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All In Wedding Photography: What to Expect From Your Full Day With Me

Right. If you want ALL of it, the nervous giggles, the happy tears, the confetti blizzard, the speeches, the first dance and the absolute carnage on the dancefloor, this is the one. My All In package is my most popular for a reason. I’m there from two hours before your ceremony, right through to your first dance and beyond if the party’s popping!

So what does a full day with me actually look like? I’ve pulled together some of my favourite All In weddings to show you. Grab a drink, this is a big one!

“She also had the whole party laughing and was such a joy to have around.”
Helen & Jacob, Hotel Miramar

Morning Prep: Bubbles, Banter and Behind the Scenes

I arrive two hours before your ceremony, which is the perfect amount of time to grab the dress going on, the last bits of make-up, the bubbly and the giggles, without anyone feeling like they’ve got a camera stuck in their face.

Helen got ready with sea views at Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth. Relaxed, giggly, zero stress. Just how I like it!

Bride smiling into a hand mirror during bridal prep at Hotel Miramar Bournemouth

Lisa is a make-up artist herself, so she was the picture of calm doing her own make-up while the prosecco popped. Cool as a cucumber.

Bride doing her own makeup before her wedding at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire

And then there’s this. Vicki’s dad seeing her in her dress for the first time. Those are the moments I’m there for.

Father of the bride emotional seeing his daughter in her wedding dress, black and white

Behind the scenes secret… at Whitney’s, one of the bridesmaid dresses didn’t quite fit, so there was a sneaky bit of needle and thread DIY going on. Crisis quietly averted, and Whitney never noticed a thing!

Bridesmaids laughing together during bridal prep at The Queens Hotel

The Ceremony: Lit Properly, Every Time

I refuse to work with bad light. There’s no excuse for it! Loads of ceremony rooms are dark, and I’m talking DARK. So my off camera flashes come with me everywhere. Punchy and crisp, not dark and grainy.

Whitney and John’s ceremony in the chandelier ballroom at The Queens Hotel, Southsea. Just look at that room glow!

Bride and groom during their flash-lit ceremony in the chandelier ballroom at The Queens Hotel Southsea

The Square Tower in Old Portsmouth is one of the darkest rooms I shoot in all year. I lit the whole vaulted brick ceiling for Vicki and Luke’s first kiss, and I’m not one to blow my own trumpet, but I NAILED it.

First kiss lit with off camera flash in the vaulted brick ceremony room at The Square Tower

Lisa and Sian’s 5pm ceremony at The Elephant at Pangbourne, with rain hammering down outside. Hello, flash!

Two brides share their first kiss during their ceremony at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire

And when the weather plays nice? Helen and Jacob said their vows on the lawn with the sea stretched out behind them. Not bad, eh?

Outdoor wedding ceremony by the gazebo overlooking the sea at Hotel Miramar Bournemouth

Confetti! (More Is Always the Answer)

You all know how I feel about a good confetti moment. I’ll line everyone up, boss them about a bit (lovingly) and make sure EVERYONE has a handful. Whitney and John’s guests did NOT hold back, it was like a full on blizzard!

Bride and groom walking through a colourful confetti blizzard at The Queens Hotel Southsea

Vicki and Luke’s groomsmen had a score to settle from other weddings, so the bride’s mum handed out paper bags absolutely STUFFED with extra confetti. Payback was had!

Bride and groom walking through a huge confetti throw outside The Square Tower Old Portsmouth

Lisa and Sian were told confetti could only happen if it stopped raining. The rain stopped the very moment the ceremony finished. I marched every last guest outside, drinks in hand, and we got it!

Two brides walk through colourful confetti at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire
Colourful confetti throw outside Hotel Miramar Bournemouth

Group Photos and Family Formals: Quick, Pain Free and Actually Fun

Family formals don’t have to be boring! I keep them quick, I keep them moving, and I light them with flash so everyone looks their best, even in harsh midday sun. Then I’ll usually find somewhere high to grab the big group shot from above.

Everyone squeezed in under the giant LOVE letters at Hotel Miramar…

Big group photo from above with all the wedding guests and giant LOVE letters at Hotel Miramar

…on the rooftop of The Square Tower with Portsmouth Harbour behind…

Full wedding party group photo on the rooftop of The Square Tower with Portsmouth Harbour behind

…and from a first floor window at Newtown House Hotel on Hayling Island.

Group photo of all the wedding guests from above at Newtown House Hotel, Hayling Island

At Lisa and Sian’s I ended up photographing forty-plus guests in a pitch-black garden. Most photographers might have had a small breakdown. I had my flashes, so I lit everyone up and may have suggested the front row twerk or lunge so the folks at the back could be seen. You had to be there!

Large flash-lit group photo in the garden at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire

Want to know how I do it? Have a read of my family formals blog.

Couple Portraits: No Stiff Posing, I Promise

Camera shy? Good, most of my couples are too! I’ll steal you away for five or ten minutes, chuck a few daft challenges at you so you forget about the camera, and then send you back to your party. If it’s not working, we’ll do more later.

Luke HATES having his photo taken. His mum told me he scowled in every single school photo he ever had. I got him under Vicki’s veil on the rooftop and he loved it. I’ll be accepting my medal in the post, thank you.

Bride and groom kissing on the rooftop of The Square Tower with the veil spread out and harbour views

Helen and Jacob on the clifftop at Hotel Miramar. The sea breeze joined in, the veil went everywhere and they couldn’t stop laughing. That’s the shot!

Bride and groom laughing under her veil in the sea breeze at Hotel Miramar Bournemouth

Whitney and John at sunset on Southsea seafront. I spotted the hill, grabbed a mirror for a reflection and popped them up in the sky. Easily one of my favourite images I’ve EVER taken. And Whitney serenaded John with Irish songs while I worked. Not many portrait sessions come with a live soundtrack!

Silhouette of the bride and groom against a dramatic sunset with a mirror reflection on Southsea seafront

Now, Molly and Kerry’s golden hour shots. Everyone assumes we drove out to some remote countryside field. The truth? A scrappy patch of long grass next to a main road, two minutes from the party. It’s never about the location, it’s about the light and the moment.

Brides laughing in the long grass at sunset

No sunset? We can make one! Ellie and Warren’s front lawn was taken over by hotel guests, so we nipped round by the car park and I built them a sunset with my flashes. Nobody would ever guess.

Romantic couple portrait created with off camera flash at Newtown House Hotel, Hayling Island

Speeches, Shots and Total Shenanigans

Speeches are where you get the belly laughs AND the happy tears, sometimes in the same sentence. My flashes are already set up, so I’m ready to catch every reaction.

Laughter and happy tears during the wedding speeches at Newtown House Hotel

At Helen and Jacob’s, their MC was a magician who was just as bonkers as me (I’m NOT used to that). There was singing, dancing on chairs, a conga nobody saw coming and a whole room with their arms in the air.

Whole room of wedding guests cheering with arms in the air at Hotel Miramar Bournemouth

I spotted the girls lining up at the bar for shots at Whitney and John’s, so obviously I HAD to sneak behind the bar to catch them. You don’t get a shot like that by standing politely to one side!

Bridesmaids raising tequila rose shots at the bar at The Queens Hotel Southsea

And sometimes something happens that you’d never plan. At Vicki and Luke’s, HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour right in the middle of the wedding, so I grabbed them and the guests to wave her off. Only in Pompey!

Bride, groom and guests watching HMS Queen Elizabeth leave Portsmouth Harbour

The First Dance and the Dancefloor (My Favourite Bit!)

I live for the dancefloor. Helen and Jacob had their first dance on a cloud of dry ice. Say no more.

First dance on a cloud of dry ice at Hotel Miramar Bournemouth, black and white

Lisa and Sian secretly arranged with the band to switch their romantic first dance into the Hokey Cokey. I kid you not. The whole room was putting their left leg in!

Two brides share their first dance at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire

Whitney and John’s first dance was Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, one of my all time favourite songs, then it was glow bunny ears and silly faces everywhere.

Guests wearing glow bunny ears on the dancefloor at The Queens Hotel Southsea

No first dance at Vicki and Luke’s (Luke is very much not a dancer), but I spotted Vicki having an impromptu dance with her dad and legged it upstairs to grab this.

Aerial photo of the bride dancing with her dad in the crowd at The Square Tower
Guests singing and celebrating on the dancefloor at Newtown House Hotel
Two brides screaming with laughter on the dancefloor at their Southsea wedding reception at Ashbys

Want a packed dancefloor? I’ve got tips for that too in my dancefloor blog.

After Dark: Where the Flash Really Comes Out to Play

This is my happy place. Once it gets dark, I’ll steal you for five minutes of flash-lit portraits that look like nobody else’s. A champagne spray outside the glowing Hotel Miramar sign…

Bride and groom spraying champagne outside Hotel Miramar Bournemouth at night, lit with off camera flash

…colour gels on my flashes and a champagne spray beside the actual elephant at The Elephant at Pangbourne…

Champagne spray beside the elephant with coloured flash at The Elephant at Pangbourne, Berkshire

…and Whitney and John under the canopy and the painted dome at The Queens Hotel.

Groom dipping the bride under the glowing canopy at The Queens Hotel Southsea, rim lit with off camera flash
Low angle flash-lit portrait of bride and groom striking a pose beneath the painted dome at The Queens Hotel Southsea

And the lads on the steps at Hotel Miramar with their cigars, looking like the coolest gang in Bournemouth.

Groomsmen smoking cigars on the steps of Hotel Miramar at night, flash lit portrait

I’m ranked top ten in the world for flash, and this is why. See more in my flash wedding photography blog.

What’s Included in My All In Package?

  • Full day coverage, from two hours before your ceremony through to your first dance and beyond
  • A pre-wedding video call so everything runs smoothly on the day
  • 500+ fully edited images, high res and web sized, for you AND your guests
  • Travel included for venues within 1½ hours of Portsmouth (further afield? I’ll happily travel, I’ll just quote a fair fuel and hotel contribution upfront)

Just relax! Enjoy your day! Don’t fuss and worry over the little things. Look around you and take it all in, all your favourite people in one place. I’ll take care of the rest.

“Honestly, if you want a photographer that will be involved and get people laughing then this is your girl!”
Kerry, Southsea Castle

“A beautiful mixture of love, laughs and most importantly…. the dance floor!”
Lisa & Sian, The Elephant at Pangbourne

See the Full Weddings

Not sure you need the full day? Have a nosey at my Essentials weddings (up to five hours) or my micro weddings.

Fancy Me for the Whole Day?

If you want a photographer who’ll light your ceremony properly, chase the sunset, sneak behind the bar for the good stuff and get stuck in on the dancefloor, give me a shout. I’d LOVE to hear all about your plans!

See my packages
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