Choosing to have your wedding photos printed and supplied in a wedding album or provided in digital format can be one of the hardest decisions you face when you’re planning your big day. 

Digital photos can mean flexibility, choice and an opportunity for you to create incredible, engaging content for your social channels and for you to share with family and friends quickly and easily. Printed photos supplied in a beautiful album are timeless, classic and a gorgeous memento of your big day. There are benefits to both types of format – but how do you choose? Here are a few points to consider to make the decision a bit easier for you. 

How are you planning on sharing your photos? Many couples love the flexibility of images provided purely in digital format. I will provide you with an agreed number of images based on the package you’ve chosen, and will provide you with a password-protected site for you to download the images. It’s quick and easy for you to download the ones you love the most. You can then use them to create your own content – gorgeous reels, beautiful posts and stunning stories – and you can share them with guests via a link or you can upload them to your own wedding website. It’s also really special – and nostalgic - to receive display-ready printed photos, perhaps for parents or grandparents who may want to proudly add you to their wall-of-fame. I have my own trusted suppliers who will print the photos for them, to their highest standards with proper colour correction, so you know you’re going to get the best quality images that will last. 

How quickly do you want them? Whether you choose digital or printed photos will also depend on how fast you need them. There’s nothing like that feeling of being on your honeymoon somewhere tropical with a chilled glass in your hand, looking through the photos together on your ipad and reliving the day you spent months and months planning. Printed photos naturally take longer, and if you order a wedding album you’ll need to allow time for me to receive the album and carefully put together your prints to retell the story of your day, but you’d see the digital copies sooner so you’d get the best of both worlds. 

Where are you planning on storing them? Make sure you have somewhere you can store digital copies safely and securely – cloud storage is perfect, just check your subscription, storage and renewal date. You don’t want to have your cloud storage removed because you haven’t updated your bank details, for example. I will have copies but you might have to pay a retrieval fee if years go buy and you decide you need them again  – some will waive this, but a retrieval fee is definitely something I’ve seen before among photographers. If you’re ordering a printed album, it will take up a lot of shelf space, but it’s a keepsake you’ll have forever. 

What’s your budget?  Printed photos in a wedding album are more costly than digital copies – expect to pay £500-£900 for an album of prints -  but established photographers will have their own suppliers whom they know and trust, whose albums are superior quality to those that can be found cheaper. A good photographer will know a supplier that meets your values and ethics, so if you prefer vegan leather or you want a particular colour, let them know – there’s no need to compromise on style and quality. Ask your photographer to show you examples of ‘real wedding’ albums they’ve put together so you can see the quality of the albums they provide. This way you can discover their storytelling skills, too:  an album should tell the story of your day exactly as it unfolded.  My couples love the longevity and tangibility of an album – some are lucky enough to have their own memories of leafing through dusty pages of parents’ and even grandparents’ wedding albums, and want their children to have the same opportunity to follow their parents’ love story. 

How busy are you – really? Some of my couples initially ask for digital-only format, intent on getting them printed themselves and ordering and creating their own album. But life gets in the way, they’re incredibly busy and before they know it, months – even years – have passed, and it’s still on their household admin list.  I know exactly how this feels: my wife and I got married, relocated from London and had a premature baby in the same year. I know for a fact if we’d been provided digital images, they would be backed up somewhere safe but would remain digital until the end of time. Instead, our photographer provided prints in the most beautiful bound album that we leaf through with a glass of fizz on every wedding anniversary, sometimes joined by our elderly parents (lamenting how young everyone looks) and sometimes joined by the children (the reason for how much older we look!). 

What would you genuinely prefer? Ultimately the decision is yours, and I will be there to chat to and help you decide which package is right for you. If you’re looking for a visual story of your wedding day, a photo album is a timeless choice. If you’d prefer the flexibility and ‘shareability’ of digital prints, go for a digital-only option. Don’t forget many photographers will offer a ‘mix and match’ package with digital and print, and if you see the digital prints and realise you just don’t have the time to put together an album yourself, a good photographer would be delighted to put one together for you. 

Five tips to choosing the most unforgettable wedding flowers 

Selecting exquisite wedding flowers can quickly change from being one of the most enjoyable tasks on your to-do list to one of the most confusing and overwhelming. How do you know what’s in season? Which flowers are within in your budget? Which blue flowers are in season for a February wedding (spoiler alert – try blue muscari)? When did Lily-of-the-Valley get so expensive? What’s the difference between a posy and a bouquet? And are there really 300 species of roses?

Here are five tips to help you guarantee beautiful blooms that provide the most perfect backdrop for your day: 

1. Take time finding the right florist for you. Check your venue’s recommended supplier lists, follow their social accounts, contact them with questions and ask for ‘real life’ examples of their work. Think about practicalities like their distance from the wedding venue, ask them where they source their flowers. Are they responsive, experienced, professional, helpful and friendly? You’ll very quickly get a feeling as to whether they’re right for you. And once you’ve decided on your florist, involve them early on in your vision: share your Pinterest pins, send them examples of arrangements you love, tell them the design and colour theme you’re considering and stay open to ideas. Talk to them about how you’d like to incorporate florals into your outfit: floral headpieces are stunning; buds tied with garden string on each place setting are beautiful, or maybe you’ve got your heart set on a hanging installation for the dancefloor. 

2. What’s in season? The answer to this question will probably have the biggest influence on your floral blooms. You may have a wider choice of flowers for a summer wedding – pastel-toned roses, gently-fragranced sweet peas, luxe lilies, powder-puff peonies  – but other seasons lend themselves perfectly to creative blends of buds, blooms, berries, greenery and grasses. Some flowers and plants, despite being in season, don’t enjoy particularly warm environments, so be guided by your florist on durability. And – although it might feel weird to think about the end of your wedding day – task one of the wedding party with taking some of your flowers home. 

3. Make it personal and meaningful: think about whether you want to work any specific flowers into your day. Maybe you want to include a particular flower your mother or a good friend carried in their bridal bouquet; perhaps there’s a flower unique to your heritage, to yours or your partners’ birth month,  or something that lifts you when you see it outside a florist’s, growing in a garden or a field. Think about how you’re displaying them: do your grandparents have a collection of vintage vases that would elevate your displays, or would you prefer rustic-style jars or bud vases for a relaxed feel? 

4. What type of arrangements suit your venue, your outfits and your budget? If your venue is in the countryside, in a rural oak-beamed barn or a marquee in a garden, you might want to continue the theme of what’s outside and bring it inside for a country garden feel. If your venue is an art-deco style hotel, maybe you’d prefer more dramatic table arrangements like Calla Lilies or Birds of Paradise. Pair them with orchids or protea for striking centrepieces. Is there a point of interest in your venue that lends itself perfectly to an eye-catching display – a sweeping staircase or antique table? Share your vision for your bouquet, posies or buttonholes with your florist. Show them pictures of your outfit and take advice on how to hold your bouquet – it might sound obvious but there is ‘a way’ to hold your bouquet for your photos: hold it low, angle it slightly and relax your arms. As for your budget, seasonal flowers tend to be more cost-effective. Ask your florist to suggest alternatives – peonies could be substituted with garden roses, for example. If there’s a particular bloom you love that’s blowing the budget, go for just a few interspersed with greenery or feathers; or view our posts for a beautiful posy made from antique buttons. 

5. Think of any practicalities: if you’re planning a cosy, intimate day in a smaller venue, dramatic centrepieces might obstruct your guests’ view of each other – and make it hard for conversation to flow during your wedding breakfast! What about the dreaded hay fever or allergies? Lilies and sunflowers can produce a lot of pollen which can trigger allergies, so be aware if you or your partner or any guests are prone to allergies. 

  Flower table display at Brocket Hall

Selecting a wedding menu should be one of the most enjoyable and straightforward parts of your planning, right? Just choose a caterer, pick a few options from their menu – maybe have a leisurely afternoon tasting the very best they have to offer - and book them.

In reality, crafting a delicious and memorable menu that you and your partner adore, that accommodates every guest's dietary needs, fits the style and theme of your venue, and doesn’t blow your budget can feel like an impossible task. 

I’m lucky enough to have 20+ years of experience photographing some of the UK's most breathtaking weddings, and have spent time chatting to many incredible caterers. I’ve pulled together what I’ve learned to create this checklist to help make wedding menu planning a little easier for you. Follow these tips to rediscover the joy of menu selection, so you and your guests can look forward to memorable dishes that delight every palate.

Involve your caterers in your vision: they’re the pros, it’s not their first gig – involve them, ask them for their advice and suggestions. Find out what other couples have chosen at your venue, ask them for sample menus, and if you have your heart set on something, tell them. Likewise if there’s something you can’t bear, let them know. Make sure they’re kept informed of guest numbers, too. 

Keep it seasonal and local: if your wedding menu is guided by the seasons and uses locally-sourced food, you won’t go far wrong. Comfort food is a welcome antidote to a chilly winter’s day – think warmly spiced dishes, hearty roasts and root veg – while summer is the perfect backdrop for lighter dishes with an abundance of veg, salad leaves and fresh herbs in season. Your caterer can let you know what’s likely to be in season and will talk you through their suppliers. 

Be adventurous, and don’t be influenced by anyone else: if your Mum says the wedding breakfast must have a fish starter, then a chicken main, then a chocolate pudding – you don’t have to listen.

How does it fit with the rest of your day? Maybe you’ve got Bollywood dancing or a Ceilidh planned, and you don’t want your guests sitting down to multiple courses for hours, so grazing tables from earlier in the day would work better. Or how about lighter self-serve options, and a candlelit sit-down dinner later in the evening? 

Choose festival-style food vans for quirkiness: queuing for sugar-crusted hot doughnuts or mozzarella-laden pizza slices at a wedding is a world apart from festival fare – it’s fun, hassle-free and a great way for guests to get to know each other. And it doesn’t have to be unhealthy: create-your-own salad vans, smoothie bars and frozen yogurt trucks with add-your-own-topping-selections are great options. 

Consider something striking as a sharing centrepiece: a centrepiece on each table which requires guests to dig in, to help themselves or serve each other can be a fantastic, interactive experience and complements an informal, relaxed wedding. Try an antipasto starter, or  a fragrant paella served in a cast-iron paella pan for jaw-dropping drama.  

Make it personal: the menu should reflect you both as a couple. Maybe one of you cooked an incredible dish in your early days of dating; maybe there’s a dish you both loved on a favourite holiday today, or perhaps you both have family favourites from your childhood that are meaningful to you. Tell your caterers, and ask if they can recreate them.  

Know your guests: make it easy for guests to let you know their dietary preferences well in advance and give them a deadline for the information, to help the caterers. Add a section on your RSVP, or on your wedding website, and highlight allergens on any printed menus. Discuss any allergies with your caterers and inform event staff. It’s also worth asking staff their process in the event of an emergency – not to sound dramatic, just to be sure that everyone can relax and enjoy themselves on the day