I’ve very much enjoyed reading this beautifully written guest blog by S2 Images. Their focus on weddings and family brings something very special to English Wedding today, and I do hope Sonia’s words stay in your heart as you choose your wedding photographer.

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Being a family run business ourselves, we were honoured to be able to have the opportunity to talk about this subject as a guest feature for English Wedding Blog. We pride ourselves on working with family-orientated couples and here we will tell you exactly why.

We used to photograph weddings together, but having waited almost 9 years for our son, Sonia decided to take a step back from shooting; pretty much managing our business from home, and taking care of our son. Having a child, you photograph and treasure every moment on your phone, but also as a photographer, it improves your connection and understanding instinctually from a parent’s perspective.

On a side note, we understand why people don’t have children at weddings, but we personally love how kids can add a totally different energy. An emotional side story of cheekiness, innocence and maybe the occasional sugar rush meltdown.

Like most parents, our son is our world and there is so much behind the why; family life in general is often diverse and intricate. There can be highs with family life, but also lows. Sadly, we realised the true value of photography, when gazing over pictures of lost loved ones. Putting together the images for a funeral service is the most heartbreaking moment, but also it is a celebration in itself, and it brings the precious memories to the forefront of our minds.

Being wedding photographers, we’ve seen absent loved ones celebrated in so many ways, and we love to capture these details. It is so personal to the couple, with the unique way in how they choose to honour these special people.

Wedding photos have a life of their own, beyond your big day

We have often found wedding images are used for so many occasions, from all sorts of celebrations in life to commemorations on death. Birthdays, anniversaries, mothers day and fathers day – to mention a few. The reason this is the case is because weddings are one of the few occasions that people get together, get dressed up and often it is the only occasion that a professional photographer will be hired. With a professional, there isn’t one person constantly missing in the photos because they are the dedicated mobile phone photographer for the day. With a professional photographer, there is the genuine emotion in the photographs, being present for the whole day and it being their job to observe people.

Capturing a special moment in time

Precious occasions need to be captured. Weddings in particular, it becomes a snap shot moment in history for your family. In those images, you see how quickly time passes, especially if children attend or if someone is pregnant. For example, we judge the time that has passed from our own wedding day by our nephew’s age, because his mother was heavily pregnant at the time. He was born just a month later. You truly see how time flies from the wedding date, because of how those individuals look now, compared to then as well.

The beauty of connection

We enjoy observing the relationships between different generations and seeing the beauty of family genetics. Seeing how siblings are together and cousins, parents and grandparents, aunties and uncles. We love that everyone comes together on such an incredible day, it is an honour to be a part of it and to feel the family energy.

As a wedding photographer, and having the experiences we have in our very own family, we definitely feel that we approach things differently now. Especially compared to when we started shooting weddings over a decade ago. It’s not about capturing shots for ourselves and getting those award winning photographs. It’s capturing the couple and their loved ones on the day, celebrating such a happy moment. Photographing in a way that they can relive every single one of the emotions that they felt. There is no greater feeling to be able to give those images back to our clients.

We also love to see how different cultures have their own take on family. We observe how quite often in Asian cultures, from Chinese tea ceremonies to Hindu religious ceremonies, how elders are held in such high regard. They have a real emotional impact and significant role. But even with speeches in more traditional British weddings, or readings during the service, these are often used as ways to celebrate family and close loved ones. Quite often there are fresh ideas from young minds that honour, but also break away from the tradition, which we love to embrace as it is forming your own traditions as a couple.

It is all down to the couple, how they choose to embrace their day. Above all, it’s about being in the moment. If you are taking it all in and truly present with celebrating your day, your guests will be too.

Wedding images that speak to generations

The best way to enjoy those images, and for them to truly stand the test of time, is by investing in your photography and your wedding album. That is when images become a family heirloom. We realised this when we looked through our grandfather’s wedding album. You get a feel for that particular moment in time, the atmosphere, the outfits and even the style of photography for that era too. Physical prints are what get passed down through the generations. This is why we decided to stop selling USB’s, because many computers aren’t even taking them anymore. But when you think back to the floppy disc or even a CD, it’s outdated and you can’t view the images easily. But physical photographs stand the test of time.

To conclude our ramblings, the joining of a couple supported by both families is often a once in a lifetime experience. The beautiful story deserves to be captured and will get more precious with time.

S2 Images also offer family photography in the Warwickshire area.