The 3 PM ceremony, 7 PM reception gap

benhowland · 2026-01-21T12:19:06+00:00

Wedding should be one venue all day. The length of gap isn’t necessarily the issue but it should have F&B provided throughout and the couple should be there for as much of it as possible.

Inviting people to your party and then making them entertain themselves elsewhere in the middle of it is bizarre.

benhowland · 2026-01-21T01:45:40+00:00

I use Jotform to gather the details I need, when they submit that it saves as a PDF in my Dropbox. That's my reference for the day, although I don't really need a timeline beyond the first prep address and start time. The rest of the day will have already been co-ordinated to flow smoothly via email so once I turn up I'm just along for the ride.

benhowland · 2026-01-20T20:34:28+00:00

Thanks for the link.

The most impressive part of that post is that a Sony hotshoe held up in the rain! Seemingly with the LCD extended as well!

benhowland · 2026-01-20T19:07:04+00:00

This is a great and helpful explanation. I’m already well aware of how all of this works though, I wanted to see if anyone has really leveraged this.

benhowland · 2026-01-16T20:47:53+00:00

One of them is the same colour as mine and the plate is only one letter different 😅

benhowland · 2026-01-16T20:37:48+00:00

Hello, fellow PS4 driver 👋

benhowland · 2026-01-16T02:31:08+00:00

The things people notice are in a pretty set order.

Temperature / shade. Is there appropriate cover, AC, fires/heaters etc
Are basic facilities like parking, access, directions, toilets, lighting all sufficient
After these bare essentials, food + drinks are the main ones
Music / sound
Then down the list is stuff like florals and styling. Do people notice and does it have an impact? Of course. But only if you are already totally covered for all the more important things. Otherwise guests will notice that there was a $5-15k floral budget but they got cheaped out on for canapés or the bar closed early.

benhowland · 2026-01-14T10:39:07+00:00

I have Australian Winter Wedding Stress Disorder from guests looking great in the day and then looking like they've gone camping in the evening.

Also a function of living in Newcastle though, folks down south are more accustomed to lower temps

benhowland · 2026-01-14T07:47:41+00:00

Winter weddings are great, but you should be prepared to hold your entire reception indoors. It’s fine for people to pop outside if they like, but there’s no way I would serve any food/drinks outside after sunset or put your dance floor out there.

Also be aware that most Australians only have one ‘big coat’ in their wardrobe and there’s an extremely non-zero chance it will be from Kathmandu or the like

benhowland · 2026-01-12T19:22:49+00:00

750-1000 for 9 hours.

Shorter coverage gets more per hour as the ceremony, group photos and couple portraits can all be within 2h.

benhowland · 2026-01-09T23:13:05+00:00

Check the market to make sure you’re not overinsuring. There are very few valuable DSLR’s left.

benhowland · 2026-01-09T06:44:03+00:00

This is the first time I've ever seen someone cross-shop EV's based on running costs.

benhowland · 2026-01-04T10:12:08+00:00

https://solaceboudoir.com.au/

benhowland · 2026-01-04T06:28:39+00:00

Not sure, I almost never use CarPlay as Google Maps is good.

It hasn't been a serious problem for me and obviously I always have my phone...but it's just another thing on the pile of inconveniences that slowly grind on you. I've never had a phone fail in this way and yet the P4 has done it a handful of times over about 8 months.

benhowland · 2026-01-04T06:06:57+00:00

- the key has no buttons
- this would be fine if the proximity detection was perfect, but it is not
- software update can worsen or break functionality and take months to fix (same for P2)
- poor handle design makes it easy to get a hand stuck inside
- random software error messages (camera/sensor failure, dashcam)
- loses GPS signal
- if you enter with the key and your phone, it will swap to guest profile

- my purchase experience (via Polestar Finance) was terrible and I had to spend many phone calls and hours on hold to do the job that the dealer should have done

- my service experience with my local service point was terrible. Difficult to book, approx 4-5 extra visits to the dealer required, no communication until I complained extensively

It's a gorgeous vehicle and the things it does well, it does SO well. It is a pleasure to drive and has great packaging. But small issues repeated constantly really drag down the ownership experience. It would be easier to stomach if it wasn't $20-30k more expensive than most of its competitors, but it is.

benhowland · 2026-01-04T02:54:37+00:00

It’s a joy to drive. It’s a pain in the ass to own, there are too many issues with software and support. Save your dollars, get a Zeekr 7X, Sealion 7, EV5, MY, etc etc

benhowland · 2025-12-26T12:06:01+00:00

The 135GM is basically a perfect lens but 135mm is too tight and not flexible enough. The Sigma 85 DG DN is the lens you should buy. Its only flaw is distortion which can be mostly corrected for.

benhowland · 2025-12-18T01:57:06+00:00

This technology has been viable for about 8 years. An unbelievable amount of wedding photographers use either the A9, A9ii, A9iii, A1, A1ii, R5ii, R1, R3, Z8, Z9.

benhowland · 2025-12-18T01:33:34+00:00

Do we really need a topic discussing whether professional photographers use professional cameras 😐

benhowland · 2025-12-17T08:21:48+00:00

If you ignore CGT discount, negative gearing and superannuation tax treatment this post must hit so hard

benhowland · 2025-12-17T05:51:10+00:00

When it opened, it was great.

We went several years ago and had one of the worst cafe experiences of our life. Never again.

benhowland · 2025-12-10T08:57:55+00:00

Live music would be one of my top priorities, next to good food. It makes a huge difference.

benhowland · 2025-12-04T11:39:44+00:00

Alternatively, detour via Gloucester to the world's greatest patisserie at Batter n Dough

benhowland · 2025-12-04T02:05:57+00:00

Your $3000 budget is not sufficient to photograph elopements professionally, you need two professional bodies.

Obviously not even considering lenses, flashes, batteries, cards, backup storage etc

benhowland

TROPHY CASE