Gillian Challis - owner of White Peacock Album Design tells about the company.

White Peacock Album Design is a boutique business; we create bespoke storybook wedding albums for both couples and photographers.

Every wedding is unique and our aim is to capture the individual nature of a couple’s big day with our tailor made designs and to really bring the wedding photographs to life. As we start each album design on a blank canvas without the aid of templates, we have the creative freedom to layout the images and add complementary design elements to create a beautiful visual story of a couple’s wedding day.

We offer both a design only service for those who wish to order their own album, or a full album and design package. We work with professional album suppliers to provide long-lasting, beautiful high-quality albums that accentuate our designs. Our albums are available in a range of sizes, pagination and cover options to ensure there is something to suit a range of budgets.

Being a small business we guarantee a personal and friendly touch to our service. The company was born from a love of weddings and the treasured memories that the photographs of the big day bring and that passion is instilled in every album we design.

If you want to view more of their work - please visit their website on: http://whitepeacockalbumdesign.co.uk/

Or you can connect with them on facebook and twitter

Alan Law Photography - Winner of Best Reportage Wedding Photographer in Cornwall & Devon / Westcountry Wedding Awards 2013. We asked Alan a few questions and let his photography talk for itself.

How did you get started?

I imagine in a quite similar way that lots of other wedding photographers get going, by bringing my camera along to a friend’s wedding, and them being so thrilled with the results! I already knew that I loved capturing people – moments and emotions – and I realised that weddings were almost the epitome of that: emotion central. I just love capturing it all.

What makes you unique from other photographers out there?

I think every photographer is unique, as they all bring their own vision, their own way of seeing and capturing the events before them. I don’t interfere in the slightest – no poses, no ‘look at the camera’ – and that approach, coupled with what I hope is an artistic and creative flair to my images (oh boy, I hate talking about myself like that!) makes my style of wedding photography my own, I guess.

Why do you love what you do?

It’s all about the people for me. Although I record the details of weddings, of course, they’re just no way near as important as the people, as all the different moments, exchanges, reactions and emotions that play out before my eyes and lens. That, for me, is why I love doing what I do – capturing hundreds of moments on one of the most special day of my clients’ lives.

Finally, what are your goals for the future?

To constantly improve – photography is a never-ending learning cycle, which I love – and continue to make each and every one of my couples delighted with their images.

Testimonials from happy couples

(on seeing a one-shot preview) “oh wow! We LOVE it! Love it! You did such an amazing job, we loved having you there and can’t wait to see all the pictures! Thank you so much!”Claire and Steve

“Just wanted to say the disks arrived this morning, thank you so much. We love them, you’ve really captured the atmosphere of the day. Thank you so much for doing such a marvellous job, I can’t believe how many photos there are. We’ll have trouble picking our favourites!”Victoria and Robin

You can connect with Alan on twitter and on twitter

To view more of his photography please view his website on http://www.alanlawphotography.co.uk/

We interviewed Terri from Red Confetti about her story and experience about shooting her first ‘official’ wedding! Find out what she had to say below.

Please tell us why you started the photography career?

Ever since the age of 10 when my dad gave me my first camera, I have been fascinated by photographs.  I love the way they can tell a story without words, bring memories flooding back and stir up emotions.  But a career in photography never really crossed my mind until very recently when I attended the wedding of my husband’s niece.  She was in need of a videographer, and asked if I would do the honours!  I was terrified, but I really enjoyed capturing the day – it was the painstaking editing of 5 hours of video into 45 minutes that I didn’t enjoy so much.  But it got me thinking, and the idea suddenly dawned on me that I could “marry” (sorry!) my love of photography with my love of storytelling.  And that is how Red Confetti was born!

How difficult is it from a new individual’s point of view?

Wedding photography is a difficult market to break into.  There are so many fabulous wedding photographers out there, and it does feel a bit like I am “yet another one”.  One of the difficulties is the fact that most couples arrange their weddings so far in advance, and therefore book their photographer so far in advance!  I’m not a very patient person when it comes to getting things I want, and it has been tricky to secure bookings for weddings in the upcoming months.  But I have managed to confirm a couple of weddings for this year, and hopefully the results from these combined with a marketing campaign through social media and wedding fayres will bring more bookings flooding in!

Defining your own style is something else I have found difficult.  I do love the vintage style photographs, but this doesn’t seem to come naturally to me.  I think my style is a more realistic, “as the eye sees it” style, with hopefully a little touch of quirk and individuality, which I feel will result in timeless photos that won’t make the grandchildren giggle over how old-fashioned they seem!

How you feel about shooting your first ‘official’ wedding?

Leading up to the first official wedding shoot, I was excited and nervous in equal measure.  I practiced constantly with my camera under differing lighting conditions and attending a wedding photography course.  I couldn’t sleep for two nights before the wedding!  On the day I actually remained pretty calm and collected.  By focusing my attention on doing some detail shots of the dress, shoes, flowers and other bits, any last minutes nerves soon settled.  I fully expected to be a nervous wreck during the key points of the ceremony, but by that time I was so immersed in the photography that I was completely calm and not worried at all!  I learnt so much on the day, and have a lovely set of photographs for the bride and groom.

What are your goals for the future?

Currently I work part-time in the NHS.  At some point in the future, I would love to be able to give up that job and work full time as a wedding photographer.  This will require a strong business head, which I think could be a tricky thing.  It is difficult to get your pricing your right, especially in the beginning while you are building up your business, and there is a fine balance between pricing yourself out of the market (no-one wants to pay big bucks for a “new” photographer!) and undercutting other photographers (a big no-no!).  Another issue I may well find myself with is that I have a soft heart … I would love to find some way of offering the full wedding package to one or two couples a year who would highly value their wedding photographs, but truly cannot afford it.

What else would you like our readers to know?

I had an awful experience with the photographer at my own wedding.  My husband and I are not huge fans of the formal portrait and had booked the photographer on this understanding.  The mistake we made was using a larger photographic company, not an individual, and we didn’t meet the photographer beforehand.  The result was hundreds of horrible, cheesey posed photos sprinkled with just a few of the more relaxed, reportage type photo we were really after.  It wasn’t until the end of the evening that he bothered to ask if the little flower was in fact our daughter! (She was!).

Because of this experience, I know how important it is to meet with a couple beforehand and gain as much insight into their day as possible.  And to make them feel comfortable on the day!  I do offer group photos, but try to do them in a more relaxed, informal way.  I love to capture the details, and the little candid moments in between that are so important and yet so easily forgotten!

If you want to connect with Terri from Red Confetti you can find her on twitter and facebook
Or visit her website on: http://www.redconfetti.co.uk/

We got in touch with Alix from Lumiere Photography, a photographer based in Loughborough,  about her photography and asked her  a few questions.

How did you get started?

I was asked to take a few photos at a friends Hindu wedding.  He had a photographer but wanted a different perspective too. When he saw my photos, he said he preferred mine to the ones he had paid a fortune for. So I decided to set up business. I had already had a book published and was selling stock but I took the plunge. I have always loved photography, as a kid, I used to frame with my fingers, I still take photos in my mind when I don’t have my camera!

What makes you unique from other photographers out there?

I bring a fresh look into things, I am French, Italian family, I bring many cultures with me. I am also friendly and flexible, I’m happy to tailor packages, to do payment plans, gift vouchers, anyway to help. I love sharing the journey, feeling part of the “family” and keeping in touch with people afterwards.

Why do you love what you do?

It’s a celebration of love, joy, emotions, it’s saying Life is beautiful- la vie est belle- It’s carpe diem, sieze the moment because this one won’t come back, but it’s also saying there are millions of beautiful moments.. Very optimistic.

Finally, what are your goals for the future?

I’d like to travel more with photography. I am freelance and my kids are teens so I can afford to go places and weddings abroad are fab. I speak different languages, have travelled, love learning about different cultures. So far I have shot weddings in Spain, France, Italy, and Ireland. I might go to Morocco for one or even Goa, I’ll see..

If you would like to get in touch with Alix, you can view her website:-

http://www.lumiere-photography.co.uk/

Or connect with her on facebook or twitter