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Key Wedding Photography Trends for 2024

Well here we are at the start of another brand new year. If you’re getting married this year- how exciting! Huge congratulations to you!

As we step into 2024, I thought I would have a chat about the kind of trends we may see emerge when it comes to wedding photography this year. Here are a few of my predictions…

1. Candid moments that speak volumes

Posed wedding photographs will always have their place, but as we head into 2024, candid shots (aka documentary style photography) continue to reign supreme. Natural, unscripted moments which capture the true spirit of the day continue to be popular with couples. When it comes to immortalising the genuine emotions that make a wedding day truly special, you can’t beat spontaneous, documentary style shots.

 




2. Drone photography

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll already know I’m a big fan of drone photography, and love any opportunity to be able to use my drone! Drone photography adds a bit of cinematic grandeur to wedding photography. Aerial shots are a unique way to capture stunning views of your venue and the surrounding landscapes, and also capture a totally different perspective of your celebrations. Drone photography has been popular for the last few years, and I suspect this is a trend that will continue into 2024 and beyond.



drone wedding photography

3. Artistic silhouettes and shadows

I think that this year will see wedding photographers playing with light and shadow to create wedding photography with a little touch of romance and mystique! Light is usually important in photography, but shadows can play a huge part in crafting artful silhouettes to create stand-out images. Whether against a sunset backdrop or beneath a canopy of trees, these types of silhouettes can create visually striking images that you’re sure to want to show off!


4. Pets at weddings


As any pet owner will tell you, pets are part of the family! So, it comes as no surprise that more and more couples are keen to include their furry friend in their special day. As a wedding photographer, I have seen a huge rise in pets at weddings over recent years and I have to say that when done well, they add so much joy and make for some great photo opportunities too! If you would like to include your pet in your wedding feel free to contact me for advice on how this can work really well when it comes to your wedding photos. 


5. Wedding photography for elopements

Did you know that elopements are on the rise, with more and more couples now choosing to run away into the sunset for a small, intimate elopement wedding? These types of weddings usually require a wedding photographer to be skilled at creating beautiful, candid imagery, as well as having the ability to blend into the background and be unobtrusive during this private, intimate event.


6. Second photographers


I’ve noticed that it’s becoming more common for couples to hire a second wedding photographer, especially if they’re having a church wedding. If your ceremony is not at your venue, then the chances are you will each be getting ready in separate locations. In that case, it’s best to have a second photographer who can shoot one group while your main photographer is with the other group. Second shooters are also great for big weddings with lots of guests, or for couples who know that they want lots and lots of images.


7. Unconventional wedding backdrops

I’ve started to see this trend emerging already, and predict that it will continue to gain momentum in 2024. Breaking away from traditional settings, couples are choosing unconventional backdrops for their special day. Whether it’s an industrial-chic urban landscape, an art gallery, or a deserted seashore, these unique settings provide a canvas for extraordinary moments. I love capturing this type of creative wedding photography, so it’s a trend that I’m looking forward to seeing more of!

 

Getting married in 2024..?

Is 2024 the year of your big day? If you’re looking for a wedding photographer who will work with you to achieve your ideal wedding photography, you’ve come to the right place. I’m a professional wedding photographer in Cheshire and North Wales, and have over 20 years photography experience. I love getting to play a part in a couple’s special day, exploring new venues and constantly looking for imaginative ways to capture and immortalise unforgettable moments through my photography. If you’d like to chat about your plans, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a chat.

 

My Wedding Photographer’s Bucket List

Something a little different for this blog post, but as it’s January – the season of resolutions!- I thought it was a good time to compile my very own bucket list: a list of everything I would love to achieve as a wedding photographer!

I’m not imagining that I’ll be able to tick everything off my list within a year (2024 is already looking pretty full!), but they’re dreams and ambitions that I would love to work towards! I think some of them are pretty achievable, whereas others probably fall more into the category of  “wedding photography fantasy’… but hey, you never know! It’s always good to dream big!

wedding photographer bucket list

So without further ado, here is my wedding photography bucket list:

  • A train wedding in the Rocky Mountains – imagine the incredible photography!
  • A New York City wedding – skyscrapers, yellow cabs, and shots in Central Park
  • A wedding in the snow (after all these years I’ve never had a white wedding!)
  • A funfair wedding
  • A wedding on a boat (my local Chester river, the Dee, would do!)
  • A wedding in Paris with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop – does it get anymore romantic?
  • A surprise wedding
  • A wedding at a castle – DONE
  • A tipi wedding – DONE
  • A wedding at Chester Zoo – yes, the zoo is now a wedding venue! Are any animal lovers up for this?!
  • An Elopement
  • A beach wedding
  • A treehouse wedding
  • A wedding in Greece

If you are planning a wedding and any of these themes or locations are involved, I would love to be involved! Give me a call today and chat about how we can make all our wedding photography dreams come true!



Also, I’m planning for this bucket list to be an ongoing work in progress: I’m always coming up with new ideas of things I would love to achieve with my wedding photography. So if you have an incredible idea for your wedding photography that’s not on the list, please do get in touch – I’d love to hear what you have planned!

The wedding traditions that I still love

If you asked me to describe my style as a wedding photographer, one of the words I would probably use would be “modern”. I like to keep up with current photography trends (you can read about some recent wedding photography trends here and here). I also love to embrace new technology, such as drone wedding photography.

Generally, my style is relaxed and informal- I would describe myself as a documentary style wedding photographer, which in itself is a pretty modern trend. I also like using unusual props to capture cutting-edge creative shots, and am very proud to have been nominated for awards for my creative wedding photography.

However, despite all this, there are still some wedding traditions which go way back which I absolutely love! I’m going to share them with you here, along with why I love them from a wedding photography point of view…


Bride and Groom in a castle


1. The dress reveal


It’s always such a special moment when the bridal party sees the bride in her wedding dress for the first time. I’ve captured beautiful photos of bridesmaids, friends and sisters full of emotion upon seeing the brides looking stunning in her dress.


And of course, the dress reveal is always a really emotional moment for the bride and her parents too. As a wedding photographer, one of my ‘must have’ moments to capture is a father’s reaction when he sees his daughter for the first time in her wedding dress, and that’s a tradition that really never gets old for me!

Top Tip to make it modern:

I recently photographed a lovely couple who chose to do something a little different when it came to the dress reveal: a pre-ceremony ‘first look’. The bride, Kym, surprised her fiance Ashley by appearing behind him in her wedding dress. It was clear to see the emotion written all over Ashley’s face as he saw his beautiful bride to be! As a wedding photographer it was a really special moment to capture and it’s a great way to give a modern twist to this tradition.


2. Walking down the aisle

Nothing says “wedding” more than a photo of a bride walking down the aisle. From a wedding photographer’s point of view, there is so much emotion to capture in this moment- nerves, hope, excitement, and a whole lot of love. For this reason, it’s a tradition that I hope will last forever!

Some of my favourite images are of brides walking down the aisle looking towards the groom waiting for them. Often, the groom will be looking back at their partner and you can see how proud and happy they are.

 


3. Confetti shots


Confetti shots are very traditional! The tradition of throwing wedding confetti is said to have originated during the middle ages in Northern Italy and has been around in the UK since Pagan times. Before paper confetti, there were flowers, petals, grains or rice thrown at the happy couple, to bestow prosperity and fertility.

Nowadays, confetti shots are a fabulous opportunity to capture fun, colour, and joy. I don’t just mean a little handful of confetti: if you’re going for a confetti shot, go big! The best confetti shots capture the happy couple in a tsunami of colourful confetti: less is certainly not more in this case!

Confetti at Wedding

As a wedding photographer, I love the pure happiness that radiates from couples in these shots: it’s the moment after they have just exchanged vows and take their first steps together as newly-weds: who wouldn’t want to keep up that tradition?!



4. Group shots


Some couples worry a bit about group shots: they don’t like the idea of their guests standing around for a long time waiting to take part in group shots, or perhaps the style of their wedding is relaxed and informal so they don’t want the group shots to feel too ‘static’.

However, I think getting some great group shots really is a must have: this is your opportunity to capture all those faces of your closest friends and family who shared your special day, and they can be wonderful memories to look back on in years to come. For this reason, group shots are a wedding photography tradition which I can get behind.

Big group photo at Thornton Manor

Abbeywood Estate wedding photography Cheshire


Top tip- make it modern:

The good news is that you can create some natural, fun group shots in a way that doesn’t mean that everyone is standing around for ages waiting for a formal photo. I love to get creative with group shots by incorporating interesting backdrops, angles, poses, or props to make the shot just a little different.

Groomsmen walking outside Soughton Hall

If you’re getting married and looking for some advice on wedding photos, I would be more than happy to help. I’m a professional wedding photographer based in North Wales, Chester and Cheshire and I’d love to chat about your wedding plans- please get in touch today.