Journal

Notes from the studio

Eight pieces on how the studio actually works: timelines, venues, guest lists, budgets and the day itself. Every article opens in place — no separate pages to lose your position in.

Photography

How to work with a photographer

14 Mar 2026 · 5 min read

Look at complete galleries, not portfolios. A portfolio shows the best twenty frames of a career; a full gallery shows what an ordinary day in that photographer’s hands looks like.

Book the golden hour into the timeline before anything else negotiates for it. Twenty minutes at the right time is worth two hours at the wrong one.

Give the family group shots a named person to assemble them. A photographer chasing relatives is a photographer not photographing.

Agree delivery timelines in writing, and accept that a shorter turnaround usually means less editing rather than faster work.

8 of 8 articles

Planning
A planning timeline that survives contact with reality
Most timelines fail because they are written backwards from the day instead of forwards from the first decision.
4 Jun 2026 · 6 min read
Venues
Choosing a venue: the five questions that matter
Capacity, weather plan, kitchen, access and sound. Almost every venue regret traces back to one of these.
21 May 2026 · 5 min read
Guests
The guest list is the budget
Every other line item is downstream of one number. Fix the guest count early and the rest stops moving.
8 May 2026 · 4 min read
Budget
Budgeting without the spreadsheet anxiety
Committed and paid are different numbers, and confusing them is the most common way a budget quietly fails.
19 Apr 2026 · 7 min read
Design
Floral design that stays in season
The cheapest way to make flowers look expensive is to use the ones already growing that month.
2 Apr 2026 · 5 min read
Photography
How to work with a photographer
A shot list is a symptom. What a photographer actually needs is time and a schedule that admits where the light is.
14 Mar 2026 · 5 min read
Hosting
The art of hosting on the day itself
By the morning of the event, your job is no longer planning. It is being present, which requires having delegated.
26 Feb 2026 · 4 min read
Planning
Event-day preparation, hour by hour
The run sheet is the only document that matters on the day, and it should fit on one page.
5 Feb 2026 · 6 min read

Notes from the studio

How to work with a photographer

Articles