'Stand out of the crowd': Taking pre-wedding photography in London

 

The crews are taking pre-wedding photographs for the couple in front of the St.Paul Cathedral in London. [Photo by Karen Kwok]

Asian pre-wedding photographs are a huge market. And it's getting more competitive due to its increasing popularity.

"A lot of freelancers join the industry," Wu said.

"But we have our advantages. We have a store based in London, and we provide an all-round service, with a team of professional," said Wu.

With more than 10 years of experience on the frontline of bridal photography, different ranges of requests allow Wu to understand what his clients want.

"Once there was a groom who wanted to give a surprise to his bride, so he didn't tell her until the moment he proposed on top of the London Eye. We discussed with the groom about the arrangement, and set up cameras to capture the reaction of the bride. It was a special request and it required a lot of preparation work but the whole team enjoyed the moment as well," Wu said.

Sometimes it might be tricky for Wu to take photographs in some of the landmarks. A permit is needed to shoot in some of the areas in London, such as St.James' Park, which costs him about ￡120 per hour.

Photographs weren't permitted in the main entrance of St.Paul's Cathedral, so they moved down the steps a little to continue the shoots.

Then it was off to their next two destinations, Tower Bridge and Big Ben, which ensured trouble-free romantic backdrops.

UK is one of the most popular destinations, compared to other areas in Europe. Price is one of the major reasons, and also the concern about the effects of the recent refugee crisis in mainland Europe, according to Wu.

Yet one of his rivalries, Crystal Leung, general manager of GigiBride Wedding Photography, says that it depends on the trend.

"When the movie, "If You Are The One", which mentioned a Santorini trip, was popular in China, we received a lot of requests to take pictures in Greece. And recently, the destination changed to Paris, as the celebrity couple, Huang Xiaoming and Angelababy, who got married yesterday, took bridal photography in France," said Leung.

Other cities in UK is growing in popularity as a location of pre-wedding photography, especially after the wedding of the "New King of Asian Pop", Jay Chou, who had a fairytale English wedding inside a castle in Yorkshire, in northern England, early this year.

"Market is getting bigger as more people send enquiries to us, but we don't see an increasing amount of customers as we accept limited orders," said Leung.