I'll kick things off by saying, I'm melting. I love the summer, I love the hot weather and I love spending as much time out in the sun as possible.
I'm currently sat in my office, looking at the weather, and the thermometer is holding steady at a solid 28 degrees. It's both amazing, as we should be grateful for any ounce of sunshine here in the UK and horrible because I'm sticking to everything. British people really aren't built for extreme weather conditions, be it snow, rain or heatwaves.
It did get me thinking though, why do most couples want a summer wedding?
Now, I'm not saying DON'T have a summer wedding, in fact, these long summer days when the sun more often than not doesn't set till 9:30, mean that you're definitely benefitting from the extra daylight hours with your guests. There is, however a few downsides to having your wedding in the summer, which I think are worth talking about.
Inherently, wedding clothes are hot. This is something I've witnessed first-hand, brides with their big heavy dresses, and grooms and groomsmen sat in the sun, baking in a 3 piece suit. Whilst you might feel fairly comfortable first thing in the morning when it's a little cooler, trust me, by midday, you'll be absolutely roasting, and if you do elect to get married at a church, they don't have air-con! Gents, purchase an extra shirt for the day, there's nothing worst than sitting in the same shirt when it's hot, from the early hours of the morning, right through to around midnight the same day. Ladies, I'm happy to say most brides elect for some comfy shoes in the evening, and I've even seen some couples even pop a few pairs of comfy flip flops in the toilets for the guests too!
Cost. It's no secret, after the last 18 months we're all living life on a shoestring. When looking at wedding venues (which is easily one of the highest outgoings for the day) you'll notice that they all charge extra for any wedding date between March right through to early September. You can honestly save yourself 1000's of pounds, just by going for a date outside those months. Is it going to affect your day? Probably not. Autumn and winter both come with their own charm, so my advice is to embrace those months too!
Weather. Now, from my decade of experience in the industry, I can solidly tell you that sunshine, isn't the be-all and end-all of a wedding day. I would go as far as to say that even if you've gone for a summer wedding, the predictability of British weather, means there's no guarantee of that amazing weather you hope for, and even if by chance you've been lucky, the last thing us photographers want is you squinting to keep the sun out of your eyes, and dealing with shadows is an absolute pain when it comes to editing. Now let's say you've booked a summer wedding, and it decides to bucket it down all day. So what? Rain or cloudy weather really doesn't mean bad photos. Most photographers can edit your photos in photoshop to take those things away, granted, we might struggle with editing out a flash flood or a snowstorm, but come what may, we all want you to have incredible photos!
Golden Hour, I would imagine the bulk of people aren't probably aware of what golden hour is, or why it would impact your wedding day, but as I'm going to point out now, it's something to think about. As a rule, the two best times of the day to take photos are just as the sun is rising first thing in the morning, and just as the sun is setting in the evening. Those times of the day just make for incredible photos, everything is bathed in soft light, and they just look phenomenal. In the summer, those times of day are pretty difficult to get. The sun rises before most of us are even awake, and the sunsets so late in the day, that the majority of couples are now in full party mode and understandably don't want to be whisked off for photos. In other seasons golden hour is logistically easier to fit into your schedule for the day, and in winter, in particular, there's nothing better than a crisp cold evening with a bright hazy sunset for photos.
Individuality. Everyone gets married in the summer! I always love shooting couples that do things a little different from the norm, be it with themes for the day, vows, favours or even first dances! It's another little way I get to depict their personalities through the pictures I take. Breaking the mould and letting your personality shine through, is honestly so exciting, your guests will love it and what better way to make your wedding day stand out is there than going for a completely different season?!
So there we have it! To SUMMERise (See what I did there?) don't discount other seasons. There's absolutely no reason to!
All this being said, however, this is YOUR wedding day, and if you want to get married in the summer, you absolutely should!
Either way, myself and Rachel would still absolutely love the opportunity to shoot your wedding. Between my decade of experience in the industry and Rachel's 5-star hospitality background, we're a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the in's and out's of weddings. That we're only ever too happy to pass on to.
If your date is approaching, we'd love to hear from you!
That's it for this week!
Peace, Love and Photos.
Jono x