Your wedding photography investment should be more than simply paying for photos of your day. With Nic Cleave Photography your investment is about the ‘complete’ service which produces an experience for most of our couples, that lasts for many years beyond their big day.
We hope from the extensive imagery on this site and available for our clients to view in our studio, that you’ll already know that commissioning me to document the story of your day will produce the most amazing set of highly personal, and uniquely creative wedding images of the memories of your big day.
What most couples don’t know at this stage, is that we believe our level of customer service is second-to-none in the wedding photography industry. The process outlined below is typical of what our clients can expect from their investment in wedding photography with us:
Availability
Couples start by checking my availability for their big day. We prefer a phone call, but many people use our dedicated ‘Wedding Date Check Form’ here.
Pre-meeting chat
Once you have confirmed my availability for your date, (if you haven’t already,) we ask that you call us on the studio number here for an informal and friendly chat. This is vital as it ensures that I’m the ‘right’ photographer for you and your day. If I’m not, I’ll always try my best to refer you on to someone who is. We’ll end the chat with a confirmed time for you to come into the studio. At this point most couples have already decided that I’m the ‘right’ photographer for them.
Studio meeting & confirming your booking
We invite you both into our home-based wedding studio. This allows you to meet me in person and see my wedding portfolio through the extensive collection of studio albums and other large format display items we have in our warm and welcoming studio space. As most couples have already confirmed their booking, this meeting provides me with the opportunity to find out as many details about the kind of day your planning as possible in a friendly and informal way, rather than trying to convince you to book me with hard-selling.
At the end of this meeting (if you haven’t after the pre-meeting chat,) most couples wish to confirm their booking. We simply ask that you leave a minimum booking fee of £400 to secure your date.
Confirming your preferred package and fixing the price
We’ll provide you with our standard booking form at your studio meeting. This form allows you to confirm your preferred package, and more importantly will fix the cost of your package for any date up to two years in advance. All prices and packages are fixed at the time your booking form is received, protecting you from price rises, package updates and changes in government VAT in the future.
The planning period for your big day
Once you’ve confirmed your booking we hope that you’ll stay in touch throughout the planning period for your big day. Part of our service involves me being on-hand throughout this period to answer any questions you might have about your photography, but I’m also available to help with questions relating to timings on the day, and even recommending other wedding day vendors you may still be looking for.
We also hope that you’ll continue to visit our website and Facebook pages throughout this planning period, in order to stay up to date with all of our wedding photography related news. Our blog is constantly being updated with fresh wedding images and news of awards and publications etc.
The pre-wedding meeting
Usually scheduled at the 2-3 weeks-to-go time, we’ll invite you back into the studio to run through the timings for your day, and to find out if anything has changed since we first met. We’ll run through family members and attendants, and discuss group photos etc, ensuring that I have a complete ‘blue-print’ of how your special day has been planned to run. This ensures that I can play my part on the day, keeping things running along smoothly for you.
Your big day
It’s finally arrived, sometimes more than two years after we initially first met! You have the most perfect of days, and I record the complete story for you to look back on for the rest of your lives together.
Primary image processing
Over the course of 4-5 days, the images from your day will be reviewed and edited, with duplicates and any unflattering/test shots etc removed. The final carefully selected 300+ images will be taken through an extensive primary digital process in our digital darkroom, with all files being checked for colour and contrast accuracy, and cropped where required. The resulting ’proof’ images are technically perfect and ready for the next stage, but will not yet look like the ‘finished’ images that you will see in your final albums or other printed products.
‘Sneaky peak’ images featured on our blog
After the primary image processing is complete, a small ‘sneaky peak’ selection of images from your big day are proudly featured on our blog, where we actively encourage your family and friends to leave you personal comments to read while you’re away on honeymoon. This usually happens about a week after your wedding, but we’ll email you to confirm that your sneaky peak images are available, and will invite you to contact us on your return from honeymoon to schedule your ‘champagne preview session.’
Champagne preview session
After returning from honeymoon and getting over your jet-lag, you’ll be invited into the studio for your champagne preview session. This will be your first chance to view all of the images from the story of your big day, on an 80 inch viewing screen. The perfect way to reflect on the personal and emotional story of your wedding.
At the end of your preview session you’ll receive your A4 Proof Book, containing all of the images from your day, and we’ll run through the package order forms and what you have to do next. You’ll also be shown how to access your password protected page on our website, where you’ll be able to share all of your images you’ve just viewed with family and friends for the next 4 weeks.
The album design process
Once your package order forms have been received, your album will be designed, and work will begin on completing your wedding photography package.
The album proofing session
Most couples request to see their initial album design before the album is ordered. We’ll invite you back into the studio to view your album in digital form, and to ‘sign-off’ the design. This part of the process is vital as it’s your last opportunity to change anything before your album is custom made to order.
Secondary image processing
Any images used in your album design or for any other ordered display product are taken through an extensive secondary digital process, where distracting background elements are removed, the main subject/s of each image are enhanced and selected images are toned using a variety of unique custom toning options. All enhancements are designed to make you look your absolute best in your photos, and your images ‘pop.’
Albums and other products are then finally ordered from our suppliers.
Package collection
Once everything is ready (usually 4-6 weeks,) we’ll invite you to call into the studio one final time to collect your complete package. (Alternatively if you prefer, we can have it couriered to you.) We’ll present you with your album and wedding photography package, and are always happy to share your first look with you.
We’ll thank you for your business and explain our wedding photography referral scheme, and encourage you to stay in touch in the future.
Your ‘family photographer’
We hope that you’ll stay in touch after the process has ended, with most couples ‘liking’ our Facebook page in order to be kept up-to-date with our news. We also hope that you’ll consider me as your Family Photographer for the future, with many couples getting in touch again when they are expecting and/or become ‘three.’
You can read more about our ‘Client Experience’ from the experts…our clients, by reading just a few of the many, many kind words we have received over the last 12 years here. We also have a huge folder in the studio holding most of the beautiful thank you cards and letters we have received over the years, so just ask us to see it when you come in.