Michael Willatt - Tie the Knot
Michael Willatt
I've been photographing weddings in and around London for 14 years. Over 400 of them.
Most couples book me for the same reason: they want amazing photos and don't want the day to become about the photography. Especially the ones convinced they're terrible in front of a camera. I hear that a lot. It's usually not true—they've just never been photographed by someone who wasn't asking them to perform.
I call my approach 'Guided Documentary'. In practice, that means staying in the background for most of the day—watching, waiting, catching what happens when nobody's posing. The first dance, mid-word. Your dad losing the fight during the speeches. The quiet moment after the ceremony when it actually lands.
The portrait session is the exception: 20 to 30 minutes, built into every full-day booking, where things get a little more deliberate. Not a list of poses. A good location, some gentle direction, and enough time to get something that looks like the two of you, not a stock photo. Natural light, real expression, a bit of atmosphere - the kind of image you'd stop scrolling for.
Camera-shy couples get a pre-wedding shoot included with full-day packages, so by the time the wedding arrives, the camera's already old news.
There's also a Dry Wedding Guarantee: if weather kills the outdoor portraits on the day, I'll arrange a free reshoot.
Four consecutive Hitched Wedding Awards. Licentiate of the British Institute of Professional Photography. Packages to suit different weddings - full pricing's on my site.
The photos last longer than the flowers. Worth getting right.
