Ask the Experts

Always Asks London Wedding Photographer Sarah Gawler

I’ve known London Wedding Photographer Sarah Gawler for a while now as we are both South London locals and was delighted we finally got the chance to work together last year on the 2 day wedding that you can see here and here . So you could all get to know Sarah a little better I asked her to answer a few questions for you…

What’s your background?

I’ve always been interested in the place of photographs in people’s lives – how they help illustrate our personal histories and keep important memories alive in our minds. At university I read fine art and specialised in photography. All my work there dealt with this link between photography and memory, so I guess in many ways wedding photography is a really lovely progression from where I started out!

Why did you get into wedding photography?

I had been shooting family portraits and PR events at clubs and parties for a few years when a landscape photographer friend of mine asked me to photograph his wedding. I was reluctant as the responsibility of it felt huge but he convinced me by saying it’s what I do already, it’s just family portraits … at a party. As it turned out, I loved the experience and quickly saw that a career in wedding photography could be really fulfilling for me. I really enjoy seeing how a couple express themselves through their wedding celebration; the outfits, the flowers, styling, music choices … but mostly I love getting to know people who are on this personal journey and being witness to their all-important day. Capturing these kind of memories for people is what makes me tick.

How would you describe your style?

I think that my images themselves embrace simple composition, spontaneity and lots of joy. I also like them to have a light and delicate quality, so that they look as much as is possible as memory feels.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Everywhere; Film, music, theatre, art, the countryside, books, magazines but ultimately for weddings I’m inspired by the couple. It’s their story, personality and vision they have for their day that I want to understand and interpret.

What has been your best experience at a wedding?

I think I have too many to mention individually but on the whole, the weddings that I’ve had the best experiences at are the ones where the couple (and their guests) really let me into their day so that I feel more like a friend than ‘the photographer’. These are the days that make me buzz when I’m shooting and that I have the fondest memories of.

What have you found the most challenging at a wedding?

Working with limited or no natural light. Photography is painting with light and it’s always challenging to shoot in venues when there’s not much to work with.

What do you think couples should be looking for when hiring a photographer?

A visual style they like of course but also a great chemistry and trust. If you enjoy and feel relaxed in your photographer’s company the chances are you’ll enjoy the experience of being photographed by them which will result in the best pictures.

What advice would you give to couples when planning their wedding?

Choose the suppliers who’s work you love, talk to them on the phone, skype or meet up with them to make sure there’s a good chemistry – then trust them to do their job.

What do you wish couples knew already when working with you?

That I’m as excited about their wedding as they are and I love to hear the little stories that go into making their day unique!

Where do you see the future of British wedding photography?

There’s lots of seriously talented Brit photographers right now making beautiful art imagery and changing people’s perceptions about what wedding photography should be so it’s a really exciting time to be a working in the industry. Photographers are experimenting with both film and digital processes, stop motion, moving image, music with images, text on images, fine art papers, beautifully bound books, the list goes on and with everyone being able to share their new ways of working through blogs, Pinterest, Twitter etc … I can only see British wedding photography becoming even more exciting. I also like to think that providing real photographs rather than or as well as digital files will make a big comeback (it has done with me, see here!)

What’s your one obsession at the moment-something you just can’t live without?

I have bit of a long term obsession with radio so my portable DAB I think. It’s pretty much on all the time when I’m at home ;)

Thankyou Sarah for your time. Do take a look at Sarah’s beautiful website and blog for lots more inspirational images.

All photos courtesy of Sarah Gawler via her blog post Mexico A Jose Villa workshop

 

 

 


Always Asks Berin Made

A little while ago I was checking out the blog of one of my favourite photographers when I spotted this fabulous shoot with a lovely range of stationery (just one look at my logo and you’ll know I love calligraphy) by a new company called Berin Made, I quickly bookmarked the website thinking I must get in touch for some samples. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I was delighted to receive a lovely email from the Erin herself introducing her company. So without any hesitation I got back in touch and asked Erin a few questions…

What’s your background? (Self taught or design/art school?)

I’ve been making things with my hands for as long as I can remember. My background is in painting with a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martin’s in London. After which I got my MA in Contemporary Art focusing on theory and criticism. I did a lot of art writing and curating work with private collectors too.

Why did you decide to set up Berin Made?

When I graduated I worked in the Post War and Contemporary Art department in a high-profile auction house, but I found myself desperate to create things again. I set up the Etsy shop selling things I had made at home in my spare time. It was at first really just an outlet for my creative itch. But the more time I spent on it, the more I realised that I really enjoyed the prospect of doing this full time, as well as running a small business. I really admired people who ran their small businesses– now I see that it takes a lot of versatility and creative thinking which I just love to do!

How would you describe your style/vision?          

I’m naturally attracted to all things floral, colourful and bold. I spent a long time resisting this when I was in Art college because it just wasn’t conceptually “forward-thinking” enough for a fine artist. Over time and as I grew into my practise though, I found that it was OK to embrace this inclination while keeping the look updated and modern. I love that the look of my work sits between timeless hand-painted florals and calligraphy and at the same time appeals to a modern audience, I guess because of the colours and versatility.

Championing creativity is also a huge thing for me. I love making products where clients can customise pieces by themselves, like the hand-lettered name stamp. That’s why I love my DIY projects and styled shoots so much!!

Where do you find your inspiration?

I love the art of calligraphy, hand-lettering, and antique letterforms, so old books and vintage illustrations are definitely a starting point. For colour and pattern I love looking at interior and fashion magazines and shop displays (Anthropologie is such a fast pick-me-up). At the end of the day, my soft spot is and always will be for the masters of painting: Cy Twombly, Peter Doig (although perhaps it will be a while yet for him to be considered a master!), Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse, and the like who have such a heart and soul for colour. The best part for me is somehow to pull these worlds together to work them into my own aesthetic and the look of the brand.

You recently launched your new wedding ‘mix and match’ service can you explain how it works?

The mix and match stationery line is compiled of a swatchbook of illustrated designs, and can be mixed, matched and colour-customised to your hearts’ content. Conceived with the budget-and-design-savvy bride in mind, it aims to champion a love of festive celebration with a unique personal touch, without the price tag of total custom design.

The Swatchbook, much like a sketchbook, is my collection of illustrated and hand-lettered elements where you can explore your ideas and vision, and experiment with mixing, matching and colour-customising what you like best for your invitation set. These elements can be chosen to extend into their enclosures, accessories, day-of paper goods, as well as after-the-day stationery.

On top of all of this, built into the price is a unique hand-lettering of the couple’s names which will feature on their invitation sets. The whimsical flourish of hand-lettering is the perfect emblem in the suite which gives it all the look and luxury of custom invitations.

Invitation sets are printed on a luxurious Colourplan range by GFSmith. Extra finishing such as embossing, debossing, and foil blocking are all supported by this paper range. Since paper is so important, I encourage my clients to order a sample, and it’s fully redeemable with a future order.

What has been your favourite wedding to design for /work on?

Every project brings on its own unique set of challenges and perks so it’s hard to pick just one! I love it when a bride comes to me knowing that I am “the one”. I know this feeling when I got married myself, when approaching a supplier you just know in your heart that you want them to be a part of your big day because their work makes your heart skip a beat. It is wonderful to work for someone who feels that they have found a match in my work! Also I love it when they ask for a product I don’t offer! It sounds strange but I really love that my work can be applied in different ways and I love that challenge of answering a special request!

What do you think couples should be looking for when buying their wedding stationery?

I think that wedding stationery is one thing that couples tend to cut back on their budget on because it is conceived as just a piece of paper. In a sense that is true, but I think there is so much more to it, because it’s such a tangible piece of your wedding and memories that every guest will get to keep after the day. I have kept every single piece of beautiful stationery from friends’ and family’s weddings because tactility can conjure up amazing memories (that’s why scrapbooks and photo albums are such tear-jerkers).  So I think it’s important to find a supplier whose work makes your heart skip a beat, who listens to your ideas and accommodate you always where possible.

What advice would you give to couples when planning their wedding?

Have fun with it! It’s a celebration of your lives ahead. This is just day one. I loved my wedding and keep beautiful memories of it but my marriage is even better.

Also, always order a sample– most reputable suppliers will offer this option whether free, or redeemable against your order.

Where do you see the future of Berin Made?

I love doing weddings and have found brides to be so wonderful and exciting to work for. I’d love one day to have enough illustrations to make a beautiful book out of them. Oh, and also homeware. I’d love to get my work produced on fabrics, dinnerware, wallpaper and the like. I already play with some of these ideas in my shop such as my wall vinyl and hand-lettered prints, but hopefully one day I’ll have the opportunity to expand on all of this.

A range of homeware products…now that I’d love to see! Thank you Erin for telling us a little about yourself and Berin Made, for more information please check out her website and order those samples!

Photos courtesy of Berin Made, top and bottom photos by Marianne Taylor


Always Asks: Le Papillon Patisserie

Cake… mmmm, who doesn’t love a bit of yummy cake? At the Luxury Wedding show last year I got to taste the delicious cakes of Surrey based company Le Papillion Patisserie and wanted to know more so I caught up with owner and cake maker extraordinaire Neil Thornton to ask him about those cakes….

What’s your background?

I was very keen on baking from an early age.  Looking back I was probably destined to be a cake maker!  My journey started at catering college where I specialised in Patisserie and sugar craft.  My career then developed in London in five star hotels and restaurants whilst making wedding cakes on the side.  Eventually I was able to realise my dream of opening a patisserie with a wedding cake business attached

Why did you decide to set up Le Papillon Patisserie?

Well it was my dream.  I love making cakes and knew that so many famous patisseries are now chains where the focus on quality has really suffered.  I also wanted a platform to build the wedding side of the business and it gave me the opportunity to do that.

How would you describe your style/vision?

Um probably scrumptious!  I just do not understand wedding cakes that taste of nothing but look pretty!  Why make a cake that is average?  For me cake should always be 100% tasty as well as looking gorgeous.  My style is based on that, it must look edible.

Where do you find your inspiration?

A lot of my inspiration comes from the bride in question.  We try not to offer you a book to choose from but encourage brides to get creative with us.  Of course we do duplicate cakes when a couple likes a cake we already made.  I also take lots of inspiration from classic patisserie, you will see hints of it in lots of our cakes.

What’s your design/creation process working with couples?

Well all our couples are invited to the shop to taste the cakes first, this is a must for us, once they go through flavours we start with the portfolio to get ideas from previous cakes, we also look to the couples wedding for inspiration.  If there is a theme running through the wedding we will try to incorporate it in the cake.  The design is sometimes finished in front of them that day or sometimes we work on it for a week or two.  Even now we are having last minute changes where a bride changed her colours last minute!

What has been your favourite wedding to work on?

I seem to like all our couples.  We have such a personal service that we make so many friends.  There is one wedding that sticks out where we created a cake for an artist where we used her art with our classic chocolate wrapped gateaux.  It was one of those jobs that until it’s finished you have no idea how it will turn out.  As it happens it was my favourite cake of the year.

What have you found the most challenging job?

The artist cake definitely, getting the balance of colours right was a very difficult task

What do you think couples should be looking for when buying their wedding cake?

You need to first of all decide what style you like.  If you want a tiered cake then there’s no point looking at our French gateaux tower.  Once you have the style then you can work on varieties of that style and flavours etc

What advice would you give to couples when planning their wedding?

RELAX!  I find it so amazing when someone is so uptight about the whole thing that they look like they aren’t enjoying themselves.  This is meant to be a romantic wonderful day, if you plan ahead relax and take professional advice planning can be very easy.  Also make sure you know what kind of wedding you want, stick to your idea.

What do you wish couples knew already when working with you?

Well I could probably write a list!  One of the things that amazes me is that people don’t realise you can have multiple flavours for your wedding cake.  I guess because traditionally you just had fruit cake that when you mention three flavours for a three tier cake they seem amazed!

What’s your one obsession at the moment-something you just can’t live without?

My new puppy Winston!  He is therapy after a hard long day baking

All images courtesy of Le Papillion Patisserie