Getting married abroad will be a dream come true. The joy of blissful sunshine, scenery and a relaxed environment is just so perfect for a wedding – if you’re a destination wedding couple then you are just the luckiest things, truly!

Planning the perfect destination wedding does require a little talent and flexibility on your part when it comes to finding suppliers though! Venue packages might not be quite the right mix for you; overseas planners might not have everything you need. Especially when it comes to wedding photography, do shop around – because the memories of your wedding abroad are so very precious, and it’s really important to find someone to capture your day in a style you will LOVE for years to come.

Don’t feel as though you’re limited by having a destination wedding. Many UK wedding photographers will travel to shoot a wedding overseas – and it’s wonderful that they do because you can give yourselves all the choice in the world when it comes to wedding photography styles, and the personality of your photographer. The decision to take a trusted and experienced destination wedding photographer with you when you’re getting married abroad will turn out to be invaluable when it comes to your wedding photos, I promise. My friend and English Wedding member – also an expert destination wedding photographer – Damion Mower is here with a brilliant explanation of why you should think carefully when choosing a photographer for your wedding abroad.

Words & images by Damion Mower Photography

Destination weddings are magical days, they have a heightened sense of intimacy and a holiday buzz to them that blends romance, excitement and adventure. I love capturing destination weddings for this very reason and have been lucky enough to pack my passport for many weddings across Europe.

It’s not that uncommon or absurd that couples choose a destination wedding photographer for their special day, after all if you’re planning to ask your nearest and dearest to join you for your wedding in a stunning location you want to guarantee that you will have a beautiful collection of images that reflect your day.

As a destination wedding photographer, I have lots of conversations with brides and grooms about why they choose to take me with them to capture their day. The overriding reason is because my couples want to ensure that the vision they have for their day and the style of photography they desire will be captured and well represented, or they have fallen in love with my style and want their day captured like this. I’m pretty sure this will be the same for most destination wedding photographers.

Of course, there is also a great deal of peace of mind that comes from choosing a well-established, experienced photographer to capture such an important time in your lives together.

I personally spend a lot of time with my couples, walking through their plans, understanding the light at different times of the day and how this will impact the photographs and the beautiful scenery that so often accompanies destination wedding locations.

Most good wedding photographers will tell you that they won’t need to see the venue before the big day, or to have shot there before, it helps to avoid the auto-pilot scenario of taking the same shots as the week before (as often can be the case with local photographers). My approach is to capture the day from a fresh perspective, seeing the things that made you fall in love with the location when you first chose it.

I will arrive a day or two earlier than required and this allows me to recce your location and understand how the day will flow, pick out some epic spots for photographs and get into the vibe of the local culture.

Travelling the day before also avoids any disasters with delayed flights or luggage that could jeopardise your photography.

Great images come from great connections – I’m often asked to arrive a couple of days before the wedding to capture pre-wedding celebrations. I love doing this as it gives me a chance to get to know guests and for them to get to know me. They get used to the camera and become less self-aware when I’m around. In turn this means more authentic, genuine and real images for the wedding day as well as a whole bunch of fun images before the big day as guests switch into party mode.

Planning any wedding, let alone a destination wedding, can be a stressful experience. I pride myself on keeping things simple for my couples. This means regular contact, updates and a clear understanding of what you can expect from me and when. We cover all of this in several consultation calls in the build up to the wedding day. For destination weddings I adopt the same ethos of simplicity, charging a one-off fee that covers all the travel, accommodation and photographic duties, meaning you know exactly what you’re paying. I also don’t charge any ‘weekend buyout’ fees, you only ever pay for the days I have with the camera in my hand.

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If you would like to see more of my destination wedding photography you can find it at https://damionmowerphotography.co.uk/category/destination-wedding-photography. Or if you would like to chat about your wedding plans please get in touch. https://damionmowerphotography.co.uk/contact

Contact & Bookings: UK & destination wedding photographer Damion Mower Photography

www.damionmowerphotography.co.uk
Instagram: @damionmowerphotography
Facebook: @damionmowerphotography