The second you get engaged, it suddenly feels like the entire world has an opinion on your wedding. Family members get involved, TikTok starts showing you things you apparently now “need”, Pinterest convinces you everyone else is living inside a bridal magazine, and before long, you’re three hours deep into comparing napkin colours, wondering how your life ended up here.

If you’re getting married at Ansty Hall, you’ve probably already had that moment where you thought, “yeah… this just feels right.”

Most people think they’re booking a Wedding Photographer, someone to take photos of their special day. Nice and simple. Turn up, take a few pictures, go home. That’s the expectation anyway... The reality is very different.

With Mother’s Day this weekend, it got me thinking about something I see at almost every wedding I photograph. Weddings are full of big moments. The confetti, the speeches, the dance floor when everyone’s had a few drinks and suddenly thinks they’re starring in their own music video. But if you watch closely, there’s another version of the wedding day happening at the same time. A quieter one. The version your mum's eyes experience.

A week or so ago, I put a post up on social media. I asked my followers and people on my personal Facebook to ask me anything. It was a bold move, and because I like to live dangerously, and honestly, I think I'm a gluten for punishment, I also gave everyone the option to make it anonymous too.

Every family has one. You know the one. The relative who turns up to weddings with a camera bag the size of hand luggage, a couple of impressive looking lenses, and the quiet confidence of someone who “used to do a bit of photography back in the day”.

now absolutely nothing about hair. If you asked me the difference between a blow dry, a bun, or whatever’s trending this week, I’d be guessing at best. So rest assured, the hairspray is firmly in the hands of someone who actually knows what they’re doing. That person is Faye from Faye Elizabeth Hair.

After photographing weddings for years, you start to notice patterns. Not just in how days run, but in who makes them easier, calmer, and actually enjoyable to be part of.

This is the part of wedding planning no one really warns you about. You get plenty of advice on budgets, timings, and colour schemes. What doesn’t come with instructions is what happens when you bring a lot of history, opinions, and complicated relationships into one room and politely ask everyone to celebrate together.

Grateful, knackered, inspired, and ready for what’s next. As the year winds down and my inbox finally quietens a bit, it feels like the perfect time to stop, breathe, and look back by reflecting on 2025, which has just flown past.

An honest guide for anyone about to pop the question. Right then. We need to talk about proposals. December and the New Year are basically engagement season.

I’ve got no idea who first decided that shouting “cheese” was the magic trick for a good photo, but they owe all of us an apology. The second someone says it, everyone tenses up. Shoulders rise. Eyes go wide. Smiles freeze into that weird, slightly panicked grin you used to do in primary school photos. And honestly, nothing kills a real moment faster than that.

Let’s talk about group photos! They’re one of those parts of the day that everyone knows are coming. Everyone knows they matter. Yet, somehow, they still have the potential to descend into mild chaos if they’re not handled right.

Let us talk money. It is not the most glamorous part of wedding planning, but it is one of the first questions couples ask and probably the thing that causes the most raised eyebrows. You start looking around and suddenly realise there are photographers charging anything from a couple of hundred quid to prices that make you wonder whether they arrive by helicopter and shoot on cameras made of solid gold.

Let’s be honest. Most couples aren’t models. You probably don’t spend your weekends practising poses in front of the mirror (and if you do, no judgement). So when the thought of a camera being pointed at you all day comes up, it’s totally normal to think: “We’re going to look awkward.”

Wedding photography is not about stiff poses anymore. It is about energy, story and personality. Couples book me because they want photos that feel alive and modern, something they will look back on and grin at rather than a gallery of formal smiles.

We've got the fantastic Charlotte at Big Occasion Events in for a guest blog on why you should absolutely be considering an independent wedding planner for your big day!

Find out what happened at Vanessa's and Simon's Wedding.