7

Jun

2013

Diary of a Boho Bride – Becki and Jonny, Entry 5: Love Shoot Photos and Unplugged Weddings, Should They or Shouldn’t They!

diary of a boho bride

Today on Diary of  a Boho Bride we welcome back Becki to the Blog. Last time Becki told us all about how all about finding Jonny’s suit, introduced us to the wedding party, as well as giving us an update on her DIY adventures!  Since then Becki and Jonny have been on their love shoot with Paul and Kelly, from Paul Joseph Photography and today I am sharing with your the results of the shoot.

Becki will also be discussing her thoughts on having an unplugged wedding, and asking you your thoughts and advice on the matter, as she currently can’t make up her mind, so please feel free to leave her your thoughts in the comments box below.

diary of a boho bride

I’ll pass the Blog over to Becki…………..

Thursday 16th May – it’s my birthday and I wake up with a feeling of excitement and nervous butterflies all at the same time because today is the day that we have our pre wedding love shoot in York with our photographers Paul & Kelly of Paul Joseph Photography.
Now I have to assure you at this point that Paul & Kelly are uber cool, friendly people and not at all scary in any way and we’ve met up with them a few times now so it’s not like we were meeting total strangers either, but the thought of having our photos taken all day was making us more nervous than a driving test and a trip to the dentist put together!!

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Looking back it was totally stupid of us to be so nervous because after about 10 minutes with them we were so at ease that we were in the Disney shop sticking J’s head under a Finding Nemo towel and running away from him, as you do!

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Me and J are not hugely traditional types, although we are having the country manor hotel type wedding, but we knew from the very start of planning our wedding that our photographers needed to be quirky cool for what we wanted for our day. Then when thoughts came to the love shoot and what we wanted to do for it, I collected a whole host of themes & ideas on Pinterest that related to us. Some of them were completely off the wall ideas and some of them cute, but when Paul & Kelly put out a certain request to their brides and grooms, we practically snapped their hand off at the chance and we like to think that it reflects us more than anything else we could have done.

So the shoot would be done in two parts, two very different parts!

To start with we headed to the Disney store, not part of the overall plan but it was a great place to start because we are going to Disney World Florida on our honeymoon. I told you we weren’t exactly traditional types haha! Then we headed on down, away from all the touristy parts of York, to an antique shop full of weird and wonderful, well junk basically! It was ace, there were old hats, old school chairs, mannequin legs and we managed to squeeze past an old fireplace and a bike to a window at the back where there we some saws hanging from a hook.. nothing says love like moody photo next to a rusty old saw don’t you think?

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Then the rain came…
And lots of it so we did some cool shots in a car park.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

And at this point we thought our plans for the second half of our day had been scuppered by the wet weather, but as we drove away from York we actually drove into sunshine and couldn’t believe our jammy luck! For what we were about to do it needed to stay dry.

Ever so slightly winging it…
You know when you have a plan that’s sort of loosely put together and then it all works out amazing in the end? That is totally what happened!! We knew what we were gonna do, we knew we needed to find a location on the day and as luck would have it, a disused and abandoned Little Chef at the side of the A64 that Kelly only noticed on the way to meet us was absolute perfection!!

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Bride vs Groom – FIGHT!

And the off the wall suggestion was to have a Holi Powder fight – it is originally a Hindu festival tradition to throw coloured powder at each other as a celebration of Holi. Today it is used in TV adverts, music videos and now it is becoming a cool photo shoot for fun brides and grooms.
And who could refuse a powder fight between yourself and your future husband, I know I couldn’t wait!!
So a quick change of outfits into our fighting kits and off it went .. in quite an epic way!

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Becci and Jonny's engagement shoot in York and Holi paint engagement shoot.

Incredible Hulk and Smurf spring to mind and apart from having powder coming out of our ears for the following week, it was blummin good fun and I’d totally recommend it to anyone who is yet to do their photo shoot and is wanting something a little different!

So Team Bride or Team Groom I’ll let you decide who won the fight?!

UGnL3o on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs
8SgLB1 on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs

 

Unplugged Weddings – Should We or shouldn’t We! 

I recently came across something photography related that I’d like to share & hopefully discuss with you all, which is about having an unplugged wedding? Or more specifically for what we are considering, an unplugged ceremony?
Basically this means asking guests not to take photos on mobile phones and cameras throughout the ceremony until the signing of the register.

And the reason I’m intrigued by how widely known or how widely accepted this would be is because, although it may initially sound like a rather diva-esque thing to do, I quite like the sentiment that’s behind it in terms of that our guests would be actually experiencing the wedding with us for real instead of through a camera phone or viewfinder.
Also so that our photographers can catch the smiles and emotion on our guests faces enjoying our day instead of them holding their arms up in the air whilst leaning past Auntie Marjorie’s head to get a good shot of us on their iphone.

I can’t make my mind up about it though as I’m usually the type to take a million photos at gigs, parties and stuff, which I love to look back on, but then sometimes think I should have just relaxed, layed off taking all those photos and enjoyed whatever it was a bit more.
So in this day and age of constantly being attached to our phones, always logged in to facebook and twitter and constantly uploading photos to Instagram and Flickr, is it socially acceptable to ask our guests to put away all the technology for the ceremony part of our wedding day?
Or are you on the complete other side of the fence on this by promoting it and creating a hashtag for your guests wedding photo’s? As a professional photographer, how does it affect your role and job on the day?

Any thoughts and ideas on this would be greatly welcome.

Becki xx

 

First of all I have to say I LOVE the love shoot, the Holi Powder fight shots are fantastic! what a great idea.

Secondly I’d also love to hear your thoughts on unplugged weddings. Do you think they are a good or a bad idea, are you a bride planning on having an unplugged wedding yourself? or have you been a gust at one? All thoughts and points of view are all welcome.

 

 

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Comments

    Lauretta Colgan

    I think it’s totally acceptable to have an unplugged ceremony; it’s the most important part of the day so it’s only right that you get to experience the pure emotion without having flashes going off etc.

    We’re having a really small ceremony, with only 14 people including registrar and photographer, because we wanted it to be really intimate and personal. If any of my family waves a camera in my face I will not be amused ;-)

    We’re having a documentary style photographer, so no posed photos, but guests can take as many pics as they like the rest of the day :-)

    Reply
    Helen Lisk

    Oooh I’m watching with interest! As a photographer, I really love the idea of unplugged ceremonies, and it really does make a huge difference to the quality of the photos from that part of the day. Huge because, as you mention above, it’s so, so, SO much better to see the emotion on your friends and relatives faces, rather than them staring at a device, it makes all the difference in the world to the images. And also because it can be a real shame to have your official photographs blocked by guests taking their own pictures. Although there is something I quite like about seeing all the little screens in the photo as the couple walks down the aisle, it is so disappointing when a guest goes too far and steps in front to get their image, sometimes ruining the official photos of that moment, something that the bride and groom can never get back. So I’m really interested to hear what other people think, and whether most guests would be really put out to be asked to keep their own cameras switched off, or whether people actually think it’s a great idea…

    Reply
    Rachel VK

    Firstly -love the powder fight!

    I can see the attraction of an unplugged ceremony but I love a couple of the snaps my guests got as I came down the aisle so I’m glad they had their cameras out :-) to be honest I didn’t even notice the cameras – though I have no idea if they were a nuisance for our photographers!

    Reply
    Rachael

    I don’t think Unplugged Ceremonies are even a “thing” or they certainly shouldn’t be. I would say common decency should stop your friends and family members from clambering over each other trying to snap pictures on their iphones during the most important part of the day and during a religious/legal ceremony. Especially when a photographer is there and paid to take care of that aspect! If you need to specify this to guests in writing then I think you’re inviting the wrong people!

    Reply
      Charlotte Wilden

      I hear so many stories of wayward guests asking the professional photographer to move out of the way so they can get their shot. You must have the most well behaved family and friends ever!! Xx

      Reply
    Becki

    Thanks for your comments so far on the shoot and the unplugged ceremony idea.
    It definitely an interesting topic and I think it’s more openly talked about in America than here which is part of the reason for me raising the debate, to make people aware of it and see what people’s thoughts are. Especially brides and grooms who value those photos as much as the photographer they have paid, but also how it affects the photographer too on the day. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to be honest, but its great to hear people’s thoughts.
    I do think common decency will prevail on the day with our guests, the description of clambering guests to get around (the fictitional) Auntie Majorie’s head was more for comedic effect.. :)

    Reply
    Charlotte Wilden

    I didn’t know this was a ‘real thing’ you could ask for, but I have to admit, years before I even tought of getting married, I wanted to find a way to ask guests to put their camera’s down, especially in front of the professional photographers.
    To some, it may seem superficial to worrying about your professional images, but in truth, these are your images which you will have paid a lot for, your memories of all the special things you have planned. You don’t want to have an overwhelming distraction in the form of mobile phones.

    I think I saw an article just yesterday about evening guests being disappointed by sneak peeks of the brides dress posted on twitter and facebook in the morning, so their suprises were ruined too.

    What about explaining what Unplugged is in your invite, and also a bit of a reminder in the order of service or registrar on the day. I don’t think people will kick up a fuss, but will need to be reminded.
    You could also ask a trusted and creative friend to take a few preview shots while waiting on your professional images, because it’s always nice to have a sneak the day after!

    Saying that, I would be the one eager to get my camera out, I just love details, but I would also be aware enough not to do it in shot of the professional!

    Reply
    boho

    Personally I think it’s a good thing to ask guests to put their cameras away for the ceremony.
    From experience no one is going to get a good shot of the bride and groom sat in the ceremony, just the back of someones head.

    I have also seen way to many professional photos which include to many guests getting in the way and also getting in the shot themselves. No one want to see a photo of a guest taking a photo in their wedding photos.

    I was at a wedding recently (boho bride Laura) and the lady conducting the ceremony told the guest that it was the bride and grooms decision that they put their cameras and phones down so they could enjoy the ceremony and leave the photos to the professional, and it was fine.

    I am also going to a wedding as a guest in 2 weeks and have decided to leave my camera alone for at least the ceremony, maybe the whole day. There is a professional there for a reason.
    I have seen far to many times guest jumping infant of a professional and nicking their shot, or piggybacking their flash, which is just gong to ruin the photos for the bride and groom!

    Enjoy the moment and put the camera and phone down!

    Reply
    Jo

    Great love shoot guys, just as we knew it would be ;)

    And interesting comments about the Unplugged idea. The photo taking doesn’t concern me too much however my issue is with photos of Nick and I appearing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram on the actual wedding day. I have no problem whatsoever with guests posting pictures of themselves, and they can put as many as they like them the day after but something about it on the day just doesn’t sit right with me.
    Not really sure why, and I’m not sure if it will bother me to the point where I want to ask guests not to do it, but this post certainly made me think about it!

    Reply
    Liz

    I had an unplugged ceremony and it was the best decision I ever made. I just had the officiant make a short announcement at the beginning of the ceremony and also put a line in the program. Turning down the aisle and seeing everyone’s FACES was probably the best moment of the day, capped off by finally looking up at my husband-to-be. I made a mental decision to smile back at everyone and remember their faces. My only regret about it was that people thought the “no photo” prohibition carried over into dinner and the reception so I wish I had made that more clear.

    Reply

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