No photos of the ceremony?

Sorry to hear this. It does happen alot unfortunately. But not all vicars have this view.  It's very poor that a few unprofessional bad mannered photographers have given such poor impressions of photographers, that many vicars don't allow photography.  But many also don't allow guests to photograph. We have had weddings where the vicars were very much supportive however, and actually told the guests to enjoy the ceremony, and to let us capture it with our photography. Many have allowed one of us at the front, behind the vicar to capture the the more intimate shots, (we were able to do this recently with Cricket Bride's wedding, and the emotion captured is fabulous).  But some vicars have never had a bad expirence, they just really don't want any distractions durining the ceremony, and don't believe photography has a place there.  I cant' think of a place where photography is more appropriate, as it is captures moments that for many, are truely once in a lifetime.

I would be careful about sneaking the photographer in with the guests,, especially as many guests won't photograph anything until the registry signing, so it would draw attention. I have seen one vicar who had asked that we be the only ones taking photos, actually stop the ceremony to scold a guest for using a camera with a flash. (We never use flash).  In the end, as professionals, we feel we have to abide by what regulations the officiant deems appropriate,  even if we may not agree with them.  Like your OH said, there are options to have the ceremony elsewhere, if photography is important,, and have a blessing after. David shot a wedding by himself last summer where they did that. They had a civil ceremony in a manor house, which was a short walk away from the church they then walked to for a blessing ceremony.  Best of both.

Good luck, hope you have a wonderful day :)

Teri

My vicar did not allow any pictures during the religious parts of the ceremony.  I dont feel we missed out in any way.  We have some nice pictures of entering the church, standing together at the altar, signing the register, views of the guests taken during the signing of the register, plus the kiss (we did this after signing the register) and leaving the church.

I was much more relaxed knowing that I didnt have any cameras clicking during the vows as I hate having my picture taken.

If you feel this is not enough then the videographer route is best, you can easily lift stills.

Teri_M:

I would be careful about sneaking the photographer in with the guests,, especially as many guests won't photograph anything until the registry signing, so it would draw attention. I have seen one vicar who had asked that we be the only ones taking photos, actually stop the ceremony to scold a guest for using a camera with a flash.

I have come across this several times and even one occasion where the vicar threatened to not complete the ceremony if it happened again. Vicars are very aware that some togs do this and that doesn't help us change their attitudes in the long term. Building trust and good relationships with them over time has enabled me to be allowed to photograph weddings in churches where other photographers are strictly not allowed to.

AT the end of the day, its upstage of the couple where the best images can be captured and we need to convince the ministers that we are not going to distract. Videographers can film the wedding because they stay put and don't move around or create potential noise distractions which is what the ministers fear.

It is possible to "lift" stills from video, although the files are usually only 2meg even with HD, which is a long way short of pro stills cameras.  

Hi,

The worst I came across when photographing a wedding was when I was told by the vicar that I could only take ONE picture...and ONE picture only...from the back of the Cathedral !!

He even stood someone next to me to make sure I did only take one !

Other than that they have always been fine about the images. I tell the vicar beforehand that I don't use flash and I won't move around unless he allows it.

Hope that helps

Dean

www.deancarney.com

I have never ever heard the like!!!!! your vicars an arse, to put it bluntly. Sorry.

I attended one wedding where the minister asked the guests not to take photos (in a castle) so that it didnt interfere with the main togs photos but never heard of a tog not being allowed in a church. How else are you going to capture those important moments...

im totally disappointed for you both and hope you come to a conclusion.

teeheeyoucrazyguys!:

your vicars an arse, to put it bluntly. Sorry.

A little harsh Teehee... yes it is disappointing but we don't know the reasons behind him not allowing photography... could be a bad experience, or that he simply places more priority on the actual ceremony itself.

I think a heart to heart with the Vicar is the only way you will find out CC...

We've had a few weddings where we've only been allowed to photograph the bride entering the church, a posed signing of the register shot, and the bride & groom walking back down the aisle. As with many of the other togs on here, we don't use flash, don't move around, and are as unobstrusive as possible, but some vicars (who must have encountered some nightmare photographers in the past) are extremely strict on this and won't budge. We always mention the possible restrictions to our couples at their pre-wedding meeting, so they can mention it to the vicar beforehand. In some cases this has meant we've had a little more flexibility than the vicar would have imposed had the couple not mentioned how important the photography is to them.

A few registrars we;ve encountered have also had strict rules with the photography, so anyone planning a civil ceremony should also be aware of this.

Ali x

Simon and Alison:

A few registrars we;ve encountered have also had strict rules with the photography, so anyone planning a civil ceremony should also be aware of this.

 

Indeed.....this is down usually to the individual registrar. Hertfordshire(my home county) has luckily been very open minded on the subject and have a county wide edict allowing sensible photography during the ceremony at any venue where they officiate. Cross the border in to Bedfordshire and it can be quite different.

Peter

It's similar for us - the North East registrars we've encountered are all great, it's just one region in the Lakes where a few are stricter....

There's been some fantastic replies to your initial post. I'd agree that any Wedding Photographer worth his/her salt wouldn't need to use flash in your ceremony and would alsways do his/her best to meet the needs of both the B&G and the venue.

This is where a meeting between your photographer and your vicar before your big day would work really well. This is how I've managed to get a number of vicars to agree to a happy medium. I've even had Cathedrals give me total felxibilty to do as I wish after having such a meeting...

Don't panic too much yet, but open comunication asap!

I'm surprised at your tactics, Wedding Photographer, seems pretty dishonest in a church but if your clients are happy with it...

Anyway, CC, I really sympathise with you.  Getting married in a church was very important to us and getting married in OUR church was even more so. We feel welcome within that community, have built some fantastic relationships with those who worship there and wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Great photography was also very important to us and we almost came up against a similar issue. Our vicar had told us that our photography would be very limited in terms of what he was prepared to allow our photographers to capture. His reasons (and this is why I'm pretty surprised at Teehee's swipe at your vicar) were that

a) he wanted members of our congregation to be there to witness our ceremony and to be a part of it - he didn't want them to be glued to their cameras, seeing the service unfold through a lens. He wanted us to feel like they were all there supporting us and to remove any potential pressure of feeling like we were performing, rather than making the most solemn of vows. Pretty honourable, I thought. 

b) he had also had experiences of photographers getting in the way, using flash etc and it's disruptive for everyone. He wanted to be able to concentrate on us, and us on him, without someone's movement catching our eye. Again, another fair point. 

We explained to him how important it was to us for those images to be captured and promised him that we'd picked decent, experienced and fair photographers who wanted to get great shots, but not at the expense of interrupting our service.  Also, assuming your photographer is decent (and from what you've said, they are) they won't be using flash.  I also know that David, Teri's husband, made a point of discussing this with our vicar when he arrived at the church, which was supported by my husband. Our vicar was happy for them to be situated as Teri has mentioned above.  Sounds as if we're going to get some great shots and we have a very happy vicar who's faith is restored in photographers! 

Ahh,, I wasn't sure if you had been aware of how Mr. Cricket and David had to charm the vicar on the day, lol.  I am really glad it worked out in the end :) I hope the path has actually been laid for the vicar to see that these images are highly cherished by the couples. 

To be honest, your vicar had a great point about participating in the ceremony, and the day too actually,  what we often see at weddings, is that the guests, even the parents of the couple, are more concerned with taking their own photos, than being part of the celebration and the day. I find it so sad when it is difficult to photograph people at a wedding without a camera in front of their faces.   Cake cuttings have become a contact sport, LOL

Teri_M:

To be honest, your vicar had a great point about participating in the ceremony, and the day too actually,  what we often see at weddings, is that the guests, even the parents of the couple, are more concerned with taking their own photos, than being part of the celebration and the day. I find it so sad when it is difficult to photograph people at a wedding without a camera in front of their faces.   Cake cuttings have become a contact sport, LOL

 

So true - the cake cutting can be like a rugby scrum - shoulder to shoulder!! I think it's the same at concerts now, people tend to watch an event through a lens instead of enjoying the moment and letting the professionals capture it for them

Ali x

I have David do alot of the things that I know people would knock me over during, such as the cake cutting,, LOL. People see a short lady with camera, and I just know they are thinking to themselves, "I can totally take her on, LOL" Sometimes he has to act as my bodyguard so I can get the shots, can't tell you how many times I have had someone rest their camera on my shoulder or head while I was working,, amazing!

You are so right about the scrum! I'm glad we did a pretend one.  One of my MILs friends made a comment that they missed the cutting - that was my fault because we were waiting for people to filter through and I said to Mr CB 'This is getting boring, can we just do it? I hate watching the cake being cut as a guest and I want to start dancing!'!