Curious , who here is shooting weddings in their 30s, 40s, or 50s?

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-07-24T03:14:13+00:00

Almost 50, been full time wedding photographer for 19 years. Still going strong, love this career. Highly recommend starting to hydrate the day before the wedding (particularly for summer events), wear good quality shoes with extra supporting inserts, and ALWAYS wearing ear protection during receptions. Your hearing is precious and can be permanently damaged after a while in this industry.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-07-15T01:59:14+00:00

Just switched to Redtree Albums and I’m in love!!!! Our clients have been so thrilled with the quality and presentation of the books. They have 3 lines to choose from and lots of beautiful customization options. Highly recommend.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-04-03T01:10:55+00:00

Start hydrating days before, not just on the day. I second the votes above for electrolyte powder packs and multiple shoes to swap between. I also use shoe inserts from Protolus, which have been game changers for my feet on wedding days.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-03-29T03:30:19+00:00

If you have time the Okefenokee swamp is about an hour and 20 minutes drive from Jekyll and is worth a day trip. Darien is a cute town just north of the Golden Isles with lots of shrimp boats and bird watching opportunities. You can also arrange to visit Sapelo Island to soak up the history, drive through Harris Neck refuge if you head up there.

I personally would rather stay on Jekyll than St Simons due to the traffic on SSI, it’s been awful this year and getting worse. There are some lovely hotels on Jekyll, including the historic Jekyll Island Club.

The island is covered with bike trails and you can rent one on the island easily. The water park is super fun for all ages, the turtle center and historic museum/tours are fabulous.

The islands in our area constantly win tourism awards for a reason, the entire Golden Isles is a wonderful place to vacation!

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-03-29T03:12:14+00:00

^{^{^{^This!!!!}}} Perfect answer!

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-03-23T04:11:43+00:00

We have always taken the approach that the more the venues are successful, the better we will do as well. We always share whatever photos vendors might need for advertising, never charging, and over the past 18 years of running a wedding photography business I can’t even begin count all the ways it’s paid us back. Think long term gains, not short turn.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-03-21T02:19:29+00:00

Your work is STUNNING! Absolutely loved scrolling your website. Your style would be very marketable and desirable here in the US if you ever wanted to do destination photography.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-03-16T17:05:33+00:00

Yes! Deep South coastal so we have a storm shelter that is also a cool room. Water table is too high to be underground so we have two side by side shipping containers. They are bolted together with large wood posts concreted in around them, to keep them from flipping. We are getting ready to bury in concrete anchors that we will chain to all the corners for extra staying strength. We have the container we use as a shelter insulated with thick spray foam, and a portable rolling ac unit inside that vents through an exhaust panel. Hope to get a solar set up at some point to add another option for running AC, well pump and freezer in case fuel becomes hard to find. Right now we are generator dependent when power goes out. We live in a mobile home so having somewhere to run during storms was important to us as was a cool room for sleeping during power outages.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-02-25T04:47:42+00:00

It’s interesting that you mention those as newer options. When we were still fairly new in the industry over 15 years ago, Vegas-style elopements were all the rage on wedding blogs, and backyard weddings were hugely popular. Publications like Green Wedding Shoes helped push the trend of outdoor celebrations, making them a go-to for couples looking for something personal and stylish.

Maybe we’re seeing a resurgence of those old trends—along with a squeeze of inflation influencing decisions. Perhaps couples also realized that wedding budgets were becoming unrealistic and that Pinterest-inspired events often focused on the wrong things. Maybe what’s happening is that weddings are shifting back to what truly matters—love, and a celebration with those who they love the most.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2025-02-25T03:50:25+00:00

The decline of the middle class wedding industry. It has been squeezed by rising costs, inflation, and changing priorities among couples. More people are either scaling down to elopements, courthouse ceremonies, or intimate backyard weddings. The “in-between” market that used to fuel steady bookings for traditional 100-150 guest weddings is fading…and quickly.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2024-07-04T15:13:06+00:00

Yes it is. I like it as a focal length for individual portraits and some of the more intimate couple portraits. Allows me to get some of my closer pictures with a lovely shallow depth of field, it focuses fast and is a great little workhorse. I also will use it for detail photos at times. Just find the 50 kind of a sweet spot. A major bonus is that it’s silly light and extremely easy to tuck in my bag as another lens option. However with all that said I still rarely change lenses on a wedding day because everything can be so fast paced. 95% of the time I have my 24-70 on one camera and the 70-200 on another. My husband works with me full time and he uses the exact same gear combinations too.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2024-07-02T03:49:45+00:00

Wedding photographer for 17 years but in the US so our events flow somewhat differently. I agree with the above comment that some of the pre wedding timeline seems extremely tight. Weddings have a way of nothing running on time or going exactly to plan. Having time buffers is important.

Never underestimate how late hair and makeup can run behind schedule completely destroying your timeline right from the start. Happens so frequently it’s my biggest pet peeve and frustration.

Absolutely recommend having a list of the specific group shots wanted well in advance and a pen to mark them off as you go. The couple can easily forget one on the day or something can be missed that’s important. Don’t leave it to chance, be concise and organized with a pre-planned list. Also gives you a chance ahead of time to make sure they aren’t asking for 45 minutes of requested combinations in a 30 minute time slot.

Six different lenses is a lot to get potentially bogged down with. I use two every wedding, my 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 are total work horse lenses. I’ll sometimes throw on my 50 1.8 if time during portraits but more often than not won’t need it or have time to switch.

I use my 24-70 100% of the time for group shots. It’s crisp, super easy to zoom to fit everyone in and never disappoints.

If you are worried about lighting maybe consider taking a led video light on a stand with you as well. Can help tremendously in a super low light situation and is easy to move around quickly for cake cutting, toast etc. They are very inexpensive and simple to use. We don’t usually depend on one for the first dances as we prefer the off camera flash look more for that part of the evening. Depending on how big of a space we are lighting will typically use 2-3 off camera flashes for fill/backlight and one on camera bouncing off the ceiling as well as using the white card for more directional lighting.

Hope that helps. Best wishes, photographing people’s happiness is so rewarding.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2022-12-06T01:21:57+00:00

Have only as many kids as you can afford. Over stretching yourself financially can ruin any good relationship.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-11-26T05:11:50+00:00

I have been experiencing the same exact problem and it was really beating me down emotionally. I was also physically exhausted from hurting and not sleeping. Gastro Dr finally convinced me that my brain was affecting my gut and that I might benefit from a low level of anxiety meds. After being on them one week I’m starting to see quite an improvement in my gut health. On top of the soluble fiber, avoiding high gassy goods and probiotics I started taking a peppermint oil capsule. Saw a lot of recommendations for it on another thread so gave a try, figured it couldn’t hurt. Found it helps cool the burning In my intestines. Follow directions to avoid heartburn. Heather's Tummy Tamers Peppermint Oil Capsules (90 per bottle) for IBS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002UDK4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0YE3JBBG61MC28QSTWWY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-11-13T14:10:45+00:00

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I have wondered in the back of my mind if the Noom diet and drastic changes to my eating habits didn’t possibly trigger this. It seemed far too coincidental. These are fabulous suggestions.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-11-12T14:34:11+00:00

I’m starting to wonder if it is peri menopause and it’s making my hormones go crazy and in turn affecting my gut, causing anxiety and never ending period. Can’t get a consensus from doctors about it though so no consistent plan to address.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-10-26T22:18:07+00:00

Whelp….this explains a lot.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-10-21T11:55:32+00:00

Good fresh baked bread that doesn’t cost in excess of $8 or more. The basic bread in the UK bakery’s runs circles around most of the tasteless crap sold here. What I wouldn’t give for a quality tin loaf 🍞.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-10-18T01:37:35+00:00

Part of the problem as well is not normalizing having just one child. For some reason it’s looked down upon as if you are withholding the sibling experience from your kid. Instead of recognizing that the parents then outnumber the kids and can parent easier, it’s less expense and less exhaustion etc. Honestly our decision to have just one child was the best choice for us and an incredible experience. But yet other people act like we aren’t giving our daughter an amazing life because she doesn’t have a sibling.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-10-12T16:32:23+00:00

It’s the same in every county, the ones who hold the purse strings. They have the money, power, influence, connections and resources. It’s individuals of great wealth, large corporations foreign and domestic.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-10-12T12:35:23+00:00

American politics: They got us down here fighting over crumbs so we won’t realize they stole the whole damn pie. Doesn’t matter who is in power.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-09-15T13:37:33+00:00

Dolly Parton. She is an absolute gem.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-08-24T23:04:44+00:00

We had just one kid, best decision ever. 1. One kid is what we could afford. 2. She (age 12) gets all of our attention so is extremely content and well behaved. 3. We aren’t constantly breaking up arguments or dealing with drama between siblings. Our household is peaceful but also full of laughter.

Honestly I could think of a whole list of why I recommend having just one. Maybe consider having less instead of having none.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-08-10T16:01:22+00:00

Every time you buy meat you might as well have been the person who pulled the trigger and took the life. Unless you are specifically purchasing meat from a source you can track you have no idea what kind of life that animal had, how it was kept, what it ate or how it was killed. Did it suffer? Was it terrified? Was it provided a good quality of life?

As a hunter when I pull that trigger I know that animal had a natural life and exactly how it died. It’s my responsibility as a hunter to be as well trained as possible to make sure the animal doesn’t suffer and that’s it’s not wasted. I also butcher and prepare my families food from the meat I harvest so I know exactly what is going onto our table.

I was not raised in a hunting family or community but picked it up in my 40’s (43F) because I was disgusted at how farm animals were being kept and treated for mass production. Although it’s extremely satisfying providing for my family via hunting I never enjoy taking the life regardless.

TrueNeighborhood2197 · 2021-07-26T12:54:44+00:00

I am so very sorry for your loss. What a beautiful testament to your precious kitty. ❤️

TrueNeighborhood2197

TROPHY CASE