanks to the friend referral.
Make sure they suit your own personal style though. Plenty of people opt to have a photographer that shoots in a current ‘trendy’ way that may age or rub you the wrong way to look at. You have to remember that these photos you’re having taken need to speak to your own personal style and allow them to store your memories in a way you’d want to look at them
Out on pride rock
Question 7 – What is My Style?
Every wedding photographer is unique in their methods and aesthetic. Are you a fan of candid photos, or are you looking for something more editorial? Maybe you love the vintage look of sepia-toned photographs, and have an entirely posed wedding? Up to you.
Typically, you’ll find the answers you’re looking for in a photographer’s portfolio or website. Whatever the case, your photographer will adjust their techniques according to your preferences.
bride looking out windows
While reliving your Big Day in your head might bring about nostalgic feelings, being able to reminisce over a collection of photos provides a different experience. Don’t rush your decision when it comes to selecting your wedding photographer, the memories will last you a lifetime and the process of selecting a wedding photographer will allow you to hold onto those memories in exactly the way you want.
At SvenStudios, we capture every moment of your Big Day with passion, romance, and joy. We are consistantly rated as some of the top wedding photographers in Australia and our packages come full of value. Keen to travel anywhere too!
Have you ever wondered what the meaning and the origin behind the famous bridal poem ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ was? Well as a wedding photographer, I too was intrigued, as I am with any aspect of the wedding tradition and I did a little research. It’s a poem that’s synonymous with modern weddings, it’s a tradition that is still fiercely followed to this day, despite it’s meaning mostly being lost upon many of the brides I’ve talked to about it.
If I see a bride getting these items ready, I generally try to take a photo of the set before they are worn for posterity’s sake, so I figured it might be interesting to find out why the tradition exists in the first place. Turns out the poem is actually simply a rhyming list of varying other traditions that were in place prior to the poem for various different ways to grant good luck to the bride and her marriage.
Something blue
The poem dates back to Victorian times, and as I wrote earlier, links a number of older traditions that brides adhere to for good luck. All 4 traditions of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue are purely superstitious in nature with the minor exception that the ‘something blue’ part could relate to the religious colours of the Virgin Mary.
However in Victorian times, brides would choose the colour blue to symbolise faithfulness and loyalty, and was actually the preferred colour of wedding dresses at the time, but that’s another story.
Something old
Incorporating something old into a bride’s attire was meant to symbolise her connection to her roots, her family and where she grew up. Carrying this with her into her future so that she may draw from her family’s strength in whatever the future has in store for her. Many brides choose to wear a piece of antique family jewelry or a piece of clothing handed down through the generations. In modern times this idea that the ‘something old’ has some connection to family is often forgotten in lieu of some old possession, often shoes or even underwear.
Something new
Just as the ‘something old’ was supposed to link her with her past, the ‘something new’ part of the poem was supposed to symbolise the new life she will have wedded to her new husband. One marketing technique bridal boutiques use when selling their customers wedding gowns is that the ‘something new’ should represent good fortune and success in the bride’s new life, and therefore should be the most expensive thing she’s wearing. Quite often though, aside from the wedding dress the ‘new’ item is the engagement ring, or her shoes.
Bridal jewellery
Something borrowed
Getting ‘something borrowed’ in modern times is often misunderstood as simply ‘borrowing’ something from anyone, be it perfume or some earrings. Often brides accidentally get it right however by borrowing something from their mother or Matron of honour as traditionally the ‘borrowed’ item should be something borrowed from an already happily wedded wife so as to bring a little bit of the good luck she has had in her life into this new marriage. The borrowed item is also there to remind the bride that friends and family are there to support her.
Something blue
Having something blue in the Victorian era symbolised faithfulness, loyalty and purity. All the things the white wedding dress these days represents. The colour blue however relates to the colour of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Christian faith, thereby being the only tradition in the list directly related to organised religion, the rest being a secular tradition. That said however, the colour blue represents these things purely by the nature of its hue, just as red represents danger and gold, wealth.
Bridal Affects
And a silver sixpence in my shoe
An often forgotten part of the poem ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in my shoe’ is the last of the five traditions which was to place a silver sixpence in the bride’s shoe to ensure wealth in the future. Obviously we no longer use sixpences anywhere outside of the UK, and therefore have largely forgotten this part of the rhyme, but it was there and it may be something you brides out there might like to consider if you’re following the rhyme 🙂
In addition to the bride carrying Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe; nestled all over her body would be bunches of herbs to ward off bad spirits. This tradition has been almost completely replaced by the carrying of a bridal bouquet, which has it’s own sets of traditions associated with it.
