When you start planning your wedding there are so many things to think about. Firstly when and where to get married, decisions about who to have in your bridal party … you need a photographer, dresses, suits, hair/makeup, flowers, reception venue, and where to go on your Honeymoon?

Some of these deliberations can be simplified by using ‘preferred suppliers’. You may get a recommendation from a friend and that is great, but I have found that after years of photographing weddings certain suppliers stand out to me as I am sure they do to others in the wedding industry. These are people that I have worked alongside or businesses that have provided either goods or services to my clients and as a result I have been impressed with their product and with them.

I give a preferred supplier list to all my clients, even potential ones that I can’t photograph because I am unavailable. If I can’t photograph a wedding then my preferred supplier list also includes the names of other photographers and their email addresses – photographers that I recommend because I know their work and their work ethics.

A great way to get to know other suppliers is to have a day like Emily Titmus from Apple Blossom Weddings organised here in Launceston earlier this year. She got a group of us together including 7 models, hair and makeup artists, 1 videographer and 2 other photographers. There were 30 wedding dresses, 2 Mercedes, lots of still life setups, stunning flowers and behind the scenes opportunities on a 10 acre property with hedges, paddocks and horses. It was so much fun!!

I photographed the ‘mega shoot’ and it was awesome! I started at 8.30am and finished at 6pm. It was interesting to see the different styles of photography and how different everyone’s work was despite being given the same opportunities. Our brief was to provide all vendors with images to be used with no restrictions (except acknowledgement to the photographer) and at no cost. Everyone would benefit from all working together with no outlays except time.

It turned out to be a wonderful record of not just the final product for everyone, but also a wonderful look at the ‘behind the scenes’. A glimpse into the amount of work that goes on in preparation/post production by all the people involved in your wedding day. I went out of my way to photograph little details, the dresses on stands and the stylists with their storyboards to show how much work had actually gone into their preparation of making up the models, etc.

I would like to extend a very special thankyou to Emily Titmus, Apple Blossom Weddings without whom none of it would or could have come together. Thank you also to the following people who contributed to these images. Claire Barcza for ‘set designing’, Shifting Sands Arabians for the cars, horse and the beautiful venue for us all to work in. I’d like to thank Studio White for the stunning dresses, Brianna Schipper for her artistic and meticulous makeup on the models, Kirby Manion for her amazing skills with the hair styles, Models – Tanisha Van Winden, Megan Fettke and Brooke Flaherty.

I was amazed by the dedication of everyone involved, the understanding of time and consideration of all that made the day a huge success and which produced a wonderful portfolio for all involved …

So don’t forget to ask someone who they would recommend on their Preferred Supplier list, whether it be a friend, the manager at the reception venue, your photographer or anyone else involved in your wedding day. They just may put you onto someone you would never have thought of and it could turn out to be a perfect suggestion.

Photography by Belinda Fettke Photography

Ms Gingham says: Thanks go to Belinda for sharing this behind the scenes look at professionals working together. It seems logical but in the confusion people can forget to do the obvious … ask!

About Belinda Fettke: I love photographing people and have developed my business ‘BPhotography’ over the last 11 years involving my passion. To me it is not just about a captured moment in time. I think of my work as a woven thread that intricately ties people, emotions, time and place together into a colourful, textured fabric that people want to look at and touch and be a part of … hence my bi-line ‘The Art of Storytelling’.

Read more posts by Belinda here.