Guest Blog
Rob & Sarah Gillespie at Pendrell Hall
Here at Pendrell Hall we love working with wedding suppliers who are as passionate about getting everything right for their clients as we are. We recently had the pleasure of chatting to wedding photographers Rob and Sarah Gillespie and took the opportunity to pick their brains about what they love about weddings and what top tips they could offer the Bride and Groom.
An Awesome Venue Helps!
The first full wedding at Pendrell Hall took place in August 2013 and we were delighted when the couple – Katy and Tom – chose us to photograph their big day.
They had chosen Pendrell Hall because of its beautiful interiors and grounds, so we really wanted to make the most of the opportunity not only to capture their big day, but also to showcase what the venue has to offer.
The wedding went perfectly and we were really pleased with how the day panned out. Very often the staff can make or break our impression of a wedding venue, but we were really impressed with the team at Pendrell Hall. Now that we are ‘regulars’ there, we always find it a pleasure to return.
We know the day is in safe hands with the excellent Pendrell management team, that the couple will have a fantastic day and that we’ll be able to work to the best of our ability.
Morning To Evening
We tend to work on weddings were we can be there for the majority of the day. This means starting the morning preparations and working through the day until the evening party is in full-swing.
Photographing the preparations are some of the best parts of the day for us – you get to see and document the relationships between people and capture the atmosphere of the morning without making our presence felt too much. You’ll hardly notice we’re there, but those wedding preparations can offer up such emotionally charged images, you’ll love looking at them in years to come.
Timing is Everything!
The thing that is most precious on a wedding day is time. We always recommend couples to include as much ‘buffer’ time as possible into their plans.
Great timing is often the difference between a nice wedding and fantastic wedding and sticking to your planned schedule is the best way to remain relaxed throughout the day.
The Award-Winning Events Team at Pendrell Hall will offer guidance on your wedding day timings at your planning meeting with them and we’ll always make sure we work within your schedule to keep things ticking along nicely.
To get the kind of pictures you see on our website we need the right amount of time at the right places, so we will also go through your plans in advance of the wedding and offer some suggestions if we feel the schedule could be tweaked to your advantage.
The Two Of You….
One of our highest priorities is to ensure the couple get to relax and enjoy their wedding as much as possible.
We like to invest time with the people who choose us. We meet virtually everyone in-person before they book, so we have chance to chat about their plans before they make their final choice of photographer.
The vast majority of our couples choose to have our pre-wedding shoot which takes place a few weeks before the big day. This session gives us the chance to get to know them a little better and to see what works best for the couple from a photography perspective.
The pre-shoot helps break down the initial barriers and get the couple much more comfortable in front of the cameras. We really want the couples to see their ‘couple photos’ as a nice little break away from the crowd, not something to have to endure!
…The Two Of Us
Ever since we first started back in 2007, we have always photographed as a pair. We’ve built up our experience together so instinctively we know what each other will be doing at any point during the day. We both have our own ‘eye’ and never interpret a scene in the same way, but our pictures gel together beautifully. Sarah’s feminine viewpoint is often quite different to mine and working together, we can provide a fabulous variety of images.
When couples book us, they really are booking *us* – our personalities, our creative eyes and the joint experience we’ve built up together over the years. We’re very much a team-effort and this starts from the initial meeting all the way through until the final products are delivered.
We’d love to hear from you if you’re getting married at Pendrell Hall. Contact us today, we’d love to hear about your wedding plans and find out what’s important to you.